"Body and the blood."
Universal Pictures (via FearHQ.com) has released the first trailer for The Exorcist: Believer, and while we're not sure how well it's going to go over with fans of the original, it does at least make some attempt to recapture the atmosphere and palpable sense of dread of William Friedkin's horror masterpiece.
The movie will feature the return of Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, who is called in to help when two young girls (played by Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum) are found after a suspected kidnapping in a state of "synchronized possession."
"Her character ended up becoming fascinated by exorcism and studying the rites and rituals of possession throughout culture," Green says of MacNeil's life following the terrifying events of Friedkin's film. "[She] became a bit of an expert. Not an exorcist herself, but renowned for the books that she's written."
Is this the same demon that took hold of Chris's daughter Regan in the first film, Pazuzu? The entity certainly appears to recognize her, but we know from experience that these hellish beings will "mix lies with the truth" as part of their psychological attack.
Check out the trailer below along with a new synopsis, and let us know what you think.
"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 set to hit theaters on October 13, with a sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver, arriving on April 18, 2025.