“The Exorcist: Believer” is tracking to open to $30M+ domestically. The film cost $30M to make, but Universal bought the rights to make the trilogy for $400M. Will they end up recouping their money? There are two more films left to complete the trilogy.
The film has been getting scary reviews from critics, it’s being panned left and right. Director David Gordon Green, once a promising filmmaker, uses practically the same exact blueprint as William Friedkin’s 1973 classic, “The Exorcist.”
During a post-screening Q&A of the film, director Green admits that while he “never communicated” with Friedkin, he was “curious” what the legendary filmmaker would think of “Believer.”
I was looking forward to showing him the film because I never communicated with him. My understanding was that he didn’t want involvement in the film production, but he would give us his thoughts after the movie.
It’s not hard to figure out what Friedkin would have thought of ‘Believer.’ The late filmmaker was very critical of any ‘Exorcist’ sequel being made, and there have been four of them (not including Green’s reboot).
Friedkin had publicly voiced his disapproval of the films, going as far as to say that he hadn’t seen any of them as it would “depress” him in doing so:
I wasn’t involved with any of The Exorcist sequels or The French Connection sequel. Not only was I not involved, I haven’t seen them. I view them as shit! They were simply made to cash in on the title. The public isn’t stupid. They can see a rip-off when it’s coming.
Green has made “shit” with ‘Believer,’ there’s no doubting that, and the fact that Green really wanted Friedkin to watching his shit sandwich of a reboot renders him totally oblivious to the monstrosity he’s created here.
“The Exorcist: Believer,” released theatrically tomorrow, has a 23% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cory Finley, a talented filmmaker, has directed three films so far: "Thoroughbreds" (2017), "Bad Education” (2020), and "Landscape with Invisible Hand.”