Movies Update: Twice the possession in ‘The Exorcist: Believer’

Plus, how old were you when you watched your first scary movie?

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 6, 2023 By Mekado Murphy Movies Editor Hey, movie fans! October is here, and along with it, scary movies. Grab your holy water and prepare yourself for not one, but two demon-possessed girls in "The Exorcist: Believer," the first film in a trilogy that revives the franchise. We spoke to the director about a particularly unnerving scene in the movie. Yet the critic Jeannette Catsoulis wasn't quite made a believer. In her review, she writes that the film is "slickly professional, its young performers more than up to the task," but that it is "disappointingly, if unsurprisingly, cautious." With "The Exorcist" back, along with its children-in-peril themes, it got us to thinking about just how old we were when we watched our first scary movie. I watched "The Shining" at 9-years-old and have never been the same. But we'd like to hear from you. Please head here to share a memory of when you watched your first scary movie and we may feature your response in an upcoming story. Other horror films out this week include a gory Argentine contagion film called "When Evil Lurks" (in theaters) and a teen slasher comedy called "Totally Killer" (on Amazon Prime Video). And Paramount+ has a new "Pet Sematary" movie, "Bloodlines." While not exactly horror movies, two new films explore some scary relationship dynamics. "Cat Person," directed by Susanna Fogel, begins a coupling with a meet-cute, which later transitions to something darker. And "Fair Play" (on Netflix) has a romance unraveling after a woman gets a promotion over her boyfriend. That film's director spoke to us about how, as a date movie, it might end up facilitating breakups. On that note, enjoy the movies! Universal Pictures 'The Exorcist: Believer' Review: Double the Possession, Half the Fun Two young girls bring something nasty home from the woods in this too-busy, uninvolving possession movie. By Jeannette Catsoulis Sergej Radovic/Netflix Critic's Pick 'Fair Play' Review: Risky Bonds One couple can't achieve work-life balance is in this impeccable debut feature from Chloe Domont. By Amy Nicholson Erik Tanner for The New York Times Hollywood Finally Figures Out What to Do With Nathan Lane With roles in "Dicks: The Musical" and "Beau Is Afraid," the stage star is now a regular for the hot film company A24. "Who would have guessed?" he says. By Kyle Buchanan Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS' PICKS Neon Critic's Pick 'The Royal Hotel' Review: Pulling Pints and Watching Their Backs Two young women struggle to handle the obstreperous patrons of a remote Australian pub in this coolly calibrated thriller. By Jeannette Catsoulis Paramount+ Critic's Pick 'The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial' Review: Righting the Ship William Friedkin's final film, an adaptation of the Herman Wouk play, offers a bracing demonstration of the director's sensibility and craft. By Ben Kenigsberg Icarus Films Critic's Pick 'Colette and Justin' Review: The Colonized Speak Up In a new documentary, a filmmaker turns his lens on his grandparents during a pivotal moment in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Concepción de León Restored by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation Critic's Pick Two Cult Classics Restored and Brimming With Chaotic Life Timothy Carey's erratically brilliant "The World's Greatest Sinner" and Emilio Fernández's redemption melodrama "Victims of Sin" finally come to big screens. By Nicolas Rapold 8 Above Critic's Pick 'My Love Affair With Marriage' Review: A Tale of Love and Loss This animated musical about a young woman's sexual and romantic awakening uses a gloriously tactile aesthetic. By Natalia Winkelman Albert Baez/Magnolia Pictures Critic's Pick 'Joan Baez I Am a Noise' Review: Fountain of Nostalgia A new documentary about the folk singer and activist Joan Baez contains a gold mine of archival materials. By Chris Azzopardi Drafthouse Films Critic's Pick 'Mister Organ' Review: Antiques Sideshow A documentarian's investigation into peculiar events outside a New Zealand antiques shop turns into a horror story. By Glenn Kenny Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ANATOMY OF A SCENE Eli Joshua Adé/Universal Pictures Anatomy of a Scene How Light Creates Suspense in 'The Exorcist: Believer' The film's director and co-writer, David Gordon Green, narrates a sequence featuring Leslie Odom Jr. and Lidya Jewett. By Mekado Murphy MOVIE REVIEWS Justin Lubin/A24 'Dicks: The Musical' Review: Hitting High Notes, Going Lowbrow Larry Charles's musical comedy is so hellbent on being outrageous that it just ends up being tiresome. By Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon 'Foe' Review: The Space Between Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal play a farm couple with a less-than-idyllic marriage in the Midwest of the future. By Ben Kenigsberg Rialto Pictures_DGZ5176.NEF 'Cat Person' Review: A Viral Short Story Padded for the Big Screen This screen adaptation trades the insidious discomfort of Kristen Roupenian's story for heavy-handed metaphors and on-the-nose thrills. By Claire Shaffer Shudder/IFC Films 'When Evil Lurks' Review: These Demons Are Fast and Furious Humans become bloodthirsty demons in a shockingly grisly new contagion horror film from Argentina. By Erik Piepenburg Vertical 'She Came to Me' Review: A Sea of Troubles (the Romantic Kind) A love-triangle comedy from Rebecca Miller, starring Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway, gets an emotional boost from an unexpected source. By Lisa Kennedy Amazon Prime Video 'Totally Killer' Review: More Like Marty McDie This teen slasher comedy with a time-traveling twist can't muster up enough charisma to make its mash-up concept sing. By Brandon Yu Strand Releasing 'More Than Ever' Review: A Shared Melancholy This middlebrow weepie about a woman dying from a rare lung disease stars Vicky Krieps and Gaspard Ulliel in his final role before his death in 2022. By Beatrice Loayza MoMA 'Shadows in the City' Review: A Sleazy Slice of 1980s No Wave The director Ari M. Roussimoff's black-and-white homage to the downtown crowd gets a raw screening at the Museum of Modern Art before its restoration. By Glenn Kenny Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS & FEATURES Apple TV+ 'Flora and Son' and the Unspoken Truth About Songwriting To one musician, John Carney's films about budding artists mirror the joys and pitfalls of crafting tunes. By Geoff Rickly Warner Bros. When Did You Watch Your First Scary Movie? We Want to Know. Halloween season is here, and we're asking readers to share their memories of the first scary film that kept them up at night, and how old they were at the time. By Barbara Chai Amir Hamja/The New York Times A Spike Lee Joint via Movie Posters and Sports Jerseys Lee, the director of "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X," provided more than 400 items for a Brooklyn Museum exhibition. By Emmanuel Morgan Amir Hamja/The New York Times Chloe Domont on Her Dangerous Date Movie, 'Fair Play' The writer-director discusses her Netflix film about power dynamics within relationships, and how it might end up facilitating breakups. By Leah Greenblatt Disney/Pixar 'Elemental' Morphs From Flop to Hit, Raising Questions Along the Way The Pixar film struggled at the box office initially. It has now made $500 million, but not before prompting the studio to re-examine its release strategy. By Brooks Barnes Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times The Genius Behind Hollywood's Most Indelible Sets How Jack Fisk, the master production designer behind 'Killers of the Flower Moon' and many other films, brings the past to life. By Noah Gallagher Shannon Paramount Pictures/Alamy All Your Favorite Movies Are Already on TikTok Paramount tried to make "Mean Girls" happen all over again for a new generation. By Callie Holtermann and Madison Malone Kircher Gabriele Maricchiolo/NurPhoto, via Getty Images Actress Julia Ormond Accuses Harvey Weinstein of Battery in Lawsuit Ms. Ormond also sued Creative Artists Agency, which represented her at the time, and Disney, which owned Mr. Weinstein's Miramax. By Nicole Sperling and Brooks Barnes STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Well Go USA Five Action Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include vengeful spouses, plenty of brawling and a little bit of cheese. By Robert Daniels Disney/Pixar Five Children's Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include a splashy Pixar creation, an Adam Sandler comedy and the newest installment in the "Spy Kids" franchise. By Dina Gachman Emmanuel Guimier/Netflix, via Associated Press The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in October "Lupin" returns and the latest literary horror adaptation from Mike Flanagan debuts, just in time for Halloween. By Noel Murray via Prime The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to HBO, Hulu, Apple TV+ and More in October Here's the best of what's coming to Amazon, Max, Apple TV+ and others. By Noel Murray How are we doing? We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to moviesupdate@nytimes.com. Like this email? 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