Back in May I wrote about the catastrophic test screening for “The Exorcist: Believer” in New York. The film test-screened again, deep in the heart of Texas, the following month. It’s being tested, yet again, tonight in Las Vegas, despite already having an MPA rating.
The reactions I had heard for “Exorcist: Believer” were NOT GOOD. I couldn’t find a single positive review. I’m still waiting for a reader who liked it to send me an email.
Here’s insider ViewerAnon:
THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER has an MPAA rating already but is still going through yet another test screening tonight in Las Vegas. The behind-the-scenes stories on this one are gonna be fascinating.
A trailer for ‘Believer’ was released on July 25th. The film is said to be about a demon who possesses two young girls which leads to the parents calling Chris MacNeil, as played by Ellen Burstyn in her return to the franchise after starring in the 1973 original.
Once upon a time, ‘Believer’ director David Gordon Green was heralded as the heir to Terrence Malick with his first four films, “George Washington,” “All the Real Girls,” “Undertow” and “Snow Angels.” Then the business changed, there were less opportunities for independent visions to thrive and Green went the mainstream route, albeit, at first, successfully with “Pineapple Express,” and the underrated comedy “The Sitter.”
Green's earlier movies never made much money at the arthouse, than he went the R-rated comedy route but that genre’s not that profitable anymore at the box-office. So, he’s now become Blumehouse’s go-to filmmaker for rebooted horror. His last film, “Halloween Ends” was cheap and exploitative.
Dire times in the industry and I don’t necessarily blame him for going the paycheck route, you either have to make a living or suffer with your art — he’s chosen the former. He’s become a full-on whore for Blumhouse.