I’m sorry to report here that “The Exorcist: Believer” (2023) is indeed a bit lackluster.  (The buzz online was pretty critical of the this latest entry in the franchise.)

It starts off strongly enough.  The story’s setup is methodical and well paced, that characters feel real, and the movie does a good job building tension.  It’s in the latter half that the movie falls short — it slides into a chaotic jumble of characters and story elements.  There is one major story development that arrives as a welcome reference to the classic 1973 original film … but it’s written off in an unsatisfying way that has little effect on the plot as a whole.  (I am being intentionally vague here to avoid spoilers.)

There are a few things to like here … it is definitely a little scary in a couple of places.  And the two girls playing the afflicted teenagers (Lidyah Jewett and Olivia O’Neill) are superb.

“The Exorcist: Believer” isn’t a bad horror movie, exactly.  It’s really just average — and it has the misfortune of being compared to the original.