The Exorcist Traumatized Generations. Here’s How the New Sequel Compares.

Sam Adams
·3 min read
4
The bleeding face of the girl from the original Exorcist movie has a moving dial superimposed on it.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Universal Pictures and Getty Images.

For die-hards, no horror movie can be too bone-chilling. But for you, a wimp, the wrong one can leave you miserable. Never fear, scaredies, because Slate’s Scaredy Scale is here to help. We’ve put together a highly scientific and mostly spoiler-free system for rating new horror releases, comparing them with classics along a 10-point scale. And because not everyone is frightened by the same things—some viewers can’t stand jump scares, while others are haunted by more psychological terrors or can’t stomach arterial spurts—it breaks down each release’s shocks across three criteria: suspense, spookiness, and gore.

The Exorcist has been called the most terrifying movie ever made, which gives The Exorcist: Believer some mighty big shoes to fill. Like his Halloween, David Gordon Green’s movie is a direct follow-up to the original film, skipping over the various sequels and prequels in the intervening decades, with Ellen Burstyn reprising her role as the mother whose daughter became possessed by an ancient demon. This time, however, the focus is mostly on Leslie Odom Jr., the widowed father of a teenage girl (Lidya Jewett) whose attempt to contact her late mother opens the door to the most evil of forces. The power of IP might compel you to watch, but will you wind up puking pea-green? Let’s see.

A chart titled “Suspense: How much will you dread the next kill or jump scare?” shows that The Exorcist: Believer ranks a 3 in suspense, roughly the same as Gremlins, while the original Exorcist rates a 7, roughly the same as Jaws. The scale ranges from The Joy of Painting (0) to Alien (10).
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Universal Studios and Getty Images.

Although it’s set in Port-au-Prince rather than Iraq, Believer’s opening closely mirrors the beginning of William Friedkin’s 1973 classic, right down to the onscreen font. It’s a harbinger of a movie that, while it has its own preoccupations, sticks closely to the original’s template. That makes the plot fairly predictable—albeit with a scattering of shocking exceptions—so it’s less a matter of wondering what’s going to happen next than waiting for it to happen.

A chart titled “Gore: The Ick Factor” shows that The Exorcist: Believer ranks a 7 in gore, roughly the same as Jaws, while the original ranks a 5, roughly the same as The Sixth Sense. The scale ranges from Singin’ in the Rain (0) to the Saw Franchise (10).
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Universal Studios and Getty Images.

The original Exorcist is built around the brutalization of a young girl’s body, and Believer follows suit, only with two young victims instead of one. Limbs are sliced, scars raised, skin given the pallor of a rotting corpse. In the most gruesome instance, a metal crucifix is put to especially stabby ends, so if you’ve got a thing about penetrating injuries, you’ll want to steel yourself in advance.

A chart titled “Spookiness: How much will it haunt you after the movie is over?” shows that The Exorcist: Believer ranks a 5 in spookiness, roughly the same as Alien, while the original ranks a 10. The scale ranges from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (0) to The Exorcist (10).
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Universal Studios and Getty Images.

As the first movie in a planned trilogy (which, if predictions for opening weekend box office hold, seems likely to happen), Believer leaves a lot of questions unanswered, including precisely what happened when its two teenage victims disappeared in the woods for three days. The brisk, almost subliminal cutaways to a nightmarish ordeal are horrifying in a way that a girl spewing profanity no longer is, and they’ll linger after the adrenaline rush of the jump scares wears off.

A chart titled “Overall: This is even more subjective, depending on what kinds of scares get you the most” shows that The Exorcist: Believer ranks a 5 overall, roughly the same as The Sixth Sense, whereas the original ranked a 9. The scale ranges from Paddington (0) to 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (10).
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Universal Studios and Getty Images.

Believer is hardly a genre-defining phenomenon like the original Exorcist, but it’s not aiming nearly that high. Green and his co-writers, including Halloween collaborator Danny McBride, are just putting a new spin on an old classic, not trying to outdo it, and they more or less clear the low bar they’ve set for themselves. It’ll give you a shiver in the theater, and be gone by the time you’re in the parking lot.