The Exorcist , a raw TV series root on by the 1973 horror classic , premiere tonight on Fox . The first episode is strong , setting up multiple narratives , enclose compelling characters , and hand over shriek - worthy scares . The rest of the season has a lot to endure up to , but by the saving grace ofPazuzu , it ’s totally possible — assuming it does these three thing .
Learn from Damien’s mistakes
Damien was an A&E show mark a few decades after The Omen ; its premiss was that the Antichrist had grown up into a generally affable fellow who somehow contend to draw a blank his evil past , though said evil past had certainly not forgotten him . It was an awkward solidification - up — so , is that glaring short schoolboy a good guy now?—and the show often took itself right smart too severely . ( It was scrub in May after one time of year . )
The Exorcist has learn a smart approach shot to adjust an iconic horror property . It ’s not forthwith tied to the moving-picture show ; the connexion is more thematic . In the premiere , we concisely spot a news article about the Georgetown exorcism from the film , everlasting with a photo of the sinister staircase . There are some visual recall , like an spookily illuminated windowpane , and a picture prepare in a spooky attic . It has the structure of a young priest whose religion is perhaps quiver , needing the aid of an old non-Christian priest who has been to Hades and back . There ’s a implicated female parent with a troubled daughter . And , at just the right moment , “ Tubular Bells ” cotton on onto the soundtrack .
It ’s all just enough to institute that the flick and the TV show take piazza in the same universe — a universe filled with lurking , predatory demons — but it also sets the show free to follow its own track . Unlike Damien , viewers are n’t tasked with buying a unearthly narrative about , say , a intimate persona completely blanking on his intact fate . And if The Exorcist is overbold , it ’ll continue in this way . Subtle point of reference to the film are great , but forging its own path is even more important .
Give Geena Davis more to do
The first episode leads us into the earthly concern of Father Tomas Ortega ( Alfonso Herrera ) and Father Marcus Keane ( Ben Daniels ) . Father Tomas is compulsive and a bit naive ; his attendance numbers may be minor , and his church may be urgently in pauperization of restoration , but he ’s trying to do the right affair . Dude has heat , though — as a conversation with his sister , who cite what seems like a forbidden girlfriend from his past , suggests — he might not always be cast that heat in the right place . Father Marcus has literally faced demons , so he has his own issues . These men are both fascinating , and in just one instalment , we get a good gumption of their past experiences , as well as the challenge they ’ll be confront go forrard .
The show ’s other lead is Angela Rance , played by Geena Davis , who is The Exorcist ’s grown name and most recognizable star . ( Alan Ruck is a distant moment ; he plays Angela ’s hubby Henry , who abide from what seems to be early - onset dementia or Alzheimer ’s . ) Unfortunately , Angela is also the least interesting character ( so far , at least ) . A lot of what we know about her come in good manners of exhibition - tied dialog . She ’s very successful , because she oversees 400 employee . She “ likes the idea ” of God , and she for certain seems to believe in the supernatural , though we do n’t get to see the crazy , poltergeist - y stuff she take is happening in her house .
presumptively , Davis would n’t have signed on The exorciser unless Angela offer some serious appeal — so here ’s hoping the role gets path juicier as the weeks progress .
Keep an eye on the CG… and the tone
If you go back and learn William Friedkin ’s The exorciser , it ’s amazing how well the 1973 peculiar effect have oblige up . Where would horror be today without Regan ’s ghoulishly grin , rotating head teacher ? The Exorcist TV show is cognisant of that legacy , but it ’s also , obviously , go to swear heavily on CG to visualize its fantastical moment . The premier sequence has its fair contribution ; there may not be levitating bed at the Rance firm ( yet ) , but there are body tortuousness , gonzo eyeballs , animals behaving badly , and at least one successiveness that owes more to contemporaneous horror moving picture than it does to any specific classic .
But this is not The Conjuring TV show or the Insidious telly show or The Ring TV show . This is The Exorcist . So while it makes horse sense to give a shout - out to what people expect from horror in 2016 , it ’s also crucial to stay true to the spirit of the original material . So far , the show has that covered with lots of low - angle shots , dead leaves swirling through the outside scenes , weird things go on in the background ( I ’m almost positive I tell apart a Prince of Darkness vociferation - out ) , random characters who just seem off , and wad of atmospheric dread .
Angela ’s scenes away , the hand is also careful to reveal only what it needs to . “ They ’re gon na love you , ” Father Marcus tells Father Tomas after sizing up his vulnerabilities . by nature , the young priest immediately demand to screw who “ they ” are — even though he , and we , have a fairly bloody good theme of what Marcus is convey at . It ’s a wonderfully scary moment that says no more or less than it needs to .
The right pure tone can make something manner freaky than all the CG firework could ever provide ; a well - graduate combination of the two is precisely what The Exorcist should keep striving for . Keep the scares coming on every level , and audience will be obligate to keep watching .
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