Having seen the response to his Halloween do-over nosedive after back-to-back disappointments, David Gordon Green could really do with The Exorcist: Believer being a massive critical and commercial smash, especially considering it’s also being positioned as the start of a legacy trilogy.
Unfortunately, the project has been plagued by bad buzz ever since early test screenings reportedly began, with even the most ardent supporters of supernatural terror and demonic possession lowering their expectations as a result. For anybody hoping it was nothing but unfounded speculation and hearsay, though, the first wave of reactions to have landed online don’t paint an encouraging picture.
If that wasn’t enough, a conspiracy theory has emerged claiming that Rotten Tomatoes has deliberately and intentionally sabotaged the score of the classic 1973 original to knock it down a peg or two, thus ensuring Believer ends up much closer to its legendary forebear than it otherwise would. It sounds ridiculous, and there’s plenty of folks weighing in on an associated Reddit thread perpetuating that belief, but recent developments surrounding The Exorcist on the aggregation site have been nothing if not curious.
In the last week alone, 76 new reviews have been added to the collection, with 23 of them deciding that William Friedkin’s seminal masterpiece that destroyed the box office, secured Academy Awards glory, and embedded itself in popular culture forevermore should be designated as Rotten.
As a result, The Exorcist has seen its cumulative approval rating whittled down by 10 whole points from 88 to 78 percent, but it’s entirely up to you if you want to believe there’s sabotage afoot to try and paint Believer in a better light.
Published: Oct 4, 2023 02:33 am