John Carpenter Loved HALLOWEEN KILLS But Doesn't Understand How "You Can Screw Up" THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

John Carpenter Loved HALLOWEEN KILLS But Doesn't Understand How "You Can Screw Up" THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

Legendary filmmaker John Carpenter has revealed that he was very happy with David Gordon Green's Halloween movies, but doesn't understand how the director "screwed up" The Exorcist: Believer...

By MarkCassidy - Oct 12, 2023 08:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Horror

Legendary director John Carpenter (The Thing, Halloween, The Fog) was not involved with bringing The Exorcist: Believer to the screen, but he did have an executive producing credit on the recent Halloween legacy sequel trilogy, which was also helmed and co-written by David Gordon Green.

So, which did Carpenter think of Green's (so-called) direct sequel to William Friedkin's horror classic?

Well, he hasn't seen it yet - but he does have an opinion on the critical mauling the movie has received since it arrived in theatres last Friday.

"I like what David did when he made the three Halloweens," Carpenter tells The LA Times (via FearHQ.com). "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."

It's worth noting that the reviews for the final two Halloween movies - Kills, especially - weren't that much better, but perhaps Carpenter was simply told not to bother with Believer by someone whose opinion he trusts!

When asked if he does plan to see Believer, Carpenter gave his... unique perspective on Barbie.

"I don’t go out. I haven’t been to a movie in a while, but I see them at my house. I’ll see it there. I watched Barbie. I can’t believe I watched Barbie. It’s just not my generation. I had nothing to do with Barbie dolls. I didn’t know who Allan was. I mean, I can sum it up. She says, 'I don’t have a vagina,' and then at the end, 'I’m going to go to a gynecologist!' That’s the movie to me. I mean, there’s a patriarchy business in there, but I missed that whole thing. Right over my head. But I think she’s fabulous, Margot Robbie."

Did you go to see The Exorcist: Believer on the big screen, or did the reviews put you off? Drop us a comment down below.

"Exactly 50 years ago this fall, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. Now, on Friday, October 13, a new chapter begins. From Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green, who shattered the status quo with their resurrection of the Halloween franchise, comes The Exorcist: Believer.

Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil."

The Exorcist: Believer also stars Ann Dowd as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.

The movie is now in theaters, with sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver, currently scheduled to arrive on April 18, 2025.

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Vigor
Vigor - 10/12/2023, 8:49 AM
I hear the strike never ended and persists
Yikes
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 10/12/2023, 8:51 AM
@Vigor - Which strike? The Writer's strike? That's the only one that was supposedly ending, right?
Vigor
Vigor - 10/12/2023, 9:19 AM
@CorndogBurglar - yep. The SAG-AFTRA
Supposedly execs walked away from the table. No deal was signed
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 10/12/2023, 11:18 AM
@Vigor - Right, but you're talking about the actor's guild strike. Not the writers. That deal is done I thought.
TheShape9859
TheShape9859 - 10/12/2023, 1:33 PM
@Vigor - there are two different strikes. The WGA and SAG. The WGA strike is over, SAG will continue. It's not that hard to understand
Vigor
Vigor - 10/12/2023, 1:42 PM
@TheShape9859 - I knew something wasn't right. I wish they would just rename them to writers, actors, etc lol
TheShape9859
TheShape9859 - 10/13/2023, 4:33 AM
@Vigor - they literally are: Writers Guild Association and Screen Actors Guild
Vigor
Vigor - 10/13/2023, 7:02 AM
@TheShape9859 - lol!!
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 10/12/2023, 8:53 AM
Has anyone actually watched this new Exorcist movie? I know the trailers looked bad, and people are ripping it apart, but I'd like tk hear from someone around here that actually saw it.
marvel72
marvel72 - 10/12/2023, 9:29 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I don't think anyone has,it was never going to be as good as the original.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 10/12/2023, 9:48 AM
@CorndogBurglar - Having seen the trailers that made it look like a bad B movie and having seen the director's previous film. I Saw a review from redlettermedia so don't read further unless you don't mind spoilers. They have the mum from the original film explain to us that the reason why she wasn't in the room while the priest's were trying to safe her daughter was not because it was their job, not because of the risks, not because her character was experiencing a test of faith but really as it turned out, it was in fact the patriarchy that kept her out of that room. That should be all the info you need to decide to skip it, unless you like rewriting actual classic films to appeal to Twitter.
thedrudo
thedrudo - 10/12/2023, 11:00 AM
@CorndogBurglar - It was alright. First 40ish minutes kind of lured me and had me thinking I was in for something kind of new.

Then it just hits familiar beats and really, there's only so much you can do with an exorcism movie. I honestly can't imagine how they plan on doing two more of these. I still dug Leslie Odom Jr as the lead and DGG shoots his movies pretty well so there are a couple of positives.

CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 10/12/2023, 11:14 AM
@HashTagSwagg - Oh boy....
AliX
AliX - 10/12/2023, 12:31 PM
@CorndogBurglar - I got a free tkt and I still want a refund, that movie was trash... And I LOVED Halloween Kills... Glad to know JC loves it to!
TheShape9859
TheShape9859 - 10/12/2023, 1:34 PM
@HashTagSwagg - trying to SAVE* her daughter
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 10/12/2023, 2:05 PM
@TheShape9859 - ........I have a lisp.
TheShape9859
TheShape9859 - 10/13/2023, 4:36 AM
@HashTagSwagg - oh, well that explains everything
IronDean2099
IronDean2099 - 10/16/2023, 7:15 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I did and it's really not good. There's a couple of decent ideas in there, but it's basically the worst case scenario of what a legacy sequel can be.
BobGarlen
BobGarlen - 10/12/2023, 9:02 AM
I'd love to see John Carpenter do an Exorcist movie. It's been a while since he's been behind the camera of anything notable and this could be a great opportunity for him.
DudeGuy
DudeGuy - 10/12/2023, 9:49 AM
@BobGarlen - Prince Of Darkness is as close as you’ll get. Great movie. Alice Cooper has a cool short role in it too.
thedrudo
thedrudo - 10/12/2023, 11:01 AM
@DudeGuy - So so good. One of my favorite JC's. So many things creep me out.
BobGarlen
BobGarlen - 10/12/2023, 11:16 AM
@DudeGuy - Fair, excellent point.
marvel72
marvel72 - 10/12/2023, 2:50 PM
@DudeGuy - Never seen it how would you rate it against John's other classics.

1st The Thing
2nd Halloween
3rd Escape From New York
4th The Fog
IronSpider101
IronSpider101 - 10/12/2023, 5:07 PM
@BobGarlen - He was once an inch away from directing Exorcist 3. Got hired for the job, but eventually stepped down and let Blatty direct it because he could tell the man wanted to.
BobGarlen
BobGarlen - 10/12/2023, 5:25 PM
@IronSpider101 - It was the right call.
Saga
Saga - 10/12/2023, 9:14 AM
Glad he liked Barbie!
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 10/12/2023, 10:01 AM
@Saga - Don't think he liked it, he said it went over his head and he didn't care for barbies in his days. Only thing he liked was Margot Robbie's performance.
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 10/12/2023, 9:24 AM
Kills was a fun film. Had terrible moments but it was the ultimate Michael going HAM film💪🖖🔥


Ends was gutter trash and Believer was a garbage soulless turd.





DDG might be trying to turn his horror films into comedies?🤔
ReverseFlasher
ReverseFlasher - 10/12/2023, 9:36 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - yeah the ending of kills was debatable but it had some great stuff leading up to that, including michael going HAM lol… prob my favorite of the new trilogy.
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 10/12/2023, 9:49 AM
@ReverseFlasher -


2018 for me was better overall but Michael in kills was amazing. Everyone was an NPC and Michael knew what time it is💪🤣.


Every character in kills was borderline retarded and Michael took advantage of that🥲
DudeGuy
DudeGuy - 10/12/2023, 9:51 AM
Carpenter is the man. I agree I enjoyed Kills too. Sure it’s not the best Halloween movie (4 is my favorite) but people pretending it’s the worst are on some more powerful stuff than I am. There are more insulting entries in the Halloween franchise.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 10/12/2023, 9:53 AM
Even if the new Halloween trilogy had been consistently well written, I can't understand how anyone thought David Gordon Green was a good fit. Halloween is a stalk n' slash movie with supernatural elements. The Exorcist is a psychological horror with deep-seated religiosity. The latter needs strong, well-rounded characters going thru torment. The original Exorcist was also siege genre. The siege was for Regan MacNeil's soul, perpetrated by evil/the devil. It's success didn't depend on elaborate sets (granted some were more elaborate than is obvious) or extended action sequences. It does require solid acting and faultless tone. No amount of OTT special effects or over-blown set-pieces are going to make it work.
thedrudo
thedrudo - 10/12/2023, 10:23 AM
I love JC so much and respect his opinion but it’s not good to be ripping things he hasn’t seen!

And I’m in the minority of people who really dug what DGG did with his Halloween trilogy. I get the complaints but respect the heck out or Ends because of the massive swing they took to make it different.
SheepishOne
SheepishOne - 10/12/2023, 11:05 AM
I liked Halloween '18, loved Kills, and Ends might just be my favorite Halloween movie after the original.

I have a lot of confidence in DGG, and hearing that Believer is divisive makes me a bit hopeful (horror is a genre that lives completely separate from reviews for me). That said, of all the franchises to do a "legacy sequel" for, I don't think The Exorcist is one that needed it. I'd be more interested in DGG's take on Nightmare on Elm Street, personally.

I'm still planning to catch Believer in theaters before the end of the month. So we'll see how accurate these reviews are.
Nightmare
Nightmare - 10/12/2023, 11:23 AM
I thought Kills was dumb, not as much of a headache as Ends tho. Universal is definitely kicking themselves for dropping 400 mil on exorcist rights. DGG should be kept far away from legendary horror IPs.
JayLemle
JayLemle - 10/12/2023, 11:29 AM
It's easy to f*ck up the Exorcist. Because..... WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH IT? Number 2 was terrible. Number 3 was cool... when it came out. It didn't age very well at all. I don't think there's much creatively left to add to this franchise. Since THAT PERSON came back, that's all they'd have left to squeeze out story-wise.
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