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.