The Exorcist is back

Half a century after the terrifying movie that changed the horror genre, the sequel, Believer, hits the big screens today.

Exactly 50 years ago, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. Now, 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 13 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 O’Neill), 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.

For the first time since the 1973 film, Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn reprises her iconic role as Chris MacNeil, an actress who has been forever altered by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades before.

The film also stars Emmy Award winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale, Hereditary) as Ann, Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and three-time Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles (Harriet, The Righteous Gemstones) and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon, Bloodline) as Miranda and Tony, the parents of Katherine.

The cast includes Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time) as Pastor Don Revans, Okwi Okpokwasili (Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Doctor Beehibe, Danny McCarthy (Somebody Somewhere) as Stuart, E.J. Bonnila (Gemini Man) as Father Maddox, Tracey (On Ten) as Sorenne Fielding and Celeste Olivia (We Own This City) as Detective Konick.

When The Exorcist, based on the best-selling book by William Peter Blatty, was released, it changed the culture forever, obliterating box-office records and earning 10 Academy Award nominations, becoming the first horror film ever nominated for Best Picture. 

The Exorcist: Believer is directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray) & David Gordon Green, from a story by Scott Teems (Halloween Kills) & Danny McBride (Halloween trilogy) & David Gordon Green.

The film is produced by Jason Blum p.g.a. for Blumhouse and by David Robinson p.g.a. and James G. Robinson for Morgan Creek Entertainment.