Hi all!

Today I am ranking the Exorcist franchise. To be honest, this is one of the worst horror franchises I’ve tackled; with more bad instalments than good. There are high highs and very low lows. The films typically feature an exorcist (shock), a cunning demon named Pazuzu and a possession story. Prepare for a controversial list! Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Spoilers Ahead! 

1.) The Exorcist (1973) 

When young Regan Linda Blair) begins behaving strangely, her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn), seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest, believing the girl may be possessed by the devil, makes a request to perform an exorcism. The church sends in expert, Father Merrin, to help, with deadly consequences. I saw The Exorcist for the first time when I was 18. It traumatised me so badly, I slept in bed with my mum longer than I care to admit. To this day, I can still appreciate its effect. From the iconic theme music, to the horrifying scenes we will never forget, the original film is undeniably the best in the franchise.

2.) The Exorcist: Believer (2023) 

In second place, we have The Exorcist: Believer. It was directed by David Gordon Green – the man behind the rebooted Halloween franchise. When his daughter and her friend begin to show signs of demonic possession, single father, Victor Fielding, must confront the root of all evil. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil, the only person alive to have witnessed anything like it before. I think this film was beautifully shot. It had its own version of Tubular Bells, which I really enjoyed. On the flip side, I did not like how Ellen Burstyn was treated. They really did her dirty! It also got quite preachy in the third act, but overall, it was chilling, well-acted and compared to the rest of the instalments below, a huge improvement.

3.) The Exorcist III (1990) 

In third place, we have The Exorcist III from 1990. Police Lt. Kinderman begins to notice similarities between his current murder investigation and the methods used by the “Gemini” killer (Brad Dourif), who was executed 15 years before. He soon discovers a hospitalised mental patient, claiming to be the dead serial murderer. However, he looks uncannily like Karras from the original film. As more bodies are found, Kinderman searches for a connection between the two supposedly deceased men. I really liked that one iconic scene (if you know, you know) but the rest was a tad boring.

4.) Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) 

In fourth place, we have The Beginning, which serves as a prequel to the original film. Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) is haunted by his experiences in World War II. In the aftermath, he has renounced his faith and begun working as an archaeologist. He travels to Kenya, where a fifth-century Byzantine church holds ancient relics. Strange occurrences soon begin to reunite him with the evil he sought to escape. This is where things get a little bit complicated. The Beginning and Dominion (see below) are essentially the same film, with some of the same actors. However, the production company did not like the way Dominion was shot, believing it would flop, so a new director came on board and retooled it. Whilst I definitely preferred The Beginning, it wasn’t that much better.

5.) The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) 

In second last place, we have The Exorcist II: The Heretic. Owing to his experience with exorcisms, Father Lamont (Richard Burton), is chosen by his superiors to investigate the death of Father Merrin, who died during the exorcism of young Regan MacNeil. Lamont finds Regan under the psychiatric care of Dr.Tuskin. By hypnotising the girl, he is able to deduce that Merrin previously exorcised the same demon from a boy in Africa. Hoping for answers, Lamont travels there in search of the youth. This sequel has been named one of the worst movies in cinematic history. In fact, it had such a bad reputation, the director himself disowned it! See what I mean by a messy franchise? Ironically, it wasn’t my least favourite though. I did like some aspects of it – in particular, the last scene – but compared to what had come before, it was a huge flop.

6.) Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) 

In last place, we have Dominion. I’m not going to repeat the plot (see The Beginning above). Just know it made zero sense, lacked the horror elements of a good possession film and had no idea what it wanted to be. It was truly an abomination. Sorry!

Thank you so much for reading! How would you rank the franchise? 

Peace & Love xoxo