Next March, Academy Award nominee Scarlett Johansson fronts The Exorcist: Martyrs, an unsettling new chapter in one of the most storied titles in cinema history from genre auteur Mike Flanagan, the creator of acclaimed series The Haunting of Hill House, The Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass, and Carrie, as well as the films Doctor Sleep, The Life of Chuck, Hush, and Gerald's Game.
With a filmmaker so well-versed in horror at the helm—and a stellar A-list cast—expectations are high. Now, following last month's teaser trailer, we have some additional insights courtesy of a test screening report from Trailer Crypt (via FearHQ.com).
Warning that "casual horror fans need to brace themselves," the site promises that The Exorcist: Martyrs is no mere cash-grab; instead, it's hailed as "a complete, ground-up reinvention that sounds like Se7en collided headfirst with a demonic possession story."
It's said that the dynamic between Johansson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Laurence Fishburne "grounds" the movie, ensuring "what could have been a messy lore-dump" is instead a "tight, character-driven procedural where the stakes feel incredibly personal."
The report adds that the movie's atmosphere sets it apart from the less well-received Exorcist movies, with a soundtrack that has a "distinct, suffocating auditory identity" and "gorgeous, unsettling" cinematography. Crucially, The Exorcist: Martyrs is terrifying, with a focus more on tension than cheap jump scares.
"One source even noted the tension was so thick that the person sitting next to them was brought to tears out of sheer fear," writes the site, later describing it as "one of the scariest movies ever made." Jacobi Jupe and Hamish Linklater also receive a lot of praise for their work.
In terms of The Exorcist: Martyrs' runtime, this test screening reportedly came in around the 2 hours and 20 minutes mark, and all signs are currently pointing to this movie being one to keep an eye on in 2027.
This is just one test screening report, of course, and it reads a little like official marketing at times. However, with Flanagan writing and directing, it's not remotely hard to believe that he's done right by The Exorcist, especially after he recently put an exciting new spin on the world of Carrie with the Prime Video TV series.
Thirteen years ago, New York City detective Julie Miller (Scarlett Johansson) ended the terror reign of satanic serial killer Father Sunday. The case made her a hero, and she has thrown herself into her work ever since. Now a new killer scrawls her name in an altar boy’s blood on the walls of a church crypt, dragging her back into the darkness she believed she had buried with him.
Aided by former prison chaplain Father William (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who heard Father Sunday’s final confession, and sharp rookie detective Gina Restrepo (Sasha Calle), Detective Miller will discover a filament linking a lineage of serial killers, from H.H. Holmes to the Zodiac, that could corrupt everything, and everyone, she loves with an evil that goes well beyond the mortal.
The cast also includes Academy Award nominee Diane Lane as Mary, Detective Miller’s mother, who has moved in with her to help raise her grandson Max (Jacobi Jupe); Actor Award winner Scoot McNairy as paroled convict Clay Silver; Emmy winner Gil Bellows as Peter Nicks, a former acolyte of Father Sunday; Laurence Fishburne as revered priest Father Nichol; and John Leguizamo as Father Sunday.
The Exorcist: Martyrs is written and directed by Mike Flanagan, based on characters created by William Peter Blatty. The movie arrives in theaters on March 12.