As Regan McNeil, the demonically possessed schoolgirl in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973), Linda Blair spits obscenities, projectile vomits, defenestrates a man, slaps a priest and masturbates with a crucifix. It is hardly viewing material appropriate for minors then – let alone the 14-year-old playing her.
A half-century ago the image of Blair, foul-mouthed, sore-ridden and yellow-eyed, seared itself into the corneas of an entire generation. Now, not one but two young stars are hoping to replicate her impact in The Exorcist: Believer, the first in a planned $400m trilogy picking up where Friedkin’s iconic picture left off. Director David Gordon Green and production company Blumhouse have some experience resurrecting franchises, having recently rebooted John Carpenter’s much-loved Halloween series for a trilogy of films. Spoiler alert: in the case of the dismal Exorcist: Believer, which features a double dose of demon-children, more isn’t always better. Other than the return of Ellen Burstyn, who played Regan’s mother Chris in 1973, the sequel has little in common with its predecessor. No sophistication; no tension; no Blair.
