I'm not shocked. When David Gordon Green was announced as the co-screenwriter and director, my gut feeling told me this was going to be disappointing. You can tell he has passion for something like this, sure, but he isn't the ideal filmmaker for this type of property. A part of me was hoping this was going to be surprisingly great, however, the trailers pretty much told me everything I needed to know about this film - a generic, lazy fan film with a big budget. I'll stick to The Exorcist and The Exorcist III.
Honestly, I just believe the Exorcist series is cursed. The original is so iconic and aside from the third movie all the others suck. Doesn't help that all other Exorcist wannabes made ever since have been god-awful mostly. I'm not blaming David Gordon Green on this one. He handled the recent Halloween trilogy incredibly well, especially in light of how bad 5, 6, Resurrection and the two Rob Zombie movies are (anyone who says otherwise needs to go back and look at those; we got it good in comparison). But with Exorcist it feels like he was just a hired gun on it after the Halloween movies made money. It doesn't feel like something he wanted to do unlike with the other revival.
Let me be clear...I'm not saying David Gordon Green is a bad director. When he has a strong script, like in his film Stronger, he proves to be a skilled storyteller. His passion for horror classics like Halloween and The Exorcist is evident, and those films are truly awesome. However, the issue lies in the scripts he chooses to work with. The 2018 Halloween film had some good ideas and moments, but it needed a solid polish before shooting. It ended up being an average slasher with some good moments, but it has big flaws. While Green clearly adores John Carpenter's classic, the script fell short of its potential and certain plot points needed reworking. Unfortunately, his subsequent Halloween films were lackluster and uninspired. It seems Green believes that doubling up on everything is the key to a great sequel. But simply amplifying the violence, characters, shocks, and twists doesn't guarantee success. It worked in a film such as Aliens, but only because in that film it had a fantastic script. Green's Halloween films and his new Exorcist film lack truly great scripts. They are decent, but they could have been so much more. To me, Denis Villeneuve's approach with Blade Runner 2049 is the gold standard for making a fantastic sequel to a classic film.
Would definitely give the 3rd a watch. Its got a cult following and is generally a well made horror that even a fan like me finds difficult to sit through.
And so you should be lolReviews are scathing. But the one I'm most excited for is Mark Kermode's
