When you talk about watershed moments in Hollywood cinema, very few projects come to mind, and rightfully so. It’s a short list of films that not only made an impact upon their release but entirely changed the movie-making landscape in the years to come—and The Exorcist (1973) fits squarely amongst this group of monumental titles.
The film’s impact on the horror genre precedes itself, and it holds the coveted title for the first horror film to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Now, 50 years later, Jason Blum and David Gordon Green are bringing the iconic franchise back to life with The Exorcist: Believer.
Though the film introduces a whole new set of characters, Blum and Green made sure to tap into the core ethos of what made the original film special. “If you're working with an iconic property, you should talk to the people who created it,” Jason Blum says. And that’s exactly what they did, paying homage to the original by bringing back Ellen Burstyn in her iconic role.
Blum and Green also set out to create a new, fresh take on the exorcism genre. “Some exorcism movies I see feel like superhero movies,” Green says. “And I wanted this to not feel like a superhero movie.”
We caught up with the legendary duo to learn more about their creative process in revitalizing The Exorcism franchise, working alongside Ellen Burstyn in her iconic role after 50 years, and how they set out to captivate a new generation of horror enthusiasts.
This interview has been edited in length for clarity.
So you both famously resurrected the Halloween franchise for modern-day audiences, and it seems like you’re trying to build out The Exorcist with more movies. What enticed you to pursue this franchise?
Jason Blum: Well, it's the most iconic horror movie probably ever made, so I was always intimidated and enticed, to use your word. I think what gave us the confidence to do it was us tackling Halloween.
We had a terrific experience together. I thought David did a great job on those three movies, and I think we learned a lot about how to take a property that people love and update it.
What were your biggest concerns or worries going into such an iconic franchise?
David Gordon Green: I think one of the things that could be daunting is the fact that the movie was such a success that it transformed not just the horror genre, but the movie business in general. It’s been 50 years of sequels, of rip-offs, of influence that that film has had. And so you can't recreate what that film did for culture in its day.
But there was an idea to reach into the DNA of what that movie did and the conversation that it inspired, and bring that into a contemporary relevance.
The movie basically utilizes two demonic possessions instead of one. Can you talk about the decision behind that? And what were the more fun parts about using two possessed kids versus just one?
DGG: Researching this movie, it was a trip. It was actually really, really unsettling in its own way because you think you've seen everything—you think you've heard it all.
I consider myself somewhat desensitized to the horrors, not just of movies, but of the world. And some of that's good and some of it's terrible. But one of the things that in my studies prior to writing the movie that I was really fascinated by, was synchronized possession and cases of 2 to 5 individuals inhabiting the same negative entity.
So that was something that I haven't seen and something that I think could open up the conversation—the conflict of perspectives, of exorcism, that then led to the choice of making this an interdenominational conversation. So it's not just a Catholic priest reading the Roman rights. But let's bring in a Baptist perspective, a root word perspective, an atheist perspective to intertwine with the clinical.
Ellen Burstyn obviously returns for her role in such an iconic way. How did this decision come about, and did you know you wanted to bring her back from the jump?
JB: I think one of the things we learned from Halloween, which really worked, is if you're working with an iconic property, you should talk to the people who created it. So for Halloween, we reached out to John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, and a handful of other people who were involved in them.
We did the same thing on The Exorcist and with Ellen. It was our dream that she would come join the party. Initially, I reached out to her just to let her know this is something we were doing; we would love her to be involved. I think in the beginning she was a little reticent, but she eventually had a meeting with David, and that gave her the confidence to join us, which we were thrilled about.
The original Exorcist movie really nailed the “possessed” look. Makeup and technology have changed so much since then. What’s something about the VFX that goes into creating the possessed look fans might not know about?
DGG: One thing the fans do know about is Dick Smith and the amazing and acclaimed makeup work he did on the original film with Linda Blair. So Christopher Nelson, our makeup artist that we used in all the Halloween films—and a consistent, creative collaborator of mine—we got into studying that work and studying the effects of that. We broke it down into stages of how quickly it would evolve from a minor irritation to a nastier, grizzly, and infection type of look.
So we're trying to just keep it grounded. It's always practical. Most of the effects in this movie are practically done with maybe some digital enhancements. I see a lot of exorcism movies that lean into the CG approach, and I feel somewhat distanced from it. The animated quality of it can be off-putting in some ways.
Some exorcism movies I see feel like superhero movies. And I wanted this to not feel like a superhero movie. I want it to feel like it was the people next door, down the street, part of your community that you could relate to. And every effect needed to be something you could touch.
I know in Paranormal Activity there was the famous scene where you pulled the sheets off the bed from the side. Were any similar tactics used in this movie?
JB: You mean like low-budget tactics? No, no, no. This movie was a little bit bigger budget than Paranormal Activity. So the effects were created in a more traditional manner.
DGG: You know, it is fun because we call it arts and crafts. There's a sequence in the climax of the movie that we called the “Opera of Pain,” where there’s the expulsion of all of these demons in the house. And so every corner of the stage had its own little arts and crafts project.
It was an artist figuring out how blood would be coming out of the ceiling, and other artists would figure out how a hand or a face would emerge from the wallpaper. You have the best of the best, the greatest designers, the greatest artists who are working on this in collaboration. You put it together, and it looks spectacular.
Jason, the first Insidious has one of the greatest and most iconic jump scares in all of horror. I'm just wondering, for both of you, what makes the perfect jump scare?
JB: Well, a jump scare’s really a misdirect, right? A jump scare is as much about what happens before. The jump scare is the actual jump scare, but what makes it perfect is when the drama taking place before the actual scare is so riveting that you're forgetting you're watching a movie.
The acting is so good, the dialogue is so good that you're pulled into this story so deeply. I would argue that's what happens with the Red Demon scare [in Insidious]. You could have that same scare, and it would not work at all if it weren't for the performance and what's happening right before the jump scare.
I actually think that's the most important part of a jump scare.
DGG: You know, as a filmmaker, you're always looking to find that balance between surprise and suspense. When do you let the audience know that something is going to happen? When do you startle them and come out of the gate when they're not expecting anything to happen?
Those are always fun conversations that you have in production. You have them again in the editing room.
Do you have a list of your top two jump scares or moments that scarred you for life?
DGG: Nothing's jumping out to me. I look at images that have been burned into my brain, and a lot of that is from The Shining, seeing that at a young age and seeing those dramatic images, like the two delightful twins standing in the hallway. Those are the kind of things that I think really stick with me. Those take my breath away.
JB: Yeah, me too. The image, strangely, that sticks with me the most was one of our movies. It was the beginning of Sinister, and it's the family hanging from a tree. That's always been the most haunting image I've ever seen in our movies or any other movies.
You both obviously have a ton of experience in horror under your belts. Are there any universal “cheat codes” you think need to be in every horror movie?
JB: There are none. As soon as you apply a formula to a horror movie, which is mostly what Hollywood does, I don't ever think the movie is as good as when you're free to invent and do new stuff.
The minute you say something like, “This worked and this worked, and this worked”—it worked before because it was new. It's not new anymore. So I really encourage the artists that we work with to steer away from that.
DGG: I agree. I don't think there are tools that are applicable to use like in comedy or drama. One of the things I love about a good horror movie is its narrative setup and payoff. And you can find that in a joke when you set up a joke and you call it back later. I think these are tools that, as a writer, I think can be really valuable.
So it’s well known that in the original Exorcist, a lot of people considered the set cursed because of production delays, injuries, and whatnot. Did you all have any experience like that shooting this film?
JB: It was smooth sailing. [chuckles]
Every movie is different. Every movie is hard. But no, there was no curse on our movie. We started and completed the production without any visits from any supernatural entities.
And I just have to ask for my own knowledge, but do you guys believe in the paranormal yourself?
JB: I don't really believe in the supernatural, do you?
DGG: I do. Yeah.
Has that belief ever inspired you for any of your movies?
DGG: I don't know that it inspired me in movies, but it inspires me in life, to understand and accept things that are beyond what I can understand. Sometimes there are no answers, and the ambiguity is part of what plays into my fears and anxieties.
There are certain things that you can figure out, like you can open the closet door and see who's behind it. But then there's other mysteries that will be unsolved until the day we die or beyond, so who knows.
Just taking a step back, looking at the horror genre in general, there seems to be a resurgence in scary movies and original storytelling. Can you talk about that, and what do you think is bringing horror films back into popularity?
JB: I think horror, since I've been doing this 20-plus years, it's been pretty consistent. If you make a good horror movie, people show up. If you make a bad horror movie, they don't—like any other genre.
But I think that the more threatening the world feels to people, like coming out of the pandemic, the more successful horror is because it’s a workplace. You can see scary things happening that you can control, and in the real world you see scary things happen that you cannot control.
So I do think that there's a poetic killer interest right now in seeing horror movies. It’s just that the world feels like a more fragile place than it did four or five years ago.