31 Days of Spooky- Day 6
Oh boy. I have strong words for this one. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst movies of the year, at least I've seen. While I understand that trying to capture the essence of William Friedkin's cultural phenomenon seems like an unachievable feat, this movie doesn't even earn an attempting star from me. The movie takes place years after the original movie and is based around two friends who go wandering in the woods to contact the spirit world and are found days later possessed by an unknown entity. Now let me start off by admitting that this cast is STACKED. There are names like Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, and singer Jennifer Nettles and they even were bold enough to bring back the iconic Ellen Burstyn. With a cast this well put together I am so disappointed in the way they were all utilized in the movie. There was poor character development to the point where there isn't a reason to feel sympathy for the characters, something that you get within the first half hour of the 1973 film. When Chris MacNeil enters the story you expect to see the same strong, fearless character that Friedkin originally created, but instead you're given a cameo that feels disrespectful to the character and the legacy she left all those years ago.
There are lots of things this movie lacks: shock, vulgarity, a compelling story, and decent cinematography; all things key to making a good Exorcist wanna-be. Just because you have some face-cracking, prayer, and a little bit of vomit (not even pea soup!) doesn't make this an Exorcist movie, and the decision to give David Gordon Green a chance at yet another treasured horror franchise makes me all the more worried for what is to come from the obvious sequels. Overall Rating: 0 Rewatchability: Can't even recommend a first viewing.
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