In 1973, The Exorcist shifted horror on its axis. The seminal horror film delivered a frightening tale about a girl possessed by a demonic entity. The Exorcist hit pop culture hard, almost singlehandedly changing public opinion about the Ouija board. Its clever scenes like the “spider-walk” and the infamous head-spinning sequence are oft-duplicated in countless films. The Exorcist is undoubtedly one of the best and most influential horror movies of all time, one that still holds up in our current era. If you claim to be an American horror fan, this movie has to be a part of your viewing experience. Fifty years later, the film’s franchise continues with The Exorcist: Believer, a fresh chapter with a delightfully sinister trailer (actually, two) featuring two girls possessed by a familiar evil force. We meet again, Pazuzu.
What a chilling clip, indeed. The ending with the girls saying “drip drop” and staring up at the ceiling is phenomenal. It could become a moment that will stick in fans’ minds for years to come. A detailed synopsis of The Exorcist: Believer gives us more insight into what’s going down in its first trailer:
Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill), 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.
It’s thrilling to see Ellen Burstyn reprise her role as Chris MacNeil in The Exorcist: Believer. Chris is still haunted by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades ago. And she better not die in this movie because she is a legend. In fact, another trailer gives us more insight into her role in this film as well as how scary this demonic duo will be.
The Exorcist: Believer hits theaters just in time for Halloween on October 6.
Originally published July 25, 2023.