This film came out at the beginning of January 2024, and from the original trailer it had my interest. The overall idea of a haunted body of water is not original, but condensed into a pool, does seem original to my memory. This post will not be a complete breakdown of the film, only a brief summary.
***SPOILER FREE***
The first trailer is what originally caught my interest, and the best part about it was that it gave nothing away only the general idea of the plot. A family moves into a house that has a pool, and at some point during its use people are almost got by something. The cinematography and sound design was good. The characters all acted believable so the writing, or at least the acting was good. The creature design, which you do see a little of in the trailer is eh. I think a lot more could have been done with this movie, but it is a decent film.
Verdict: 3/5
***SPOILER WARNING***
Now you might be wondering: “Operator, why did you put the second trailer in the spoiler section?” You would be justified for asking. The second trailer virtually gives away the entire movie. The son encounters the ghost daughter who was sacrificed, to the water spirit (?), by her mom who was a previous owner. The daughter nearly gets got by the entity. The parents are oblivious until The Mom (current owner) notices her son acting odd. After being told that weird stuff happened and doing a bit of research she seeks out the previous owner mom only to realize that what happened to her is happening to her husband. That is why you see him freaking out. Also, the demon, or water spirit, or whatever it is gets the cat Cider.
Why do I not know what this entity is? Because the film never tells us and current owner mom does not look into it beyond the ton of people who have gone missing. This, the discovery and establishment of the antagonist, is lacking. I feel that more time should have been given to the mom to research because in the end they just fill in the pool. Does this “defeat” the demon, spirit, djinn, etc.? Does it even confine it to their pool? After all, the pool guy states that the whole area was known for healing springs. Who knows?, Probably not even the writer. The villain is there and conquered easily enough. Accept that it must be paid regardless of whose wish it grants.
About the only thing the trailer does not give away is the ending. The dad, Captain America, who is the recipient of a wish and therefore has his health restored, sacrifices himself to save his son.
The world building is pretty good except for the massive gapping hole where we should have learned who and/or what the antagonist is. I saw this film in theaters and paid $24.00 including popcorn and drink. It is available on Amazon for $30! I think someone is greatly overestimating the demand for this movie. I might have paid $30 if it were in Imax, but not to watch it in my house.
When I first saw the original The Exorcist (1973) during my high school years 2005-2009 I did not appreciate the impact it had on some. My dad admitted it gave him nightmares. I wish I could have see it through his eyes. Having rewatched the original in preparation for this review, the difference in quality is noticeable. That being said, while this 2023 movie did get one jump scare in on me, I cannot say it is terribly scary. So, lets get into The Exorcist: Believer.
***SPOILER FREE***
The movie is boring. The cinematography is well done, the music is fine, and the acting kind of falls short in places. The characters are almost nonexistent in that there is only one, Mr. Fielding. The story is an interesting one of fate, choice, love, regret, faith, and family. Too bad that the film only illuminates these ideas about as well as flashlight with a dying battery. It is a sequel to the original 1973 film and you will find some lines of dialog and at least one shot tying the two together.
Overall, if you want to watch a good exorcist movie, watch the original or The Pope’s Exorcist (2023). Don’t get me wrong, it could always be worse, but it could have been better.
Verdict: 2.6/5
***SPOILER WARNING***
The story is about two teen girls who, like in the original, are dabbling with what could be perceived as witchcraft. In this case Mr. Fielding’s daughter is trying to communicate with her deceased mother — using a pendulum? So you can use pendulums in spirit communication, but what the girls describe is not something as mundane as pendulum work but full on channeling, so I am not sure why they have a pendulum. Anyway, they sneak off to the woods, as you do, to perform their “ritual” ( I am putting that in quotes not because they call it that but because I am calling it that). They awake three days later having missing time. After they go missing the parents are introduced and we meet the other not characters. Everyone in this story except for Mr. Fielding is a foil strictly speaking regardless of what the writer/director/executive producer David Green intended. The West family is basically a caricature of the picture perfect “Christian” family. The dad is pretty much introduced as a dick and never really redeems himself, except maybe a little at the end and even that is walked back. The mom is quiet and submissive as I suspect some stereotype Christian women to be.
Once it is established that this is not a medical problem the story quickly shifts to full blown supernatural mode. Remember in the original film when the mom spent a lot of the movie trying to find a medical answer, and established characters as people who could help? It gave depth to the world as even psychiatry was looked down upon by the doctors, but here it is all, as Nick Fury puts it, “black girl magic!” Don’t get me wrong magic is magic no matter whose culture it comes from, but every Christian person and every Christian action taken or presented in this movie is weak, impotent, and second rate to the root magic of Dr. Beehibe. Oh, and I wouldn’t wan to forget to mention Ellen Burstyn reprising her role as Chris MacNeil except that she shows up just long enough to have her eyes stabbed out and does not contribute anything of substance except to complain about the patriarchy.
Moving on, the who diverse community of non-characters and Mr. Fielding come together for an exorcist. You have Mr. and Mrs. West, their pastor, generic Christian friend, Dr. Beehibe, and random nurse neighbor. A priest does eventually show up only to get his head spun 90 degrees which the special effects did looked pretty good. By the end however, a choice must be made: They must choose the form of the destructor, no wait that was a better movie… They must choose which girl to save. Like in Ghostbusters the decision is left up to the first person to speak up, and like the bad guy in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade they chose poorly. Funny thing actually, there is no choice. Mr. Fielding’s daughter received a prenatal blessing (more black girl magic) and Mr. West’s daughter had not been baptized, it is the West daughter who is sacrificed on the proverbial alter of “white Christians bad.” Does the film say this? Not explicitly, but every man who is a foil in this movie are depicted as weak, ineffectual, overbearing, tone deaf, or irresolute. Every woman and person of color is shown as selfless, in-charge, and willing to do whatever is necessary to storm the gates of Hell and fight evil incarnate.
Mr. Fielding, who presumably having lost his faith at the beginning of the film after loosing his wife, comes full circle and believes once again. He lovingly embraces his daughter while the West’s daughter is drug to hell. Unfortunately however, we are left guessing as the nature of Mr. Fielding’s faith at the beginning of the film as it is not shown and only brought up in a throw away line of dialog.
With that said, it is not a bad movie, but it was not worth seeing in the cinema. If you want to see it, I would rent it.
So, the new Ghostbusters’ trailer: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire (2024) dropped last week and it has a lot of people excited. Let’s take a look at what is in it.
It opens on some summer scenes in New York City first seeing Lady Liberty which has been returned to her pedistol from Ghostbusters 2, and ending up on the beach while heat wave warnings play in the background. At the beach an ominous cloud with lightning draws to the coast as ice sickles sprout from the sand prompting everyone to flee. This freezing continues right up the the doors of the firehouse. Cut to Ecto 1 doing a hand brake turn, probably on a different day. Next we get variatable smorgasbord of scenses that almost flash by laying out the overall plot. There is a spirit who employs the “Death Chill” where they can literally scare people to death. These scenes take us to several new locations and at least one familiar to Ghostbusters fans, the New York Library. As with the overall look, I feel it is in keeping with the Ghostbusters aesthetic and feel.
We also get shown the cast of the film. Many of the favorites are reprising their roles. Obviously the original cast are coming back as well as the main cast from Afterlife. Furthermore, we will be seeing Janine Melnitz and Walter Peck return. The new additions are characters played by Patton Oswald, James Acaster, and Kumail Nanjiani. Their character names have not been revealed. Also possibly shown is a look at the film’s antagonist. There are some shots of a ghostly tall figure with blue eyes near the end of the trailer, but I am refering to blue devilish figure who is seen attaching one of his horns as the antagonist. I do not feel they are one and the same.
As a trailer, it introduces us to the cast and does not give away the plot while still hinting at a major mechanic of the story.
Now let’s look even closer.
***Possible Spoilers Ahead***
IMdB has this plot summary: “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.”
With that in mind, what do I think of the trailer? I am hopeful, and as much as I am excited about the prospects of a new Ghostbusters, I have some reservations. Lets breakdown what actually is in this trailer.
The first 40 seconds are the build up to the plot drop and presumably the antigonist’s introduction as it makes landfall.
As the dark onimous clouds stake their claim over the city and as a procession of ice sickles strong enough to skewer a taxi make their way to Ghostbuster’s HQ, I am left wondering why would an entity need to scare people to death when it could impale everyone with ice. And another thing, who would not be scared of freezing to death? I am not sure they thought this out.
The Ecto 1 shot looks good with lights and siren blaring.
Next we see: • Pheobe standing probably in the firehouse next to the pole possibly covered in frozen slime (we are pretty sure the slime blowers will be making a return); James Acaster, Trevor, and Luck standing around; • 2 Figures: 1 frozen mid-reach and the other standing in front of the reaching person. Some have speculated that it is a flashback since the decor looks reminiscent of a previous decade. Maybe, the shot is not well lit so it is hard to tell. Whatever happened, the reaching person might have been trying to stop the other from something as opposed to fleeing. We do not get to see the second person, but it might be Callie as she is in the next shot and the outline of her hair is similar; Callie Spangler in the firehouse turning around; • A door slowy freezing and then bursting as a dark cloud envelopes what appears to be an apartment; • Pheobe and Podcast look pensivly at something as she asks “What is it?” • In the same scene we see Kumail’s character and cut back to Phoebe and Podcast this time in a wider shot to show Ray standing next to them who explains it is the death chill, it is “the power to kill by fear itself”; • We see some mist issue from a crack in the wall or maybe a door, and retract quickly; • There is a shot of Gary; • We see Winston and Peter suited up in the firehouse; • A lion statue roars at someone, possibly Ray (I am basing this ID off of the jean jacket so don’t hold me to it); • Probably the lead up the the final battle where the doors to the firehouse fly open and ice sickles sprout as the ground splits separating the floor of the firehouse in two and causing damage to the containment unit in the basement; • Lucky standing in a dark room possibly a lab of some sort slightly reminiscent of the lab Egon had in Afterlife; • A blue devil looking entity attaching both of its horns to its head; • James shining a flashlight in the new Ghostbusters’ parka; • Gary, Callie, and Pheobe pose while looking throuhg what might be a window, maybe from the second floor of the firehouse, all are suited up; • Ray, Patton, Podcast, and Pheobe getting into an elevator and the look on Patton’s face… I don’t know what he is trying to emote, but it is just ridiculous. Is the elevator door really that heavy? I am assuming this scene is just before the one with Ray, Podcast, and Phoebe where Ray explains the death chill; • Kumail and maybe Lucky entering a guilded room seemingly hidden behind the wall of a cupboard, possibly in the same apartment with the frozen door; • Lucky gets frozen by the death chill; • Callie and Gary standing around; • Another scene with Patton and probably Phoebe, maybe in the library after the elevator; • Trevor blasting a proton pack, but in normal clothing; • Title drop • A possible shadowy glimpse of the antagonist presumably after the floor of the firehouse had been split and the doors ripped off; and • Trevor, Callie, Gary, and Pheobe standing on the roof maybe of the firehouse all suited up possibly during the final battle. Note they are wearing red parkas that the entire fandom seem to be loosing their minds over.
I hope it will be a good movie, but Peter played by Bill Murray in the only shot he is seen in looks – just done. I am not sure about the death by fear mechanic, it has potential but I have to see more trailer before I am sold. The addition of Oswald and Nanjiani have some questioning the quality of the production as they, or at least Oswald, are not held in high regard for their opinions or comedy. I personally do not know anything about them. That being said, some were not happy about the inclusion of the entire Afterlife cast including Gary played by Paul Rudd. It will be interesting to see how much a role each charater has seeing that we are being introduced to at least three new characters and possibly losing Lucky, the only black female protagonist [insert meme here “That’s a bold stategy Cotton…”].
The other big problem I have seen others have is how are they all in New York? Well it is summer after all and school is out. Not to mention Lucky has probably graduated and Trevor is probably close to graduating. Podcast is a little harder to explain, but I am sure it will be laid out in the movie as just a summer vacation.
As for the story and antagonists, it is too early to make predictions, but I feel the trailer only showed us scenes from maybe the second act low point where our protagonists are losing before they rally to victory.
If you follow me on social media then you know that this Saturday, October 7 from noon to midnight is the Sick Chick Flick Film Festival taking place at the Varsity Theater in downtown Chapel Hill, NC. I will be covering this event live on YouTube. What sets this film festival apart from most is that it promotes both short and feature length films that have females in prominent creative and production roles. 8 films’ creators will be present for Q&A, and at 11:30 we will be handing out the coveted Bloody Raven awards.
In all there will be 47 films screened. Award categories include best short film, best feature film, best horror film, best SciFi film, best fantasy film, best director, best cinematography, best writing, best special effects, best female lead, and best male lead. For a full listing, schedule, and to purchase tickets visit https://www.sickchickflicksfilmfestival.com/ .
Saturday, October 28, the Paranormal Operator Podcast is hosting a neighborhood event that all are welcomed to attend. We will be making ragdolls, bobbing for apples, making smores, and you can try your hand at writing with a feather quill. The candy for trick-or-treaters is free but there it is $5 to participate in the activities. Tickets can be purchase through eventbrite.com. Please purchase tickets before the event so I know how many people to expect since we may need to move the location up the road as our first location does not have much parking. This is a family friendly event primarily for children.
Paranormal Operator 