Half in the Bag: The Exorcist: Believer

[@joshuasears4566]

I cheered when Father Exorcist said, "Somehow, Pazuzu has returned".

[@lukasketner]

The dead speak!

[@Scott_Silver]

I cheered when he said “It’s exorcisting time and exorcisted all over everyone

[@TimberlyT]

"You're an...exorcist?" Chris MacNeil: "Part-time."

[@TheDragonSmasher]

Also loved "They fly now! " when the girl levitates at the end

[@jakoporeeno4654]

This comment is one year old but... *breathes in* I CLAPPED WHEN I HEARD IT TOO!

[@Horrormaster13]

_"The guy who made those new Halloween sequels is about to make one to my movie, The Exorcist. That's right, my signature film is about to be extended by the man who made Pineapple Express. I don't want to be around when that happens. But if there's a spirit world, and I can come back, I plan to possess David Gordon Green and make his life a living hell."_ An actual quote from William Friedkin 😂

[@Eamonshort1]

Absolute fucking king. His dedication to art extends to the point where he was willing to die like 7 weeks before the film came out to fuck with DGG.

[@TrueBuddhaCat]

The man called it before he left this earth May William Fredkin haunt David Gordon Green and the rest of the numbnuts who thought this was a good idea

[@rihardsrozans6920]

Oh shit you're actually right if Ed Whitfield can be believed

[@rae-everything]

Is the only source World of Reel? I can't find another source, but I hope it's true lol.

[@koanikal]

I love Billy Friedkin RIP

[@mr.shorty7799]

All I can think of when she says 'the patriarchy' is the priest hurling himself out of the window to save her daughter.

[@rossz4898]

@magicschoolbussy1233 a straight white member of the patriarchy blissful unaware of his male privilege and how his actions contributed to the gender pay gap

[@mrpurple11]

That just tells u they throw the original ideas and characters motives to the thrash can

[@FinalBossWTMN]

Kinda like women whining about "the patriarchy" while living in and benefitting from a society literally built by and on the bodies of men

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@magicschoolbussy1233 Almost certainly would _not_ be damned, as he sacrificed his own life for the purpose of saving a child from the grips of a demon, all in the name of the lord. As he gave his life for a purpose (and a very good one), he's a martyr, and in older times he would have been recognized and revered as a saint.

[@jarrodhall3686]

The reason he did so was to assert his toxic masculinity in the most machismo action imaginable

[@kyneticfilms]

I love the part where she walks back into the millennium falcon and says “Pazuzu… we’re home!”

[@hannibalburgers477]

Pazuzu sounds like a little cartoonish alien name, like a Gremlin or sth. Why did they settled in such a ridiculous name? Demons names have aggressive sounding names generally, with like "KH" "ATH" "TAH" sounds. Malakath? Kathl? If you have hard time naming the demon, just call him Moloch, like in other stories and such.

[@m4tt.jpg22]

@@hannibalburgers477pazuzu was the name of the Sumerian god that possessed the girl in the first movie. In a lot of Christian doctrine demons are just gods from older religions posing as divine to get people to falsely believe them, so that’s why the demon is Sumerian

[@mapro3948]

@@m4tt.jpg22 "demons are just gods from older religions" - you mean vice versa, right?

[@jrus690]

@@m4tt.jpg22 When did you think to look up Pazuzu, and found out it was a Sumerian entity.

[@m4tt.jpg22]

@@jrus690I’m an antiquities major, I had to read a lot of near eastern mythology lmao

[@rockduded8925]

Holy shit that patriarchy line was so cringe. "Yeah, fuck those two guys who died saving my daughter!"

[@hope-cat4894]

Complaining about not being allowed into the room during an exorcism is like being upset the doctors won't allow you in the room during a surgery. That's not the patriarchy; it's a safety precaution! A parent could overreact to seeing their kid in pain and be too distracting for the procedure or lash out and attack the medical staff. How did no one think that line through?

[@cool_sword]

Just out of absolutely nowhere, too. It shocked me so much, I actually looked over at my second monitor to watch the movie

[@MadMike1]

@@hope-cat4894 Don't ask questions, just consume pandering writing and get excited for more pandering.

[@kubli365]

​@@MadMike1I feel so seen and validated!

[@blerksnarfgut2766]

When Father Karras first visits Regan in the original movie, Chris leads him upstairs but then stops at the end of the hallway leading to Regan's room because it's clear that she's frightened and traumatized. I always assumed she simply couldn't deal with witnessing the torture of her daughter anymore, and didn't want to get horribly assaulted herself again. In the novel she never stops going into her daughter's room, but, yeah. I think the movie was very effective at illustrating how immensely, indescribably disturbing the possession of a loved one would be.

[@MattCGL]

Not putting Rich's face into the "crash-cut-to-the-demon-face" bit was a major missed opportunity.

[@Lemon_Inspector]

The Mesopotamian death god Eloiscol

[@thepolarphantasm2319]

Dick the Undead Birthday Boy

[@stevenlannister184]

Agreed. I expect better from RLM. Unsubscribed

[@SonicBhima]

That's how you know it was an edited by Jay episode, Mike would never.

[@djole94hns]

You need to use his full name to ward off the demon known as Rich Evans, you messed up. Expect a visit.

[@alexdivision4320]

"it's going to take all of them" from the trailer is a hilarious line. Imagining religious leaders teaming up like a super hero team to banish a ghost is so stupid

[@Sh4dowFawx]

Catholic priest walks up to an Imam- "I'm putting together a team..."

[@WhiteMonster69]

So basically, a priest, an imam, and a rabbi walk into a bar…

[@PinballCollection]

The new religion cinematic universe (RCU)

[@markbelew1376]

Recruit more priests, more deacons!

[@phoebeaurum7113]

Satanist cult leader: Actually, Pazuzu is the good guy here.

[@nou1178]

I cried when the mother said "The true demons were the glass ceilings we smashed together" just before girl-bossing pazuzu to death

[@kraftytactics]

I clapped when I saw this

[@cluckendip]

i genuinely have no idea if this is a joke or not

[@weneedaladder8384]

​@@cluckendip"girl-bossing" is a bad way to word it. She kicks in the door, says if anyone is gonna save these girls it'll be her and not some man, kicks all the priests except for the vodou priestess out, and then tells pazuzu that she's had to deal with the patriarchy all her life and so she's seen more evil than Pazuzu can possibly imagine. Then she lights a scented candle and sprinkles essence of holy water on the girls and pazuzu just kinda leaves back to hell.

[@agent5333]

BRUH

[@sarosp9330]

​@weneedaladder8384 is that actually the ending....? My God, I couldn't write something dumber and more ham-fisted if I tried

[@voidmayonnaise]

My favorite part of The Exorcist: Believer is the Smash Mouth’s “I’m a Believer” dance party during the credits.

[@crazyralph6386]

“And I saw Pazuzu’s face…..now I’m a believer!”. 😂

[@hypno5690]

We didn't know how good we had it when Shrek came out

[@rihardsrozans6920]

​@@hypno5690I shit you not Shrek is the first movie I ever saw in a cinema and that's something I'm entirely proud of

[@Hemostat]

one of the girls is possessed by the smash mouth guy's ghost

[@Kidd724]

​@@HemostatMr. Mouth

[@DantheManIamIam]

Mike creating an action schlock Exorcist sequel on the spot and Jay interrupting to talk about an obscure rape/revenge movie starring a former child star is the most RLM moment of all time.

[@thefitnerd5116]

It's what we call magic.

[@matthewmishley8457]

If it's not broke don't fix it. RLM is playing 4D chess and we're all still playing checkers.

[@setsunaemblem]

I know what that is!

[@TheWeebinar]

Totally off topic but: Nice profile picture.

[@JeanMarceaux]

The only thing lacking is a Star Trek tangent that has virtually fuck all to do with the review.

[@mironkrage971]

Fact that they spent almost half a billion to buy the franchise and this is their first movie is the funniest shit ever, it brings me joy

[@shawklan27]

Never knew the franchise was this valuable to be bought for almost half a billion when everything but the original were utterly forgettable :/

[@ASSLEVANIA]

@@shawklan27have you seen the third film? That movie’s WAY better than it has any right to be. It’s got some truly UNforgettable lines and dialogue. I’ll agree with you on the prequel films being totally forgettable, but even the second one is truly memorable to me. Not good, but definitely not forgettable.

[@richardcahill1234]

​@@shawklan27Adjusted for inflation the original grossed over $2b.

[@iblard]

They still can resell those rights when the appropriate time arrives.

[@TrueBuddhaCat]

Really hope they kept that receipt because there is no way in the seven layers of hell they’ll be making a trilogy

[@AnAverageGoblin]

my favorite part was when all the religious figures gathered together and chanted "Evil dies tonight"

[@Korra228]

It's exorcizing time

[@elliethesmasher]

@@Korra228 when the power rangers showed up i pissed myself

[@Korra228]

@@elliethesmasher I clapped, I clapped when I saw it! I know what that is!

[@SuperHuscarl]

Lmao that actually would’ve made more sense than most of the dialogue in this movie

[@inspectortanzi]

Evil shits itself tonight!

[@piplup2009]

I wasn't expecting Tom Cruise to show up as a Scientologist exorcist throwing pennies at the possessed children.

[@MacaldaReye]

Underrated comment XD

[@curleyqreviews9793]

No medicines. Vitamins will help.

[@ToastyAvocado69]

@@curleyqreviews9793 and 4 hour sauna sessions

[@thrownstair]

I'm impressed they got a Pastafarian exorcist grating parmesan onto the girl's head, they really meant all religions.

[@afivey]

Tom Cruise levitated the material.

[@TheAtlasReview]

Honestly, the idea of every religion in the world trying to perform an exorcism on the same person would make a great comedy.

[@clottadams5028]

With at least a few religions on the side of the demon.

[@luckyspurs]

Mel Brooks must wish he was 30 years younger.

[@tweeeeeex]

It's like that scene in The Mummy where that guy Beni encounters Imhotep for the first time and starts pulling out every religious tchotchke he has in an attempt to repel him: funny and stupid at the same time. Executed right it could be a great laugh, but played straight it's just idiotic

[@TheGoodChap]

​@@luckyspursI was literally thinking that would 100% be a 30sec gag in like an Airplane style movie. I can visualize it perfectly

[@have_a_good_day420]

​@@luckyspursthat would only bring him down to 92.

[@FabulousResults]

I just rewatched Exorcist 3, so watching Mike come out with the shears did actually scare me at first. There's no telling how many elderly people he can take out with that kind of power.

[@rihardsrozans6920]

I think the only elderly person he can take out is himself with all the wine he downs every morning

[@C_Grusin]

“Alcoholics are sooo easy to possess.”

[@scottlette]

MIKE: After we finish with Red Letter Media? I think I’ll go work as a gardener. In a nursing home.

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

I watched Exorcist 3 last year so given that the memory is still fresh I watched the X-Files episode called Beyond the Sea with Brad Dourif as it was recommended in one of those reviews of the movie, in it Dourif is seen almost recreating his role as the Gemini, guy can act for sure.

[@ImortalZeus13]

Seeing mike enter frame with those shears made me fear for whatever remained of Jay’s foreskin.

[@mattwetmore3820]

"it's about family" will never stop being funny

[@WeWantBears]

And that's what's so important.

[@stephenpmurphy591]

Who's family ?

[@Lu-db1uf]

What?

[@szymonsobczak2307]

Exorcist x Fast&Furious crossover inbound

[@HubbardiumKing]

​@Lu-db1uf it's a reference to some cringe Star Wars Sequel marketing

[@TheBermudaMan]

The cuts between David Gordon Green's more idiotic movies and Max Von Sydow's increasingly agonized expressions were downright therapeutic.

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

I thought it was Friedkin

[@nunopereira6092]

​@@szymonlechdzieciolit was.

[@plasmasnake4774]

@@szymonlechdzieciolat the beginning it was clips of Jason Miller and Max Von Sydow in The Exorcist, for the rest of the video it was Friedkin clips

[@relicreturns]

It was masterful

[@novarat4089]

The idea of spiritual figures from various religions teaming up avengers-style to exorcise pazuzu is both the single dumbest and greatest mental image I've ever had

[@pablocasas5906]

It reminds me of a joke from Futurama when Fry went to a church that combined every religion into a single one

[@foreignpaul]

A badly beaten Imam hears "Behind you Captain" on his ear piece, and then a shitload of Priests and Rabbis come running in.

[@cassidydankochik3294]

Did I write a movie with that premise as a joke?

[@Lemon_Inspector]

Imagine they do this in the first 10 minutes of the movie. They try every ritual, but none of them do anything except one, empirically proving one religion to be objectively more correct than all others.

[@obscure.reference]

it’s like an idiotic action version of that scene from babylon five

[@movieanatomy4341]

I’m amazed how “it’s about family” still kills me every time they use it lmao

[@bencarlson4300]

Sadly, it’s now the thing I remember Carrie Fisher for, more than Leia even.

[@V742]

​@bencarlson4300 I thought it was referencing Fast and Furious? If it is something from Carrie Fisher, that's even sadder and funnier than I thought.

[@KomradeKrusher]

@@V742 it's both. It first came to notoriety trough F&F, but Fisher also said something along the lines of (one of) the SW prequels being about family, and that makes it so powerful.

[@EvangelionFan-ru7ri]

@@KomradeKrusherIt was “The Last Jedi” she said that about.

[@DontStopCornPop]

We're at the point where The Exorcist 2: The Heretic is no longer the worst sequel in the franchise.

[@DontStopCornPop]

@diomedes7971 Yeah I agree. Social commentary has always been a part of movies and books but it seems to be more transparent in modern movies. Hollywood writers seem to feel like they need to preach to the audience first instead of just writing a good story. Santa Inc from a few years ago is another example of this. It's sole purpose is to preach a message instead of being funny. The writers also feel like things need to be spelled out. Like when that line of dialogue about Jesus dying and ressurecting three days later being parallel to the girls disappearance, I genuinely felt insulted because I had already come to that conclusion on my own, and then the movie ruins it by making it clear and obvious. Stanley Kubrick or William Friedkin never would have just spelled something like that out. It ruins the fun of deep diving into movies when the answers are given to the audience on a silver platter. And then having all the different religions come together to fight the demon in some "Avengers" style confrontation was so fucking distracting and lame. I didn't know or care about any of them. There's only like 3 scenes with the catholic priest before he gets his head turned around, so the impact of that murder is totally lost. It's yawn inducing instead of shocking. I thought the crucifix through the eyes was a pretty good sequence but I already had very little investment in Chris McNiels character anyways, and she said many times she wasn't an exorcist herself so what the fuck was she even doing there? The first half of the movie was genuinely good but the last half was so fucking abysmal that I'm embarrassed that I let myself get hyped for this movie at all.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

I re-watched it the night after I watched Believer. They aren’t even comparable. 2 is just complete silliness that falls on its face at every turn. But! It’s TRYING. It wants to do something. Believer is nothing but a cynical, stupid, lazy, cash grab using a popular name. It’s far worse.

[@jamesmeow3039]

The Exorcist 2 gave me a headache

[@X_Leonhart]

We are living really sad times...

[@filmfangirls9163]

Now a horror parody is a better sequel than two that were made! Repossessed and Exorcist 3 are the only true sequels 😂

[@SMB291]

The line of dialogue about her not being in the room because of the patriachy is the most 2023 line ever. David Gordan Green and Danny McBride truly are geniuses

[@murrayroodbaard207]

That line should have been in a parody. Not a serious movie.

[@keithpl5438]

Even us Liberals hate that line. AOC is going to call for a boycott of that line. The WGA might even go on strike again because of that line!!

[@ManOutofTime913]

Cause men are always bad forever, even when they die to save your daughter.

[@benjaminasmus3980]

​@@keithpl5438 imma be real with you liberals love that shit. There's better leftist groups than the barely left of center party, I recommended you check them out.

[@johnweber4577]

@@murrayroodbaard207A long-awaited sequel to Repossessed. Lol

[@InaudibleSlinky]

I was hoping for a splice in of that scene from "The Mummy" where a character just starts cycling through different religious necklaces, saying different prayers, hoping to hit on the one that will work.

[@gatts13]

Ohhhh, that was such an amazing scene.

[@MsLambchop]

😂

[@theslydog59]

To be fair, he did hit the right religious necklace in the end and was spared by the mummy

[@mahler151]

It wasn't the religion that saved him though, it was because he could speak a language (Hebrew I think) the mummy found useful.

[@InaudibleSlinky]

@@mahler151 True, but he was speaking Hebrew because he was clutching at God Straws.

[@TheDutchViewer]

*On William Friedkin's passing, writer and film critic Ed Whitfield posted this on Twitter and Facebook : "William Friedkin once said to me, 'Ed, the guy who made those new Halloween sequels is about to make one to my movie, the Exorcist. That's right, my signature film is about to be extended by the man who made Pineapple Express. I don't want to be around when that happens. But if there's a spirit world, and I can come back, I plan to possess David Gordon Green and make his life a living hell.'"*

[@thefilmeffect6089]

William Friedkin was a madman. lol

[@aljen181]

What a bloody legend.

[@staomruel]

Serieus? Ik wil heel graag dat dit 100% klopt.

[@jahsehjoestar]

@@staomruelfucking spider language

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

@@staomruel William Friedkin staat bekent voor zijn ongefiltert opinies in interviews, en vaak is heeft hij helemaal gelijk. Dit lijkt een beetje te nauwkeurig, ik weet bijna zeker dat Friedkin nooit een suffe film net als Pineapple Express zou hebben gekeken.

[@_Ciaran_Maher]

It's amazing that David Gordon Green was more respectable when he made stoner comedies.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

As far as those go, Pineapple Express is a legitimately good movie. It’s certainly better than this.

[@SoaringTrumpet]

He was even more respectable in his early independent film days.

[@ramdom_assortment]

It's because he wants to kiss ass to Hollywood and have them respect him, thus putting in horrible dialogue.

[@libRteedude]

@@SoaringTrumpet I remember Roger Ebert having nothing but praise for Green when he was doing indie films like "George Washington" and "All the Real Girls", hailing him as a great new director. He likewise gave a positive review of "Pineapple Express", but said it should just be a light diversion and Green should focus on his dramatic films. By the time "The Sitter" and "Your Highness" came out, Ebert was basically saying, "What the hell did I see in you?"

[@irishmanrants89]

@@libRteedude At least he went back to those roots following those two stinkers. Stronger was a great movie, and I know a lot of people liked the Nic Cage movie Joe. Then he got stuck in soft reboot corporate hell

[@Cruarc]

The pictures of the white male directors, actors, and producers fading in while talking about the black lady oncologist using slave magic was priceless.😅

[@SanguineUltima]

*white 👃✡

[@Scaevola9449]

(((White)))

[@sabinela4621]

They're Jewish, smart guy

[@MsMvsc]

@@sabinela4621 you can be any race and jewish, smart guy

[@BR-re7oz]

@@MsMvsc judaism is literally an ethnicity not a religion. It's why they largely don't allow converts (only major elites like members of the Trump or Clinton family) and you have to take a DNA test to gain citizenship to Israel. And yea, all those hollywood big shots are jewish, not White.

[@Kobiedog31]

This reminds me of William Friedkin telling the story about the first screening for Exorcist 2, when the Warner Brother’s executives were chased out of the theatre by the audience after they proclaimed “the people that made this piece of shit are in this room!”

[@Sudo_Nimh]

God I wish we could bring that energy back

[@JamesBrown-sn6le]

The Exorcist: Believer is a sad example of the way cinema is cannibalizing itself in order to keep recycling known names for brand recognition. The sooner this era ends and a new one begins, the better.

[@rickeyuscg]

They will do the same they did to the Star Wars films. Intentionally destroy the franchise to kill the culture we grew up in.

[@lorecow88]

@rickeyuscg Yep, that's more or less it.

[@SnoopyReads]

October has become the dregs of yearly cinema releases with Saw sequels and this type of garbage to cash in on general audience's horror fetish

[@cheezyfilmsproductions1842]

​@@rickeyuscg Lol no. They aren't intentionally destroying the franchises, they just are idiots who don't know what the hell they're doing so they hire studio hacks who are clearly a terrible fit and then rush them along as quickly as they can so they can squeeze a little more juice out of the franchise they've already bled dry

[@SnoopyReads]

​@@rickeyuscgif Star Wars is your culture you're living a sad sad existence in a galaxy too close to home

[@kertsang2053]

They need to do a Scary Movie-esque parody with a priest, an imam, a rabbi, a buddhist monk, a voodoo priestess, a shinto priestess, and a scientologist trying to exorcise the girls while comically getting in each other's way.

A shame Leslie Nielson isn't with us to do it.

[@KonstantineMortis13]

And two Mormon missionaries who keep trying to give out books to everyone before being told to "fuck off".

[@kertsang2053]

@@KonstantineMortis13 Lol I forgot about the Mormons, yes throw them in there too.

[@tommyboy6]

I can almost see the whole movie being like a week long film where everyone shows up at the invitation of the parent who will pay whomever a "bounty" to get rid of the demon. So they all are intentionally fucking up each of their competitors efforts, but also trying to exorcise this girl. A "its a mad mad mad mad world" type of film with each religion just fighting over it would be funny. Itd even be better if the parent provided them lodgings to stay in and they all have to share 2 rooms, and commence bickering and bitching with each other

[@AsiaDanceScene]

​@He actually did do it in Repossessed.

[@jstarwars360]

If only Mr. Plinkett's VCR got as much love, care, and attention as Jay's hair.

[@hodun8]

So you're saying that "Lightning fast" vcr repair is hyperbole?

[@paulpsycho78]

​@@hodun8I'd say Jay is going more for the Kurt Cobain look , less of a hyper bowl haircut

[@DanArnets1492]

​@@paulpsycho78 - He's just getting ready to deepthroat a shotgun

[@ArizonanSummer]

I don’t think I’ve EVER been more excited for a RLM review

[@RaysTrains]

I needed this so bad today lol

[@mude_13]

Same but I say that literally every time they upload

[@lolotheobserver2696]

seriously, ive been waiting for this one

[@Bale4Bond]

Lie

[@MrBoyYankee]

*You said it!*

[@Happymoron11]

On William Friedkin's passing, writer and film critic Ed Whitfield posted this on Twitter (X) and Facebook: "William Friedkin once said to me, 'Ed, the guy who made those new Halloween sequels is about to make one to my movie, the Exorcist. That's right, my signature film is about to be extended by the man who made Pineapple Express. I don't want to be around when that happens. But if there's a spirit world, and I can come back, I plan to possess David Gordon Green and make his life a living hell.'"

[@lacolem1]

😂😂

[@shugaroony]

Friedkin was great.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

There’s so few people that that would even be a believable quote. He’s absolutely one of them. It’s his voice and everything. RIP to a real one.

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

If that happens, the Patriarchy wouldn't be able to save his ass.

[@tarkatantapir7287]

I petition for this multi-religious team of "Exorcist Avengers" to include a Satan-worshipper who tries to convince everyone that the possession shouldn't be stopped. Just make it 12 angry men Exorcist edition, the entire runtime is non stop arguing. No need for levitating chairs because our cast is gonna be throwing furniture each other debating whether a possessed girl needs Holy Water or Ayahuasca

[@xxSKAGhosTxx]

Then Thor shows up and it's a fuckin marvel tie in.

[@dr.juerdotitsgo5119]

You joke, but this sounds genuinely way more interesting than the actual movie. There has never been a more appropriate time than now for a resurgence of campy, schlocky, unhinged B-movies, but no one is doing it. Indie cinema is too preoccupied being artsy fartsy and up its own ass with social critique.

[@JeanMarceaux]

Then a priest walks in, carrying _A GUN WITH ONE BULLET_ and shoots the girl dead. The priest is limping and, for some reason, is entirely blue.

[@billc7480]

Hearing Jay say they made a good movie 50 years ago actually blew my mind a bit. It really has been 50 years wow...

[@reikun86]

Some places were placed the original last week to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Unfortunately it was the extended version or the “Version Never Seen.” I prefer the theatrical release.

[@OlCrunchy]

I can't be mad about that. Theatrical is better but extended isn't that much worse. What's great is the recent UHD release includes both

[@jonfro-mez]

​@@reikun86I really like some of the changes in 'the version you never saw' but some suck. I wish there was a third version that was the best of both.

[@hellfire5108]

Whoever managed to sold the rights for that price is a genius.

[@FaithfulofUltramar]

Gotta get the bag before you get that pad

[@taykitrleevitt4314]

The rest of the budget probably got invested in a seventies style calculator to run the latest A.I. software.

[@palchristianandersen9086]

Yeah. It's completely worthless. There's so many knock-offs with exorcism or exorcist in the title. They basically paid $400 mill for the "The" in The Exorcist.

[@bernarddoherty2303]

400 million

[@TheFeintOfHearts]

@@palchristianandersen9086Damn I’ve never seen someone write “the” three times in four words and have it make perfect grammatical sense before.

[@ThePsychoAnon]

Red letter media is contractually obligated to add “evil dies tonight!” into every video.😂

[@theslydog59]

EVIL DIES TONIGHT

[@Beardfascade]

That's what's so powerful about it @@TheClevelandSteamer

[@Danjoker.]

ELVIS DIES TONIGHT

[@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r]

Its amazing how David Gordon Green was given the reigns to two of the best horror franchises around and ruined both of them in such a short span of time.

[@mrpurple11]

Which one was the other?

[@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r]

@@mrpurple11 Halloween lol

[@DoodooSwaggy]

I didn’t like his first one in 2018. Too safe. Kills is so silly that it’s almost endearing. Almost. Ends, however, I genuinely liked. It gave me hope for this Exorcist movie. I feel quite silly. This is a loathsome, idiotic movie.

[@mrpurple11]

@@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r oh..didn't realise he was the same guy🤦🏻‍♀️

[@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r]

@@DoodooSwaggy Ends wasn't that great tbh. Doing that some artsy fartsy film as an end to a trilogy with Michael and Laurie's final battle built up just made no sense

[@jackelewish1568]

Mike is right.. pick any religion and a specific demon, tell the lore .. it can be any one you want! But make a choice and write a good story.

[@thefilmeffect6089]

It would be interesting to see another religion’s version of possession, demons, hell etc. They decided to make the religious avengers assemble instead.

[@lookoutforchris]

@@thefilmeffect6089Jamaican Exorcist is Predator 2.

[@mememachine-386]

I like the idea of each religion interpreting a demon differently, but you have to keep the true nature of the demon a mystery for it to actually be cool.

[@Tiberius_Productions]

I would love to see an Exorcist film that adheres strictly to a different religion; but it needs to do so respectfully and from the perspective of an outsider/non-believer being forced to put their faith in said religion to save the day. The best part of the original Exorcist was that Chris MacNeil wasn’t a catholic and was forced to put her faith in it because she’d exhausted all other options.

[@shack8110]

NO! We are liberals trying to impress our liberal California millionaire friends! F off with your "interesting writing", and scary scenes, and character arcs.

[@GoatgutsRecords]

I love when Mike is sober enough to do his voice of what he thinks a happy person sounds like

[@mendelovitch]

Timepoint, please?

[@kingtastytv]

Jay holding a glass of wine and talking about The Exorcist is him at his film-snobbiest

[@dmendez77]

My new favorite part of RLM reviews is when Mike goes off on a tangent where he improvises a schlock version of whatever soulless corporate crap product they’re discussing. They’re hilarious and infinitely more creative than the actual movies being made nowadays.

[@ReservoirPunk]

It's hilarious that Mike winging a silly idea on the spot is somehow more imaginative and creative than the actual movie they're reviewing

[@yurifairy2969]

@@ReservoirPunk because silly and creative = expensive safe, boring, shitty = cheap

[@jocelynastheart2732]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Ryhan_Beard]

Mark Kermode had a pretty spot-on take about this: it's a movie made by people who've seen the original film, but haven't SEEN the original film.

[@hobbyhorse5848]

It’s a movie made by people who LOVED repossessed

[@paulinegallagher7821]

Lol He was so ready to rant Simon put an 8 minute timer on him to get it out of his system, and he really went for it.

[@mabusestestament]

Mark Kermode also thinks that The Exorcist is the greatest movie ever made.

[@JohnnyZenith]

They listened to it but they didn't HEAR it.

[@paulinegallagher7821]

@@mabusestestament He made the award winning 25th anniversary documentary The Fear of God: The Making of the Exorcist, so yes, hes had a love affair with this film since he first saw it, whenever that was. Its his benchmark for how all movies should be made, especially psychological thrillers or horrors.

[@lolotheobserver2696]

I love how these episodes always turn into Mike and Jay coming up with a million better ideas than whatever it is they watched

[@oneinathousand2156]

Mike’s off-handed idea about one of the girls killing most of her family while her dad is blamed for it and arrested sounds like something that would be unique and shocking to see if it were done well.

[@ManOutofTime913]

Cause studios always play it safe with IPs so they can play to the widest possible demographic. They come up with more interesting ideas by thinking of how to turn the premise into a good story rather than one that's going to appeal to everyone.

[@SeenGod]

i’d like to see some little animated shorts of those ideas 😂

[@lolotheobserver2696]

@@SeenGod hell yeah, I hope we get some more of those Spitballs episodes soon, the one for Speed 4 was great. "it's so fast it skipped right past 3" 😂

[@paralysisbyanalysis2287]

The theatrical cut of "The Exorcist" still rings true because its Christian writer truly believed in the spiritual struggle, but the director was cynical enough to end the film on a realistic tone. Blatty wanted the film to close with the priest and the detective having an upbeat final conversation, which I believe you see in the early 2000's cut. On the other hand, Friedkin chose to end with the priest looking down at the fatal stairwell with the boarded-up windows behind him, and eventually, fading to black. Friedkin's gut-punch of a final scene was more appropriate for the ongoing battle between good and evil. Many will be become casualties on the battlefield, and even more will grow weary. Just as good will always triumph, evil will always leave its scars.

[@rossdawgsbrokenspirit9038]

Evil will triumph because good is dumb

[@canderoussnurd4265]

God that was a brilliant break down my dude. Please tell me you have a KZbin channel or at the very least have some kind of blog. You hit the nail on the head perfectly with no wasted words.

[@momox001]

​@@rossdawgsbrokenspirit9038 girl, you should be called pizza cutter since you all edge and no point 😂

[@turbostrike1632]

@@rossdawgsbrokenspirit9038 Ow, the edge.

[@derkeheath5172]

Blatty might have "truly believed in the spiritual struggle", but one of the most brilliant things about the novel (as opposed to the movie) is that every single thing that happens has a medical/scientific explanation, letting the reader decide whether it's a possession or severe mental illness. No ridiculous 360 degree head spin in the novel either - just the head turned at a very extreme angle.

[@MisHarmony]

My favorite part of this new Exorcist is when one of the minor religious figures picks up a cross and says “I have GOT to get me one of these!!”

[@old_ben7473]

Priest to demon “Welcome to Erff!”

[@tanner201x8]

Tangled reference

[@vskane]

Mike describing an image of the police busting in on a bunch of cultists dancing around two little girls tied to chairs may be the funniest thing I’ve heard all year.

[@whatsup4825]

It would have made the film far more interesting, and an extension of Detective Kinderman closing in on Regan during her exorcism.

[@dannyfain3961]

Time stamp?

[@territorialtea747]

That was jay

[@dumcumpster]

​@@dannyfain3961about 36:00

[@MusicoftheDamned]

​@@dannyfain3961The context starts at 35:50, but the "what if" is at 36:10.

[@PatricksCrazyPlace]

"I'm seeing double here. FOUR PAZUZUS!" That line made me laugh way harder than it should have, lol.

[@takerdust]

"Picard, how many Pazuzus do you see?"

[@MarkKlingman]

Jay has brought much joy to this old Italian stereotype

[@jocelynastheart2732]

🤣

[@luckyspurs]

It's crazy how many people in their 30s get that reference. From a random episode in the mid-90s.

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

​@@luckyspursnot a random episode though, one of the best ones.

[@WeeabossVA]

The fact that Ellyn Burstyn never witnessed the exorcism from the first movie, yet decided to become a self-appointed expert of exorcisms is hilarious. If she was actually there to see what happened, she'd know that the the exorcism didn't do jack-shit, same result as what happened in this movie. I guess the power of love wasn't enough to protect your eyeballs. 🤔

[@hobbyhorse5848]

I almost laughed out loud when the demon started throwing hands. I guess the exorcists in the first movie were lucky that Pazoozoo didn’t have a shiv on hand

[@WeeabossVA]

@@hobbyhorse5848 Pazuzu was just pimp-slapping everyone. 😂 But fr tho, the disturbing aspect/centural theme of these movies is that the exorcisms never work against the demons. It's only through self-sacrifice that they can be expelled (the spirit of Christ compelling them in a way). But this sequel completely missed the core tenet of what makes these films so resonating. That and a multi-religion exorcism is one of the stupidest ideas I've ever seen put to film.

[@hobbyhorse5848]

@@WeeabossVA You could feasibly, if you give a f, make a film about exorcism that’s not Catholic. For me I’ve always wanted to see a good film exploring Jewish exorcism. But you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen, if everything works…then why does nothing work? Because the demon literally banished a little girl to be tortured in a shrillex music video for all eternity.

[@uniqueness35fanofimginatio73]

I kinda dig how, in the show, she was kinda selfish and used what happened to help support both of em, and this caused a wedge between her and Regan. Idk, I just enjoy when they do interesting brings with the characters and take risks, and I feel the first season of the show did that without feeling cheap.

[@WeeabossVA]

@@hobbyhorse5848 It's something that could work, if Blumhouse cared as stated. Thing is, it's handled so poorly in Believer with them throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. Something tells me the narrative they're going for is that Pazuzu (or whoever this demon is now because it's confirmed to not be the same demon from the OG) is just using the girls as bait to get Regan out of hiding, because they... want her still as an old lady for some reason. It's the same problem the Halloween trilogy had.

[@designatedred]

Makes me 100% happy a game like FAITH exists, as that seems to have captured everything frightening from the original Exorcist and more.

[@JormunB]

MORTIS

[@electricfishfan]

A FRANCHISE WITH ONE PREMISE

[@AnAverageGoblin]

faith is boring and relies on loud crunchy sounds being scary for anything to work. but yeah its good.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@electricfishfan At least the Faith games were relatively inexpensive and aren't all that long.

[@guilhermehank4938]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine And the rotoscope animation was legit pretty engaging and unique to create an atmosphere that feels retro but also realistic.

[@stvbrsn]

“She wasn’t in the room in ‘The Exorcist’ because *she’s not an exorcist!”* I don’t quite know why, but this might become my favorite thing Jay has ever said. And I like pretty much everything Jay says.

[@Duke00008]

My step mom is a producer who worked on a bunch of movies back in the day (worked on interview with a vampire and others) primarily just on commercials now and even she admits they absolutely have those conversations about casting

[@haleymist09]

Oh wow that must've been so interesting!

[@Luneland]

She must have some wild stories. Share I you can. Must be so interesting

[@benjaminperez7328]

@@jackflash8218 Tom was fantastic as Lestat. They should have kept him going and did all the Anne Rice books.

[@SmashBrosBrawl]

The most terrifying part of this movie is they expected you to take it seriously

[@DanArnets1492]

For me it's that it got made, that over 100 people agreed to commit to this garbage

[@DoodooSwaggy]

@@DanArnets1492 It’s truly puzzling that so many presumably sane people watched this and said “let’s put it out!”

[@DanArnets1492]

@@DoodooSwaggy - It's what kills me with every major shitty movie. It takes a lot of people, a lot of managers too, to say "0k". Does 99% of Hollywood just do as they're told and never raise a hand even if shyly?

[@jazz-a-lopium8090]

@@DanArnets1492 Movies are too expensive. Seems riddled with grifters, too... Bad Robot? (all of em, they're awful, like on a moral/existential level) Hack Snyder? (just really, REALLY doesn't even understand his own movies, and I think if you include the multiple $300+ million movies which exist SOLELY to 'apologise' for how bad BvS was, that BvS is likely the biggest budget movie ever made, certainly the biggest budget z-list movie ever made), Alex Kurtzman? (so bad, he's on this list twice, once solo, once as part of the 'band'). Thankfully, I don't believe any of em'll work again, but who knows?

[@PerkolatorTheTerminator]

To be fair, it was mildly entertaining to imagine Pazuzu saying “Your dick, my mouth” “Just punch the tip and twist it” or “it was me, I sharted.” So at least there’s that lol.

[@themajesticamericanwoodcoc1951]

Thank god the strike is over so that Hollywood writers can get pack to giving us scripts like this one!

[@Paul_Revered]

I think it was worth the 400 million dollars for the rights to call the movie "The Exorcist" instead of something like "The Exorcism of Suzie" and to play the piano music that was in the original for 12 seconds

[@Johnny0lovely69]

Shit it would've been easier to just buy the music rights

[@mabusestestament]

That music is Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. I come across it all the time in second hand stores where they also happen to sell vinyl. It was already an existing record before The Exorcist, but it was the movie that made it a huge seller. It’s worth a listen, well the first 11 minutes or so are, the whole piece is the entire LP.

[@bigmicro]

pazuzie

[@bigmicro]

idk i didnt watcg it

[@ManOutofTime913]

The Exorcist Episode V: Hell Strikes Back.

[@georgerogers2120]

"I wasn't in their little patriarchy." Two things I think about this line are 1) It is very obviously written by a bunch of guys who don't really understand the concept of patriarchy, and 2) It kinda absolutely shits on the relationship between Chris and Fathers Karras.

[@hughjass311]

the catholic church openly refers to their leadership as a patriarchy because it literally is one though

[@jbode11]

It’s absolutely idiotic. Hard to believe D Gordon Green has even read the novel

[@cameleopard42]

What concept? It's exactly how that buzzword is intended to be used.

[@georgerogers2120]

@@cameleopard42 What an honor to have one of the writers for The Exorcist: Believer replying to one of my comments. Kinda.

[@spinlok3943]

Its like, did they even WATCH the original movie?

[@drangc0bex119]

My favorite part was at the end when Vin Diesel came out and said it’s not about faith…. it’s about family.

[@curiositycloset2359]

Mine was when the priest walked in and said "It's exorsisting time!".

[@drangc0bex119]

@@curiositycloset2359 That was a great scene I really loved how he exorcised all over the place

[@curiositycloset2359]

@@drangc0bex119 it truely is a golden age for movies right now.

[@lookoutforchris]

@@curiositycloset2359I high fived my bros when the Rock punched Pazuzu in the nuts.

[@takerdust]

@@curiositycloset2359 Mine was when I heard: "Who you gonna call?" "EXORCISTS!"

[@hothotheat3000]

Reagan hugging the priest is a genuinely moving moment.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

It certainly is. There’s more than a few really powerful moments in that film. Chris crying to Karras and screaming “Jesus Christ, won’t somebody help me?” has choked me up more than once. I’ve never felt a more real moment of parental despair in a movie.

[@coldestbeer]

Ronald Reagan

[@hector-sauvage]

​@@DoodooSwaggyFather Merrin holding Regan's hand as he restarts the exorcism is another low key emotional moment that I always enjoy. He separates the girl from the monster.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

@@hector-sauvage For sure, good call. How he just kinda casually moves the puke off his hand and keeps going is great.

[@sciencefantastic]

Just the fact that Karras selflessly sacrifices himself to save Reagan is moving in its way

[@MrTables]

David Gordon Green is the big claim to fame from my film school. He came to the school a few years back and even showed Halloween Kills before its release. They haven’t invited him back since…

[@PoeInTheDitch]

Yeah. Your school might not want to mention Green in their marketing.

[@Progger11]

If DGG is the caliber of filmmaker your film school churns out, you might want to think about transferring. Pronto.

[@baller302]

​@@Progger11to be fair DGG had some good films early on.. i dont know how he dropped the ball this bad, could be studio interference but man...

[@obscure.reference]

@@baller302 sold his soul to danny mcbride

[@MrTables]

@@Progger11 Lol, they've got some better indie names like Jeff Nichols and such, hell even David Gordon Green didn't start out too bad with films like George Washington being pretty fantastic but uh… he definitely lost the narrative

[@Dhips.]

Jay having a black cat named after an Exorcist character is the least surprising fact I didn't know, but could have assumed.

[@Norgorber]

He's posted her quite a bit on Twitter over the years, along with his other cat, which is cute.

[@luckyspurs]

Almost doesn't feel obscure enough.

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

​@@luckyspursyeah one would think he would name his pets after some obscure italian horror movie.

[@luckyspurs]

​@@g.sergiusfidenas6650 A bit of Jay died when Rich mispronounced Giallo on Best of the Worst.

[@howzyerfather]

Jay wasn't inspired by HP Lovecraft to name his cat?

[@Trowa71]

It's like that old saying, "Art is meant to comfort the comfortable and disturb nobody or else it won't make as much money"

[@jeremyfraga5235]

The slow dissolve at 17:27 when speaking on "slave voodoo" written by an all white writing team was spot on PERFECT.

[@EndlessFunctionality]

*all jewish

[@jamesjameson4566]

Who gives a fck who writes it

[@papabzzt9353]

Did you mean to say Jewish?

[@thisdudegotreal]

No... he didnt. The whiteness in this context is whats relevant.....

[@papabzzt9353]

@@thisdudegotreal Jewish much?

[@retro1sheet925]

Constantine really reinforces what you guys are nailing on the inclusivity critique. One of the coolest scenes in the flick ... John cycling through all the religious medallions to figure out how to combat a very specific demon. So cool. If it came out after this it almost would feel like the scene was there to make fun of it.

[@chriscasperson5927]

Beni did it in _The Mummy._

[@rihardsrozans6920]

​@@chriscasperson5927Cool how you can just unlock a memory like that. I swear that has happened elsewhere, pretty sure some vampire movie maybe?

[@ashleylatour7644]

Pratchett kinda pulls that move in his novel Carpe Jugulum. The vampires condition themselves to be immune to religious symbols, but something reverts them and they can't stop finding and seeing religious symbols because of how they conditioned themselves (its been a while, but that's the dumb version lol)

[@Kidd724]

​@@rihardsrozans6920John Carpenter's Vampires, sort of

[@BioYuGi]

@@rihardsrozans6920 A book I used to love called 'Peeps' had an interesting take on this, treating vampirism a lot more like a parasite. The idea was that if you were infected, you grew to disdain and hate things you once loved, so classic 'vampires' all feared crosses because it started in the time and place where Catholicism was huge, but in modern day, it requires the protagonist to basically learn about the people, so he can weaken them with like, Elvis songs or their old stuffed animals.

[@NicWeyand]

I saw the trailer before Oppenheimer on 70mm, and had never experienced a crowd reaction like that before. The first part of the trailer was genuinely intriguing, then the jump scare bits began to happen with little laughs here and there scattered throughout the audience. When the title came on screen, the whole audience laughed, loudly.

[@SnoopyReads]

Sure they did chump

[@bencarlson4300]

I witnessed a similar reaction. The audience for Oppenheimer is generally the polar opposite of the audience for dumb horror jumpscare simulators.

[@toyotatacoma1616]

One screening had a woman audibly yell “What? Why?” as the trailer ended.

[@ThisUsernameSystemF-ckingSucks]

​@@toyotatacoma1616shes cool af lmao

[@infiniteevil27]

When the trailer played before Oppenheimer in imax, it was so fucking loud. When the trailer ended, everyone in the theater started chatting, probably because they also got their ears blown out.

[@brandonspain12345]

Fun fact: On Ed Whitfield's Twitter/Facebook post, he revealed that William Friedkin asked him, 'Ed, the guy who made those new Halloween sequels is about to make one to my movie, the Exorcist? That's right, my signature film is about to be extended by the man who made Pineapple Express. I don't want to be around when that happens. But if there's a spirit world, and I can come back, I plan to possess David Gordon Green and make his life a living hell." And shortly after the first trailer came out, William Friedkin died. Which further proves that this movie was a curse. Good riddance.

[@sarahnagy9300]

When I was in college I wrote a paper on exorcism for an anthropology class (the full Catholic exorcism rite was available in PDF on the Vatican’s website). For that paper I interviewed the priest at my church, who told me that the only people who ever came asking him for exorcisms (which happened on occasion - he did not provide them) were Protestants. There was an idea, strengthened by the popularity of The Exorcist, that exorcism must be something *only* Catholic priests could do. I always found that pretty interesting.

[@berserkasaurusrex4233]

In the actual case the Exorcist is based on, the Lutheran minister to the parents/child recommended they find a Catholic priest, since Lutherans don't really have an exorcist type tradition or any of the similar concepts some evangelicals have. So it sort of makes sense, I guess.

[@AzayBae]

That is an interesting fact. I suppose they are the only denomination that has formal exorcist training? I wonder if its only due to the "marketing" from the Exorcist 😂

[@hebanker3372]

@@AzayBae It goes deeper than that. Old school Christians(Catholics, Orthodox, Copts etc.) have a cultivated bibliography regarding demonology and sainthood, stretching over centuries. Most information about demons and saints lie outside the Bible and Protestants discard anything that is not biblical. So it makes for Protestants not being capable of going toe to toe with something that does not appear in the Bible.

[@lankeymarlon]

Jay keeps drinking the horrible wine and Mike doesn't touch it again after his first taste. There's a metaphor in there somewhere.

[@luckyspurs]

That Mike doesn't want to waste his alcoholism on bad wine.

[@XerafCZ]

They should have made it scientology exorcist and a space demon. Then they could cast Tom Cruise as a level 8 exorcist

[@jackothelantern]

A scientology exorcism would be such a good concept for a comedy, by showing how fucking insane the actual religion part of that cult is.

[@negima1276]

Ah yes, Danny McBride. The Actor well known for his horror writing ability…

[@GrrmPleaseWrite]

Well, he’s well-known for it, just probably not in the way he wants to be

[@luckyspurs]

Does Your Highness count as horror?

[@GrrmPleaseWrite]

@@luckyspurs yeah, that came out during the tail end of the torture porn trend

[@jonesy6354]

You mean that guy who wrote the second best Halloween film!?

[@quantize]

@@jonesy6354 no

[@SilkNeon]

A possessed wrestler is such a good idea for one of these movies, actually. Could have the same “exhaust every option” kind of thing, but it’s about the theater of wrestling, where it slowly dawns on everyone that it’s real.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Ooh, that'd be a fun premise. _"Hey, you ever noticed he doesn't break kayfabe anymore?"_ You could have him go too far with stunts and stuff, there's so much potential here.

[@mrpurple11]

Part of me got hopeful this could be a very fun movie lol

[@philipsalama8083]

So basically Chris Benoit but he's killing people because of demons rather than CTE?

[@rascoehunter3608]

A big buff guy getting possessed would be an interesting idea. It's something different besides the usual average build adult or child getting possessed. It would provide a more physical threat to the protagonists. Just imagine if the big buff guy was a family person. And his loved ones would try to find a way too take him down without severely hurting or killing the guy. But would have hard time since everyone else is smaller. And demon would just brute force through everything.

[@rudeboyjohn3483]

​@@rascoehunter3608 that's some good writing.... Hollywood will definitely not be interested lol

[@gamma626]

Okay, let's be honest: demons possessing wrestlers at a wrestling arena sounds like an AWESOME episode of Ash Vs Evil Dead. Like Ash has to fight the possessed Evil Dead Rock? Give it to me yesterday please.

[@EarlGreigh]

Mike is my favorite expert on Catholic demons.

[@RegularCupOfJoe]

@@xp7575 M'ke is his written name.

[@ixobile09]

@@xp7575.

[@have_a_good_day420]

Demons are my favorite catholic experts on Mike.

[@AtomicVertigo_Comics]

experts are my favorite catholic mikes on demons.

[@KellogsR-ny7ug]

Mine is the pizza roll I got from Milwaukee UPS It tasted great but I swear it told me to dig up an entire cemetery for organ harvesting

[@4gillman]

Having a movie about an Exorcism where every religion is equally true is like having a movie about a man who needs a heart transplant and just gets his condition fixed by a chiropractor.

[@nicholasvinen]

And Chinese herbal medicine, and voodoo, and homoeopathy...

[@ForeverLaxx]

There's a battle anime where all the gods of each religion exist and talk to each other about how they're going to erase humanity from the planet (again) and start over, even going so far as to mention the most well-known instances of this happening by the different religions and how it never seemed to work. They just play it straight, like of course all these gods exist; it's the people who worship them that think only their specific gods exist. It's kinda funny, though many of the character designs fall into the "overdesigned anime character" category that doesn't really fit the mythos they belong to.

[@nicholasbarber8531]

Yeah. If the people who made this actually gave two cruds about the diversity through religion angle, it would be about either an exorcism conducted by a different religion entirely. Or You have **one** other religion that comes in, because this demon is shared between their two religions. Perhaps an Inam if they want to take a risk, or a Rabbi if they don't. Then have a clash between their personalities, with them realizing that they have to find common truth and strength between their faiths if they want to be able to triumph. Maybe draw a parallel between that and how secular people stubbornly refuse to accept a spiritual explanation at any costs. After all, initially these guys refuse to accept that the other could be following a valid religion, and they have to have **faith** in each other's beliefs in order to succeed, just like how the secular parent has to have faith in them.

[@MusicoftheDamned]

I want to agree, but I think this metaphor--well, simile--doesn't work all the way since it's *not* the "every religion is equally true" part that's really the main problem with this movie. It's more that, as Mike and you bring up, why even bother focusing on an *exorcism* (beyond brand naming obviously) if every potential religious methodology would be effective against that particular supernatual entity? It not only breaks the in-universe rules, but also retroactively breaks the first movie by making the priests' sacrifices pretty pointless on multiple levels. Hell, I think you could make a decently interesting movie or at least story out of "this unknown supernatural force possesses someone. An excorism is tried. The 'demon' plays along for a while...only for it to turn out to *not* being working at all because it doesn't play by those particular rules despite exorcisms working on some other demons. ...Well, shit. Rest of plot is finding its weakness." At the very least, outside of literal deus ex machina where the plot is resolved by like a random incarnation of Shiva walking by and slapping the demon out of the person or something, that still seems a better movie than one where the end message seems to be "maybe the real religion was the friends we made along the way". (All this while said movie also supposedly has relatively few stakes but still manages to send a seemingly innocent girl to Hell almost solely because her father is an asshole. Guess they really wanted to channel _Hell Girl_ or _Drag Me to Hell_ too.)

[@StevenErnest]

​@@ForeverLaxxWhat's the name of that anime?

[@xDARTHxWENISx]

What's more insulting? Not dedicating Exorcist: Believer to William Friedkin in the credits? Or DEDICATING Exorcist: Believer to William Friedkin in the credits?

[@luiginastro8831]

Making the movie in the first place

[@folkdude01]

Yes.

[@AlyssonGuimaraes-bl8nj]

it would be more disrespectful if they did

[@Melody_Raventress]

Both.

[@nou1178]

I'd say the latter

[@Dommifax]

I think the problem isn't _just_ that they try to be as statistically inclusive as possible, but that they replace the creative process with it, thinking they won't have to go through the hassle of coming up with something good if they instead do this.

[@journeyman2682]

They didn't even bother with the hassle of watching the hit original movie that spawned the franchise they paid all that money for judging by the movie they made.

[@alwaysxnever]

That is the thing. I love diversity and inclusion and telling more stories. But you get literally a buck of white dudes to give us the most corporate shoulder shrugging version doing the bare minimum for the actual script and story.

[@EndlessFunctionality]

​@@alwaysxnever*jewish dudes

[@codinghusky5196]

This. If they went full on blackinization100% black black black, returned to Haiti and had a voudun priestess jazzinate the demon and show a battle between her and the evil vodoun priestesses who planted the demon inside the child pre birth, that'd have been woke af, black as night, but also new, different and, if executed correctly, COOL. I mean, at this point, I'm avoiding movies with a lead who's not a white man because I KNOW they'll be crap.

[@kilo1012]

What's extra galling about that line is that she IS in the room in the book! Not just her but Sharon and Willie! She's the first who voluntarily leaves the room. So it makes perfect sense for them to streamline that in the movie.

[@lowserver2]

woke hollywood is so cringe i swear, also its really funny, to see that line pushed by an all white rich liberal men producers and writers@@asdadsgsaadasf6043

[@JohannesSkolaude]

Funny that a fact that proves her Point is used against her. Guess reality is Just a Game.

[@Dracon7601]

@@asdadsgsaadasf6043 Like normally, I don't like people going on about virtue signaling but in this case there's no better phrase for it.

[@redadamearth]

It's like a movie made by people who've HEARD of "The Exorcist" and then decided to make a sequel to a film they've never actually seen. It was ridiculous. I expected it to be bad, but I was honestly stunned how bad it actually was. While "The Exorcist" never even needed a sequel, Blatty's "Exorcist 3" is the only "sequel" to the original film that works - because it's not really a sequel, at all but a companion piece to the original that's just as solidly written, paced, directed and performed. "Believer" is just embarrassing.

[@luckyspurs]

Someone really needs to tell people that Aliens being amazing was a one-off. That adding more of the thing there was 1 of in the first film, never works, outside of that movie.

[@Hugsloth]

"FROM THE PRODUCERS WHO SAW [THE EXORCIST]"

[@timflint25]

I hope everyone appreciates what great interviews William Friedken gave. He truly did not care about anyone's opinion. I'll never forget what he said to Nicolas Winding Refn 😅

[@hercfactory32]

I always love when they get bored and just spitball more funny ideas when trashing shit, their ideas are always worth a laugh.

[@jamesmurray4062]

You'd love podcasts. Tim Dillon, Dan Soder, Nick Mullen and Jay Oakerson do that better than anyone.

[@stevesmith9447]

I grew up Catholic in Saint Louis, and one of the priests who was there for the actual exorcism was a non-teaching resident at my high school. Everybody knew to just kind of leave him alone, and the only thing anybody knew for sure is that he refused to talk about it with anybody, ever. Who knows what happened in that room, but it fucked him up for life, whatever it was.

[@12ealDealOfficial]

I live in GA and my best friend's coworker was an ex-priest. This guy had my friend pick him up for work for half a year. One day, the priest invited him and his girl over for dinner. While they were visiting, my friend had to use the bathroom while the one near the kitchen was occupied, so the priest directed him to the guest room bathroom, but told him "don't ask about what you see inside." My buddy went into the guest room, which was completely empty, save for a single wooden chair and a huge mirror. The chair had three straight legs and one that was curled like a horn.

[@woodykrummenacher5847]

I mean this unironically as a curious, fellow, raised-Catholic St. Louisian, where’d you go to high school?

[@stevesmith9447]

@@woodykrummenacher5847 Lol! Thank you for the clarification that you're not just making fun of the StL high school trope. ;) I'd rather not say, not out of privacy, but out of embarrassment. I picked it because they offered a small scholarship and my parents weren't shy even when I was in grade school (Mount Providence) about how much of a financial burden my education was. I will say that my early-career coworkers who went to SLU scoffed at me for going to "West."

[@joemama-ks9ty]

Wasn't the exorcised kid a know prankster? Wtf did that kid do to these poor dudes.

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

"Hey remember that famous movie? Well we're here to throw it under the bus because it's old and stupid" - Every damn movie in the last 10 years.

[@hypno5690]

Every remake really does look at the camera and go "isn't this old shit stupid haha, we're in on the joke" for people who didn't like the original in the first place. I hate irreverence.

[@ManOutofTime913]

And they were such better films than the beloved originals that they've basically all been forgotten about.

[@jigglypuff3311]

​@@hypno5690top down destruction of culture they tear down anything good we make, because we are not allowed to make good things, only purchase the things we are told is good from those who have the most money to begin with

[@cogsworther1639]

Okay, but the concept of an exorcism getting accused of being a cult is an *genius* idea because the authorities would be such sympathetic antagonists. A beat cop or EMS team can't be expected to buy some random guy's story about "demons" and "possession" It would also lead into much better themes about community and faith because the people lacking faith or impeding community action wouldn't just be dumb, villainous, or villainously dumb

[@L_O_V_E_L_A_I_N]

Reminds me of The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It's a film about a priest who performs an exorcism in which the supposedly possessed girl ends up dying (she was diagnosed with epilepsy or something) and is on trial for her death. Haven't seen it in ages but I remember it being pretty good.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

I don’t hate this.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

@@L_O_V_E_L_A_I_N It’s an okay movie, but it’s a masterpiece compared to this nonsense.

[@heyheyhey33351]

There was no way an Exorcist sequel would follow the themes of Exorcist III, but goddamn, I wish it did. I hope Blatty was proud of the fact that he wrote and directed an incredibly unique film.

[@TheChadTI]

That figure that storms across the hallway. Lost my mud.

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

​@@TheChadTIBlatty was a natural it seems, insane to think he only directed two movies, that damn hallway scene and its endless feints, now that's an earned scare.

[@luckyspurs]

@@TheChadTI Up there with Hitchcock's change of camera angle to above when Martin Balsam's reaching the top of the stairs.

[@hafirenggayuda]

Exorcist 3 is really one of a kind. It feels more like a thriller detective story (like Silence of the Lambs or Seven) than exorcism.

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

​@@hafirenggayudaor Angel Heart, those movies that mix horror with other genre, when in the hands of competent people, end being awesome movies.

[@vinnyethanol]

I'm really enjoying Jay's partial attempt at Snake Plissken cosplay

[@Joorum]

Movie-making today: "Can't do this, can't do that. Has to have this, has to have that." Welcome back, Hays Code!

[@hiddenstaircase1634]

The Korean movie The Wailing was an exorcism/possession movie that incorporated more than one religious system in an interesting way. Crucially: It made sense for the characters and the context. Not tacked on for any crowd-testing reasons. Phenomenal movie.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

I love that movie.

[@matheusmoura6787]

Amazing movie.

[@88more33]

Jay is finally learning having something you loved so much be defiled and warped so blatantly and shamelessly doesn't feel very good.

[@Levi_Skardsen]

Star Trek, my beloved. 😢

[@Zer0Hour17]

And yet he’s still praising what they did to Luke.

[@owenmahan2854]

@@Zer0Hour17What they did with Luke was interesting though…

[@obscure.reference]

@@Zer0Hour17i mean luke being a normal jedi master in the sequels would make the whole return of the empire make zero sense. he would simply defeat them. and they need to make him a hermit so that he’s like obi wan. the only actual flaw with it is the kylo ren scene, like the guy who redeemed vader nonviolently is going to try to kill a child who hasn’t even tried being evil? that’s wrong forsure. but the idea of luke losing faith in general isn’t too flawed.

[@Robb1977]

@@owenmahan2854 i totally think luke going from excited and naive kid, to tempered but untried jedi in the OT was good, and then taking him post-trial and jumping a few generations? itd make sense he became jaded when things didnt actually get much better. i think the whole "this artificial division thing is whats ruining us as a society" is a fine message for a movie like star wars to have. its the safe take that "evil empires are bad" is, and its the take of the OT. having luke suggest "dont let the rules be your undoing" would/is interesting. But that doesnt mean the movies are good.

[@ejbalshan]

I like the part where the mother decides to just relax and chill with a demon she personally knows has killed two people.

[@kaijusoshingeki7214]

She had to be a girl boss and face the demon alone to go against The Patriarchy and got both of her eyes stabbed out.

[@DoodooSwaggy]

And what was she trying to accomplish? She would know better than anyone that there was nothing she could do to help in that situation. They made it seem like she just wanted the confrontation, or to try an exorcism herself. It’s complete nonsense. Ellen Burstyn deserved so much better.

[@jneilson7568]

Just wondering. Is that sneakily undermining the girlboss schtick? It's always when they build up as a big fight then immediately get shown why maybe they should've listened to the guy's advice for a very good reason.

[@reikun86]

I still don't know for sure if Pazuzu killed Father Merrin or his heart gave out.

[@reikun86]

@@jneilson7568 Now that you think of it, that might have been an F.U. to girl bosses...especially after that whole patriarchy line.

[@PatrickMaliha]

Wait a minute… TWO girls get possessed?! Why, that means that this movie has to be at least twice as good as the original!! 😂😂😂

[@worf7271]

That's the power of math, people!

[@mabusestestament]

Yep, that’s how it works 👍

[@mabusestestament]

Imagine how many times better Aliens is compared to Alien!

[@chuckmendez8446]

Two girls one Pazuzu

[@mrlaz9011]

not even AI writing is THIS lazy.

[@greg6500]

Linda Blair brings out that "How to get revenge" tape, "Dont worry boys, I have just what we need"

[@ramonoski]

"We got credit cards in Pazuzu's name from each bank in the country and we're going to run him into crippling debt."

[@christianxaron]

So nice for the editor to cut the part where Mike opens the bottle at 2:25 since it probably took poor Mikey 45 minutes to open it and we don't have to watch an old man struggle for that long. He deserves a raise.

[@imp2247]

Doesn't Mike do the editing?

[@christianxaron]

@@imp2247 idk it's a joke man

[@imp2247]

@@christianxaron oh shit.

[@caesarsalad77]

The thought of an Episcopalian exorcism is hilarious on a baffling level to me.

[@msh5270]

My grandfather was one of the producers of Abby! I always held out hope it’d find its way into BOTW.

[@derworfnet]

In case some of you haven't heard it yet: Last Month, Green stepped down from the planned Sequel, _The Exorcist: Deciever._ Shortly thereafter, the movie was removed from the release schedule. Oof.

[@asparrowwithamachinegun7886]

I can’t wait for David Gordon Green’s Rosemary's Grandbaby trilogy.

[@rocketforthree4479]

I always love it Mike suddenly pitches an idea for the funniest horror premises.

[@CoreyGIvey]

Regarding the 180 and 360 neck turns in the original Exorcist, Merrin states in the 3rd act that the demon is "a liar and deceiver". The neck turns were illusions by the demon to terrify those that witnessed them.

[@MrCaseySasaki]

That's neat! It also adds to my appreciation of the first film, that you can add 2 and 2 to get 4 like that. Unfortunately, most films operate like a game of 'telephone'. What people remember most is what gets brought back for sequels/remakes, instead of anything interesting or subtle that you actually had to stop and think about. People remember the neck twist scene but not that line you're talking about.

[@johnnhoj6749]

Maybe, but an audience sees a literal head turn. Unless it is explicitly flagged as being an illusion then they take it as being an actual happening in the world of the story. That sounds simplistic, but it doesn't make it not true.

[@kuribayashi84]

Geez, at least _Exorcist 2_ *tried* to do something different, approach the premise from another angle and stuff. And it has a great Ennio Morricone-Score, so there is that.

[@starryscar22]

Seeing Mike and Jay drinking wine always feels weirdly cursed to me. Like seeing a cat playing ping-pong, it’s just not right

[@paulinegallagher7821]

Or a fish driving a car. This isnt right, I dont belong here.

[@Levi_Skardsen]

Cats can play ping-pong if they want. Stop oppressing them.

[@FearMonarch]

It only feels weird that it's not in a haunted mansion in their own hometown of Milwaukee

[@rihardsrozans6920]

Two guys drinking wine? Yikes, That's Mike and Gay

[@MikeDingDong10]

The Avengers style team up of various religious leaders in the final third was astounding bit of film making.

[@Garsons-oq4lh]

The Exorcist and Jaws sure spawned an endless and at times regrettable cycle in the film world.

[@bencarlson4300]

They both have had better fates as franchises than most. The Jaws sequels are at least fun (especially 2, but 4 is The Room levels of fun) and Exorcist 3 is fantastic. If they still make that Exorcist trilogy and if they rebootquel Jaws… that would be bad

[@iost5459]

@@bencarlson4300 I’m holding out for a jaws prequel directed by Spielberg with Williams out of retirement.

[@jukeboxfandango]

Don't forget Halloween and Night of the Living Dead

[@tomsnowden6201]

@@iost5459lol why a prequel?

[@jukeboxfandango]

@@tomsnowden6201 - we need to explore the motivations of the shark and learn that he was abused by his father, who was a Great White Supremacist

[@teearr7018]

I'm surprised they didn't point out that after randomly possessing the girls, the demon's whole plan was just "we'll kill one of them!" before unpossessing the other and going away. There wasn't even a real finish to the exorcism!