MOVIE NEWS – Legendary horror filmmaker John Carpenter responds to the overwhelmingly negative reviews of The Exorcist: Believer, directed by David Gordon Green.
The Exorcist: Believer has received some pretty negative reviews. Now legendary horror director John Carpenter shares his thoughts on the film’s reception. David Gordon Green, the director of the Halloween reboot trilogy, has released his film as a direct sequel to John Friedkin’s iconic 1973 work.
The film was released last week and was poorly received by both audiences and critics, which was reflected in the box office results.
Now Carpenter, the director of such films as 1978’s Halloween and 1982’s The Thing, has responded to the film’s poor reception in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Apparently, the filmmaker has not yet had a chance to see the film. Apparently, he considers a sequel a missed opportunity. Read Carpenter’s full comments below:
“I like what David did when he made the three ‘Halloweens.’ I loved No. 2 [‘Halloween Kills’]. Thought that was fabulous. I heard ‘The Exorcist’ really didn’t cut it. That could be a kickass movie. I don’t understand how you can screw that up.”
While Friedkin’s original The Exorcist is still considered a horror classic, most of the sequels don’t have the same reputation. As with Halloween 2018, Green’s reboot/sequel was an opportunity to introduce the franchise to a new audience. In doing so, it also appeals to those who have a connection to the original film series.
Ultimately, however, it seems that the latest sequel missed the mark, failing to carve out a niche for itself and strike that delicate balance.
It’s an apparent attempt to hark back to Friedkin’s original ideas and the stylistic set-pieces of The Exorcist. The return of Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil also adds to the nostalgia factor. However, critics often argue that Green’s attempts to return to the franchise’s roots are at the expense of adding anything new or fresh. So, the film ends up being more of a revisiting of themes and ideas that we have seen before.
Also, a common complaint is that there is not enough horror in the film. It is hard to overstate how groundbreaking and genuinely terrifying the original Exorcist was in 1973. The new film simply fails to capture that rawness and a newfound sense of dread. This culminated in a relatively poor commercial reception for the film. This is exacerbated by the fact that Universal paid $400 million for the rights to the franchise.
Source: Los Angeles Times
