Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Norbert Leo Butz, Jennifer Nettles
OUR RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Story:
Supernatural horror sequel directed and co-written by David Gordon Green. The Exorcist: Believer (2023) centers on Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.), who since the death of his pregnant wife has raised his daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own. But when Angela and her friend, Katherine (Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil, and in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn).
Where to Watch:
Best Quotes
Haitian Doctor: Your wife has serious injuries. Anything we do to keep her alive will endanger your child. Your baby.
Victor Fielding: I don’t understand.
Haitian Doctor: It’s a difficult choice. We cannot save them both.
Deshannah: [after Angela and Katherine go missing] They were just walking. Walked away. Walked into the woods.
Miranda: There’s got to be somebody that knows.
Detective Konik: I understand. There is a transient community…
Tony: Transient community?
Detective Konik: Yes.
Tony: Is that what you call a bunch of f***ing bums?
Victor Fielding: Sometimes there’s things, as parents, we don’t know.
Tony: We don’t know you!
Victor Fielding: What you know about me is that the only thing that’s ever mattered is protecting my kid. That’s what you know about me.
Miranda: Well, then, where are they?
Detective Konik: Angela, just tell your father the same thing you told me. How long do you think you were gone?
Angela: I don’t know. A few hours?
Victor Fielding: No. Baby, you’ve been gone three days.
Doctor: Sometimes when children deal with either significant psychological, or traumatic injuries, they can maybe have some retrograde amnesia where they may not remember events that might have happened.
Detective Konik: Their stories are consistent. They both say they just went to hang out in the woods. They got lost on the way back, and they were afraid of getting in trouble, so they just kept walking. Three days later, they end up thirty miles down the road in some farmer’s barn with no concept of time having passed.
Angela: You light a candle. Clear your mind. You stand in the trees holding something that you love, that gives you connection. You just start speaking what the spirit says to you.
Victor Fielding: What did the spirit say to you?
Angela: She wasn’t there. No one was.
Katherine: [possessed] Body and the blood? Body and the blood? Body and the blood! The body and the blood! The body and the blood!
Tony: What about the neurologist? Didn’t he say that hormones, stress, they can bring on like a trancelike state? Maybe that’s why they’re not talking, and they’re not making any sense.
Victor Fielding: They take off their shoes. They walk thirty miles. You think that’s hormones, puberty?
Miranda: No. No, I don’t.
Miranda: Something they did out there opened them up for an unholy spirit to enter. That’s how demonic possession works.
Miranda: Do you know where Jesus went after he died on the cross, Victor? He went to hell to declare his authority over the devil. And he reappeared three days later. Three days, just like our girls.
Victor Fielding: You think they went to hell? Burned their feet in hell? Got possessed by the devil?
Tony: Pagan activity or talking to the dead. Wherever those girls went, they brought something back with them.
Ann: [to Victor] You asked me if I’ve ever seen anything like this before. No. But there are people out there who have.
Ann: You don’t believe in God?
Victor Fielding: I don’t believe in the question. You know, you religious types are all alike, you know that? Something bad happens, must be the devil. Something good happens, must be God. It is a myth made up by people to explain things they will never understand.
'Our heads go to complicated places when we're faced with undefined anomalies.' - Detective Konik (The Exorcist: Believer) Share on X
Ann: Mr. Fielding, the way I see it, that makes your daughter a miracle.
Victor Fielding: Well, I got to go check my miracle into the mental institution.
Ann: [referring to Angela] And she knew what happened to my baby. I never told anyone what name I had chosen. Or about my pregnancy. Not then. Not since. Not a single living soul.
TV Show Host: I guess you’re somewhat of an expert in demonic possession, is that correct?
Chris MacNeil: I guess you could say that.
Chris MacNeil: I’m not an exorcist. I leave that to the professionals. No, my journey began as a mother, driven by my love for my daughter, and I’ve dedicated my life to try to understand the phenomenon. And also to help other parents who are going through hardships of the unexplained.
'Something bad happens, must be the Devil. Something good happens, must be God. It is a myth made up by people to explain things they will never understand.' - Victor Fielding (The Exorcist: Believer) Share on X
Stuart: [referring to Chris] Was an actress, turned educator. Kind of education. An expert of exorcists. Not an exorcist.
Chris MacNeil: The Rite of Exorcism is one of the oldest human rituals. Every culture in every country, for as far back as history has been recorded, has a ceremony to dispel negative energies and to journey toward healing. From the Muslim rites to the Hebrew dybbuks, to the Zoroastrian texts. There are even some incantations for exorcism in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
TV Show Host: Is demonic possession real?
Chris MacNeil: I think the right question is, are the people that I visit is their suffering real? Absolutely.
Victor Fielding: Do you believe any of this stuff is actually real?
Chris MacNeil: Placebos are real. The power of suggestion is real. Belief is real. I think what you’re asking me is if I believe any of this stuff will really help your daughter. But what you should be asking is if you believe it. Skeptic. That’s good. But that’ll only get you so far. After that, you got to come up with some real answers.
Chris MacNeil: I didn’t actually witness it, you know, the exorcism. They wouldn’t let me.
Victor Fielding: Why not?
Chris MacNeil: My opinion, it’s because I’m not a member of their damn patriarchy.
'Placebos are real. The power of suggestion is real. Belief is real.' - Chris MacNeil (The Exorcist: Believer) Share on X
Chris MacNeil: I may not have witnessed the exorcism, but I sure as all hell witnessed the possession. I spent the next ten years trying to understand what I saw with my own eyes. I studied every culture, every religion, every ritual for it I could find. I just learned so much about all this stuff. I wanted people to understand that it’s possible to survive the most traumatic experiences, and not only survive, but thrive.
Chris MacNeil: [referring to Regan] But then the book came out. It was such a huge success. She hated it. She never forgave me for writing it. I never forgave myself. She went into hiding. She moved away. Even now, I don’t know where she is. She won’t tell me.
Chris MacNeil: There are many dark forces in this world, Mr. Fielding. Not all of them are supernatural. I wake up every morning wondering where my daughter is. Praying about seeing her sweet face again one of these days.
Chris MacNeil: [referring to the possessed Angela] She knows who I am. Where’s the other girl?
Victor Fielding: Taking care of at home.
Chris MacNeil: That’s not a good idea.
Chris MacNeil: I know who you are. And you know who I am. We’ve met before. But I’m not talking to you now.
Katherine: [possessed] Are you looking for Regan?
'We're born in this world with hope, and dreams, and a desire to be happy. And the devil has one wish. Make us give up.' - Ann (The Exorcist: Believer) Share on X
Chris MacNeil: I ask nothing of you. I renounce you. I come here to return life to this child from whom it is unwillingly taken.
Katherine: [possessed] You don’t know what happened to her, but we do. She burns in hell!
Chris MacNeil: In the name of all holy beings, in the name of my beloved daughter Regan, release this child. Release this child. Release this child!
Katherine: [possessed] I am no devil. There is none.
'We can endure. We can heal. For some of us, it'll be harder than others. For some of us, it'll take a lot longer to find that peace. But that peace too will be a choice. A choice to find the blessings all around us.' - Ann Share on X
Phillips: [to Maddox] This is a very dangerous situation. Dangerous for you, Father. Dangerous for the Catholic church.
Chris MacNeil: [after she’s been blinded by a possessed Katherine] Do you know what that thing said to me when I was in the room with it? It tried to convince me that Regan is dead.
Victor Fielding: What do you believe?
Chris MacNeil: Oh, well, I don’t think that, I’ll tell you. Hope is what keeps me alive. And that’s what you’re going to have to find to do this.
Chris MacNeil: [to Victor] Something inside our girls called out for help. It brought you to me. It put me in that room. Those girls are connected now. Their families are connected.
Chris MacNeil: I have studied the Rite of Exorcism in every culture that I could find. They all have different ceremonies. But the one thing they all have in common, the most important thing of all, is people.
Chris MacNeil: We go to church in times of trouble because we believe it’s the house of God. But also, there are people there, other people, whether it’s family, or neighbors, or strangers. Yes, they’re all there to affirm their faith in God, but they’re also there to affirm their faith in each other.
Chris MacNeil: [to Victor] It’s not over. Maybe Regan is gone, but you can bring your daughter back. You’ve got to bring everyone together. That’s what will make this work.
Father Maddox: I cannot be a part of this. Please understand, people have died on both sides of possession. What you’re doing here is dangerous, and it is religious interference.
Victor Fielding: No. We’re doing it. With or without you, Father. With or without you.
Ann: I live in the name of Jesus. Here, we are asking God to free these children from infestation. We are asking God to intervene. I’m not denying the grace of a holy priest, but I can give it everything I’ve got. I am meant to do it. I can do it. I can perform the Roman Rite. I see now why the Lord took me out of the convent. I see now why he put me in the house next door. To be here with you tonight. It’s going to take all of us.
Stuart: I like it. It takes all kinds.
Victor Fielding: We’re here. We’re together. This can work. It’ll work.
Tony: I hope you’re sure.
Victor Fielding: Yeah, I’m sure. And you better be too, before you step in that room. We all better be. Anybody else want to leave, leave now. Once we start, we’re not stopping.
Katherine: [possessed] Tonight, you’re going to die! You’re all going to die.
Tony: Do something!
Pastor Don Revans: Demon, your voice must be silent.
Katherine: [possessed] See you in hell.
Angela: [possessed, to Ann] Did the power of Christ compel you?
Miranda: We need to try something else. Something different. Something new.
Katherine: [possessed] Drip, drop. Drip, drop. Drip, drop.
Doctor Beehibe: This is our end and our beginning.
Stuart: Is it over? Is that it?
Doctor Beehibe: No. It’s a start.
Angela: [possessed, to Victor] You never wanted me. You made your choice when my mother was dying!
Angela: [possessed] God played a trick on you.
Katherine: [possessed] The baby lived instead.
Victor Fielding: What?
Angela: [possessed] Now you have to make another choice.
Katherine: [possessed] One girl lives. One girl dies.
Katherine: [possessed] Who’s got to go?
Angela: [possessed] Eeny, meeny, miny, mo.
Katherine, Angela: [possessed] You must choose, or both girls die.
Victor Fielding: I won’t choose.
Miranda: We can’t choose.
Victor Fielding: [to Angela] I know you can hear me. Now, we will get through this. If you don’t make it, I don’t make it. Alright? Come on home. She loved you, and I love you.
Pastor Don Revans: [after Tony chooses Katherine and she dies] Patience obtains all things. All things will pass away. God never changes.
Ann: Do you think they’ll make it through this?
Detective Konik: I’ve seen families recover from things you can’t imagine.
Ann: What do you think evil is? I’ll tell you what I think it is. I think that we’re born in this world with hope, and dreams, and a desire to be happy. And the devil has one wish. Make us give up.
Ann: We can endure. We can heal. For some of us, it’ll be harder than others. For some of us, it’ll take a lot longer to find that peace. But that peace too will be a choice. A choice to find the blessings all around us. We carry those with us. And maybe that’s all God, any god, or any good person really wants from us. Just to keep going. To make the choice to hold on tight and never let go. To believe.
Chris MacNeil: Victor, is that you?
Regan MacNeil: No, Mom. It’s me.
Chris MacNeil: Regan.
