Where I Watched It: Peacock

English Audio Description?: Yes

Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Lidya Jewett, Ann Dowd, Norbert Leo Butz, Jennifer Nettles, and Ellen Burstyn.

Written By: Peter Sattler and David Gordon green

Directed By: David Gordon Green

This is my first film in The Exorcist franchise. I truly have not ever taken the time to at least sit down and watch the first film, which is constantly on my to-do list. but, jumping in with David Gordon Green’s attempt at requelling another franchise didn’t make me feel terribly lost. It’s a brand new story with homage to the original.

The last time I trusted David Gordon Green with a franchise, he brought us a pretty great Halloween, that really gave Jamie Lee Curtis something to truly sink her teeth into. It was far bloodier, gorier, and meaner than the original Halloween directed by john Carpenter, but it had something going for it. Then, he made two more, and all my hopes and dreams were crushed. Halloween was one of the best films of its year, and Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends were both among the worst. Also, terrible names.

the Exorcist is now in his hands, and I’m in the minority here. For the most part, I saw what he was doing, and I was jiving with it. The story features a man (Odom Jr) who tragically is placed in a position where he has to choose to try and save his pregnant wife or the unborn child. We cut ahead, and he has a daughter. They seem to have a great relationship, and he drops her off at school believing she is going to hang out with a friend after, and then head home. but, these girls pulled a fast one, and went out on their own. They end up being lost for three days, and their parents are frantically looking for them. The other parents are definitely supporting characters, even though the trailers suggest everyone is on an even playing field. When the girls are found, they think they’ve only been gone a few hours, and have no memory of what happened. And then, the strange things start happening.

I like this because green tackles an exorcism film finally from a realistic point of view, where people don’t immediately call a Priest. the girls are assumed to have suffered sever emotional trauma they are blocking out, and they get medical treatment first, instead of holy water. It’s this grounding the film in reality that pays off, because it takes a while for Odom jr, who is without faith, to be convinced that this might be a possession of some kind.

Another thing he does right, is this idea that all religious help you can get, even just having friends and family, is how you fight the demons. So instead of ever ending up with a priest and the girls, we are headed to this community of friends and neighbors, and the parents all working together to achieve a cause.

He has some really interesting ideas and concepts for once that run through the film. It does follow a lot of the usual when regards to how the possessed act. It’s not the first Exorcism film this year, but it is one that seems to want to try something new. I was hopeful at first that Ellen burstyn’s role here would be more akin to Curtis, and that she would be more useful. she’s better here than that shit role she had in The bye bye man, but she’s still mismanaged, and ultimately, it’s just not how I would have wanted to pull her back in. Green has a trick up his sleeve should they let him do a sequel, but we’ll see.

most of what disappointed me had to do with burstyn’s use in the film. She’s not in it that much, and that was disappointing. Also, the damn trailers kept selling these two girls as being deeply connected, but green doesn’t ever establish that. Sure, they go off together, but they have no interaction before that that would indicate they were even friends.

And that’s where green fails, because he puts such a huge focus on one family so much, that when it comes to the other family, we know next to nothing. It’s suggested they are religious, but there’s no backstory to suggest why this other girl. Why was she in the path? If we get a backstory for one we should get it for both. There should have been a reason, and there never is. Even Ann dowd’s supporting character has more backstory. It’s so odd.

So, it’s not the greatest accomplishment, and green definitely didn’t quite stick the landing perfectly, but there are choices here I respect. Choices that remind me he can make a good film if he really focuses on it. Also, the performances across the board are all strong, and I love seeing such unconventional choices. yes please to more Leslie Odom jr, and I’m a huge Ann Dowd fan, but I never thought I’d see Norbert leo butz here, or the incomparable Jennifer Nettles. It’s a shame that green couldn’t write or figure out a song for Odom, butz, and nettles to sing together. Even if it was just a hymn.

Audio description wise, there’s a lot happening here. Lots of flashes of random images, especially toward the end as things get crazier. there’s even some kind of beast we start to see that is described in great detail. The girls have things clawed into their bodies, which is nice to have audio description to know what is said. And, they make these transformations as they become possessed, which the narration does a nice job of describing. I don’t remember specifically how everyone’s names first appeared, but when it came to the characters that had been in the franchise before, i had no problem with how they were introduced, even though I’ve never seen another film in this series.

Shockingly, I’m going against the tide here. I think David Gordon Green made an interesting film that never had a chance of beating the original, but really takes a grounded approach to a tired trend we’ve seen in other exorcism films even outside this franchise. Call a priest? Not necessarily. I would be optimistic about his plans for a sequel.

Final Grade: B-