Like the ‘Scream’ series, ‘The Exorcist’ is a sequel to the’ Halloween’ film series. The audience has rated ‘The Exorcist: Believer,’ a horror and thriller, at 5.2/10 on IMDB. Though an average rating, the film keeps the audience engaged for the entire length of the film, which is 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Produced by Universal Cinemas and directed by David Gordon, Peter Satller has written the screenplay. The costume design is done by Lizz Wolf, while the music is composed by David Wing. We can compare the film to other such films as ‘A Haunting in Venice’ and ‘The Nun 2.’ With a similar thematic concern, ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ wins the audience’s approval.
As per the film’s plotline, two girls, Angela and Katherine, disappear into the woods and return three days later without remembering what happened to them. As Angela’s father and Katherine’s parents try to figure out where the lost girls are, the film takes an interesting twist as the focus shifts to exorcism.
The protagonists, Angela (Lidya Jewett), Katherine (Olivia O Neil), and Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Junior), are tied together by a common factor. The devil possesses Katherine and Angela, the church pastor, Angela’s father, Victor Fielding, and Katherine’s parents together, trying to rid them of the demons their bodies and spirits have possessed!
“What do you think evil is?”
Mr Fielding’s wife is pregnant, and the daughter born to him is called Angela. The doctor tells him he can save either the child or the mother. Sorrene Fielding (Tracy Graves) is Victor’s wife. A fortune teller protects her to ward off the evil eye. She dies during childbirth, and Angela, the child she bears, is possessed by the devil!
Will Angela die? Will the evil spirit that resides in her be released? Watch the film to find out! If she is saved toward the film’s end, what keeps her? Is it her mother’s love, or is it just plain luck? Will the prayer of the father or the priest ward off the evil spirit, or will love conquer all fears and suspicions?
Thirteen years later, Angela and her friend Katherine get together to study and start calling spirits. It is here that begins a journey that is scary and horrific. The demon takes both over. They are admitted into a psychiatric ward for physical examination, but the doctors find no signs of sexual assault. Their condition is a mystery that is only solved as the film ends.
The film talks about African culture, how it’s based on superstitions, and how it is vibrant! As the film portrays, the African culture is untamed and wild, unlike the West, which is constrained and civilised. Piano and Drums by Gabrielle Okara beautifully sums up the comparison between the West and Africa, equating the West with pianos and Africa with drums. The piano symbolizes constraint, while the drums are spontaneous and wild!
I think we are born into this world with hopes, desires, and dreams, and the devil has one wish to make us give up, but to believe and never let go is what we should strive for!
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