History YMMV / TheExorcistBeliever

%% Do not add Base Breaking Character, Broken Base, Contested Sequel, Sequelitis, Surprisingly Improved Sequel, The Scrappy, or Overshadowed By Controversy examples until six months after the work's release (April 6th, 2024).
%% Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard entries require approval on their respective cleanup threads.
----

** The handling of her character also oddly leans into ItsTheSameNowItSucks as it can feel like the creators merely sellotaped elements of their Laurie Strode characterisation onto Chris rather than giving real consideration to her role, namely the fact that she's alienated her daughter since the events of the original film and presenting her as an equivalent to the priests (mirroring Laurie Strode's becoming equivalent to Dr Loomis in ''Halloween 2018''). It just feels incredibly unlikely that a woman who went through all that to save Regan would even consider risking their bond.

%% Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard entries require approval on their respective cleanup threads and cannot be added until two weeks after the release (October 20th, 2023).

* {{Narm}}: The line from the returned [[Creator/EllenBurstyn Chris]] about her being barred from Regan's exorcism because of the 'little patriarchy' of the two priests feels ill-judged at best and utterly ludicrous at worst, shoehorning a contemporary buzzword in with little consideration; it's also utterly insulting to the two men who gave their lives (''worse'' in the case of Father Karras) to save her child.

** The handling of her character also oddly leans into ItsTheSameNowItSucks as it can feel like the creators merely sellotaped elements of their Laurie Strode characterisation onto Chris rather than giving real consideration to her role, namely the fact that she's alienated her daughter since the events of the original film and presenting her as an equivalent to the priests (''mirroring Laurie Strode's becoming equivalent to Dr Loomis in Halloween 2018''). It just feels incredibly unlikely that a woman who went through all that to save Regan would even consider risking their bond.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: After Creator/EllenBurstyn finally agreed to reprise her role as Chris [=MacNeil=], all it amounts to is [[spoiler: her eyes getting gouged out and out of commission. What is worse is that it could have been established that Chris had previously encountered Lamashtu during her attempt to reconnect with Regan, and since Lamashtu intimidates women during childbirth or kidnaps children according to the Mesopotamian myths, that would have made Chris more determined to step in.]]

** The handling of her character also oddly leans into ItsTheSameNowItSucks as it can feel like the creators merely sellotaped elements of their Laurie Strode characterisation onto Chris rather than giving real consideration to her role, namely the fact that she's alienated her daughter since the events of the original film and presenting her as an equivalent o the priests (''mirroring Laurie Strode's becoming equivalent to Dr Loomis in Halloween 2018''). It just feels incredibly unlikely that a woman who went through all that to save Regan would even consider risking their bond.

* LighterAndSofter: Surprisingly, the film is this in many regards compared to the original film. While their possession does come with some violent moments, much of the behaviour that the girls demonstrate is decidedly tamer compared to Regan, especially the more sexual and gross-out elements that made the original possession famous. Notably, one of the most famous elements of Regan's possession, the projectile vomiting, doesn't come into play ''at all'' [[spoiler:until the very end of the film, and even then, it's during a scene where it's implied that Angela is actually expelling the demon from her body.]]

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: Two girls are possessed in the film: a) the only daughter of the protagonist, whose POV the movie has been following almost the entire time and b) a girl with two other siblings, whose family life, personality and character is hardly explored. [[spoiler:So the fact that Angela survived and Katherine didn’t isn’t really the surprise the movie tries to make it out to be.]]
* Narm: The line from the returned [[Creator/EllenBurstyn Chris]] about her being barred from Regan's exorcism because of the 'little patriarchy' of the two priests feels ill-judged at best and utterly ludicrous at worst, shoehorning a contemporary buzzword in with little consideration; it's also utterly insulting to the two men who gave their lives (''worse'' in the case of Father Karras) to save her child.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: After Ellen Burstyn finally agreed to reprise her role as Chris [=MacNeil=], all it amounts to is [[spoiler: her eyes getting gouged out and out of commission. What is worse is that it could have been established that Chris had previously encountered Lamashtu during her attempt to reconnect with Regan, and since Lamashtu intimidates women during childbirth or kidnaps children according to the Mesopotamian myths, that would have made Chris more determined to step in.]]

%% Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard entries require approval on their respective cleanup threads.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The general critical consensus is that it fails to live up to the original film, not helped by ''The Exorcist'' being considered a classic of the horror genre.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: After Ellen Burstyn finally agreed to reprise her role as Chris [=MacNeil=], all it amounts to is [[spoiler: her eyes getting gouged out and out of commission. What is worse is that it could have been established that Chris had previously encountered Lamashtu during her attempt to reconnect with Regan, and since Lamashtu intimidates women during childbirth or kidnaps children according to the Mesopotamian myths, that would have made Chris more determined to step in.]]

** When Father Maddox attempts to exorcise the girls, [[spoiler:Lamashtu makes their heads spin like Pazuzu did with Regan, only now the same starts happening to Maddox. His head goes 180 degrees before he falls dead.]]

* SugarWiki/NightmareFuel:

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: Two girls are possessed in the film: a) the only daughter of the protagonist, whose POV the movie has been following almost the entire time and b) a girl with two other siblings, whose family life, personality and character is hardly explored. [[spoiler:So the fact that Angela survived and Katherine didn’t isn’t really the surprise the movie tries to make it out to be.]]