With Exorcist Believer possessing earned satanic word of mouth, we decided to rank all the Exorcist films worst to greatest.

The Exorcist is my selection for the greatest horror film of all time. Some may possibly say Rosemary’s Baby or The Shining or Night of the Living Dead, but as a excellent Catholic boy, nothing at all has ever gotten beneath my skin the way William Friedkin’s original did. But, with wonderful accomplishment comes the need for Hollywood to make a hit into a franchise, but Friedkin was not a franchise director. He famously turned down French Connection II, but the studio, maybe noticing how the second French Connection turned out decently, decided to go ahead and turn it into a franchise. Still, the outcomes, with one particular notable exception had been a disaster. So devoid of any additional adieu, here’s our list of Exorcist films ranked – from worst to greatest.

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

So, worst is a degree right here rather than a black-and-white truth. All of the Exorcist sequels – with that one particular exception I’ll get to later – are terrible. Yet, of them all, none is rather as terrible as the infamous Exorcist II: The Heretic. What’s crazy is that the film comes from a fairly wonderful director, John Boorman. Still, he’s also a guy who, in amongst producing masterpieces like Excalibur and Deliverance, also created the odd stinker, like Zardoz. Exorcist II: The Heretic is like the overacting Olympics. Poor Richard Burton sweats booze as Father Lamont, who’s possessing a crisis of faith although investigating the death of Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow was lured back for a tiny function). He meets with Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil, who’s now a teenager and appears properly adjusted, all items viewed as. The is a batch of hokum that incorporates ESP, James Earl Jones dressed as a Locust, a weird Italo-disco score by Ennio Morricone, not one particular but two tap dancing sequences for Linda Blair, and Burton undertaking all of his personal sweating and seeking like he desires a drink – badly. This film was so terrible that Boorman had to physically reduce film prints that had been currently playing theatrically in order to make the film a tiny shorter. Yet, as terrible as it is, it is one particular of the most entertainingly awful films ever created, and the cinematography by William A. Fraker is legitimately wonderful. Also, no one particular says Pazuzu like Richard Burton.

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

While not as poorly created as Exorcist: The Heretic, director David Gordon Green’s Believer is undoubtedly a additional boring film (regardless of the jump scares) and about as lazy a horror film as you are probably to encounter. Judging by the toxic word of mouth, you can consider Universal is kicking themselves by shelling out $400 million for the rights to the franchise, even although none of the sequels have ever been financially productive.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

Director Paul Schrader’s Exorcist prequel was viewed as such a disaster that the studio that created it, Morgan Creek, shelved and remade the complete film. While it is hip to say Schrader’s film is outstanding, the truth is that regardless of some intriguing moments, it is quite dull. It’s an intriguing curiosity, and Schrader would at some point make a masterpiece about faith (First Reformed), but this is not it. That mentioned, I’m delighted it at some point saw the light of day as I’m not in favor of shelving films, no matter how terrible they are.

The Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

Like The Heretic, this alternate Exorcist prequel by Renny Harlin is of the so terrible it is excellent selection. Harlin turned the franchise into an action film, with Stellan Skarsgård’s Father Merrin reimagined as a badass priest who even performs a holy head-butt at the film’s conclusion. It is not excellent, but it is type of entertaining. Skarsgård definitely does his greatest, and its intriguing to evaluate his Liam Neeson-like action star efficiency in this to his quiet turn in Dominion.

The Exorcist III (1990)

It’s actually the only excellent Exorcist sequel. William Peter Blatty initially set out to make a looser type of sequel, with it getting an adaptation of his novel Legion. But, just after the film was completed, Morgan Creek got uncomfortable with his police thriller version of the film, insisting he reshoot the ending to involve Jason Miller’s Father Karras and a grand guignol, eighties-horror style Exorcism. Despite getting compromised (you can see the reconstituted director’s reduce on the Blu-Ray), the film is nonetheless rather excellent, With George C. Scott outstanding as the recast Lt. Kinderman (the original actor – Lee J. Cobb – was dead by this point). Blatty also incorporates some weird touches, which includes a cameo by Fabio as an angel. One may possibly also think about Blatty’s The Ninth Configuration as a quasi-sequel provided that a minor character from the initially film is the star, but the genres are quite unique. If that one particular had been counted it would location very on our list of Exorcist Movies Ranked.

The Exorcist (1973)

Simply place, the greatest horror film ever created. If you are producing a list named Exorcist Movies Ranked, and the original film does not land in initially location, what are you even undertaking? Friedkin was suitable never ever to attempt and make a sequel due to the fact it cannot possibly be beaten, or even equaled. That mentioned, prevent 2000’s The Version You Never Saw, as that was Friedkin undertaking a favour for William Peter Blatty, who hated how vague the director had left the conclusion of his battle amongst excellent and evil. I significantly favor the darker original. As for the Spider-Walk – who desires it? If you want to see a different quasi-horror film from Friedkin, verify out the 1980 serial killer thriller Cruising, which is quite disturbing and loosely primarily based on a true killer’s exploits. The kicker – this killer was a radiologist who played himself in The Exorcist! It’s weird but correct.

How would you rank the Exorcist films? Let us know by leaving a comment beneath – and if you watched the Television series from 20th Century Fox Television, add that into the mix as properly.