Horror is all the rage in Hollywood. So it was logical to assume that reviving The Exorcist, the 1973 supernatural classic about the demonic possession of 12-year-old Regan that made Linda Blair a star, would be a sure-fire hit.
After all, the impact of The Exorcist was unique, with huge queues for admission and cinema chains offering sick bags for those suffering a visceral reaction. There were reports of protests, tears, fainting and vomiting. Furthermore the American author William Peter Blatty, who wrote the book upon which the film was based, was moved to write a two-page response when America, a Jesuit magazine, devoted an entire edition to his film.
However, when Universal Pictures spent $400 million to bring back the franchise in 2021, a new generation were not terrified by the story. Many thought it was not scary enough. Box office takings revealed how modern audiences’ appetites had changed and the new movie flopped.
Linda Blair played a child possessed by the Devil in the original movie
ALAMY
Now producers hope that Scarlett Johansson can change all that. Johansson, twice nominated for an Oscar, came on board to lead the relaunch after a meeting with writer-director Mike Flanagan and producers. “Scarlett is a brilliant actress whose captivating performances always feel grounded and real, from genre films to summer blockbusters, and I couldn’t be happier to have her join this Exorcist film,” said Flanagan, one of Hollywood’s most in-demand horror directors.
• 50 years after The Exorcist: why horror is back with a vengeance
If the reboot is successful, it will ride on a wave of horror mania in Hollywood. Scary films are enjoying a renaissance, making up almost a fifth of the 20 highest-grossing films around the world last month. As well as being relatively cheap to make, they are also attracting top talent. The Substance, released last year, was nominated for best picture at the Oscars in March, and Michael B Jordan and Amy Madigan have been feted for their respective performances in Sinners and Weapons.
Director Mike Flanagan, with his wife, Kate Siegel, who has collaborated with him on several horrors
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The original film, directed by William Friedkin, became a global phenomenon and recorded gross takings of $441.3 million. An original trilogy of films was followed by two prequels, but the franchise petered out with Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist in 2005, which received a lukewarm reception from critics.
Michael Niederman, professor emeritus of cinema and TV arts at Columbia College Chicago, said he noticed a sharp rise in the number of his students interested in the horror genre over the last decade.
“It’s whatever these kids are living through and the anxieties they feel — horror connects with them in a way I haven’t seen with audiences since the 1970s,” Niederman said.
“The 70s were the moment when horror became mainstream, and it has swung around again, becoming an important part of films and TV shows. Young people will show up at theatres for it.”
That last point has got Hollywood’s attention.
As other genres struggle to entice audiences into cinemas — middle-brow dramas have fallen off a box office cliff — horror has remained a strong draw.
Moviegoers love sitting in a darkened room being scared alongside their friends, Niederman said. “It’s a communal experience, and there’s no replacing that,” he added.
Whether the Exorcist brand means anything to young audiences is an open question.
But even intellectual property whose enduring popularity is in doubt is more attractive to Hollywood producers who have become risk-averse due to falling cinema attendances.
“With an IP from the 70s, the hope is that young people will see a horror movie because it sounds interesting and their parents, potentially grandparents, will be interested because it’s something they recognise,” Niederman said.
In July 2021, Universal announced it was creating a new trilogy, which brought back Ellen Burstyn, by then aged almost 90, to reprise her role from the original film as Chris MacNeil, Regan’s mother. But the first film in the trilogy — The Exorcist: Believer from 2023 — was critically panned and underperformed at the box office, making $65.5 million in the US and Canada and $136.2 million worldwide. It concerned two teenage girls from suburban Georgia who, after dabbling with the dark arts, were suddenly possessed by the Devil. The film’s director, David Gordon Green, who made the Halloween reboots, withdrew from the new series.
Green had been expected to return with co-writers Danny McBride, Peter Sattler and Scott Teems. They were said to be in development on the sequels, but last May the studio announced Flanagan was taking the helm, after the poor reception of Believer.
The Exorcist showing in the West End of London in 1974
EVENING STANDARD/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Flanagan is well-regarded within the horror genre, having established himself with successes on both the big and small screens, such as 2018 Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and the 2019 Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep. The next film, starring Johansson, will tell a new story and is not believed to be a sequel to The Exorcist: Believer.
It will be produced by film company Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, production company Morgan Creek Entertainment and Flanagan — who also will write and direct — via his firm Red Room Pictures.
Terror on repeatThe Omen (2006)
A chilling remake of the 1976 film about Damien Thorn, a child born of Satan handed over to unsuspecting adoptive parents. The pair gradually learn their dear Damien is not the child of their dreams, but a manifestation of the Antichrist. Fans will remember the original’s famous scene set in Guildford Cathedral.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
This one dusted off 1984’s terrifying Freddy Krueger, minus the camp. Freddy was played by Robert Englund, who recently got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There were seven spin-offs of the franchise in between, with varying box office success… and varying levels of cringe.
Rings (2017)
A revisit to 2002’s The Ring starring Naomi Watts as an intrepid investigative journalist looking to solve the mystery of a videotape that kills anyone who watches it within seven days. Don’t watch it… the tape I mean.