TV show based on William Blatty's 1971 novel about a priest who
performs exorcisms on demonic spirits. Written and created by television
newcomer Jeremy
Slater, whose writing credits include films such as the Lazarus Effect, Fantastic
4 and Pet.
Father Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera,
“Sense8,” “The Chosen”) is the new face of the Catholic Church: progressive,
ambitious and compassionate. He runs a small, but loyal, parish in the suburbs
of Chicago. He has no idea that his quiet life is about to change forever. Deep
in the slums of Mexico City, another priest has found himself locked in a
life-and-death struggle with evil. Father Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels,
“Flesh and Bone,” “House of Cards”) is a modern-day Templar Knight, an orphan
raised since childhood by the Vatican to wage war against its enemies. Father
Marcus is everything Father Tomas is not: relentless, abrasive and utterly
consumed by his mission – and he constantly butts heads with his adversary within
the church, Father Bennet (Kurt Egyiawan, “Beasts of No Nation”).
Most of us are familiar with the original Exorcist movie
starring Linda Blair and Ellen
Burstyn. Truth be told, when released on December 26th
1973 it scared the pants off of the entire movie watching population. People
were sick, exiting the theater in hysterics, being offended and running for
church as soon as possible. There have been very few movies having a such a
hard impact since then. The Exorcist became the horror standard for creepiness
and just plain portrayal of evil. Trying to replicate the phenom has been
basically impossible.
Knowing all of this, when FOX announced The Exorcist
adaptation in its 2016 Fall lineup I was giddy and oddly reserved. Being
completely honest, given the current technology and entertainment climate this
show was going to either be amazingly good or horribly bad. So sitting down
this evening to watch it live was a tough choice. I also chose to participate
in the twitter feed while watching which is a first for me.
So the good news is this, I was scared, I jumped, and I got
creeped out. So were the other viewers watching the show and live tweeting. The
pilot, Chapter One: And Let My Cry Come Unto
Thee, engaged and hooked me in from the moment the dogs arrived and the
inhuman wailing began. There are several reasons for this, so lets talk about
why The Exorcist pilot worked.
The writing, and this is so very important in any show,
particularly a horror drama. If the dialog and or the scenes are not delicate
and yet strong the genre comes off as hokey and unbelievable. The scare has to
be rooted in a tangible fear for it to resonate. While most of the audience
will be on the fence as to whether they believe in the demonic and or have
religious ties makes this a particularly tough job for this show. You do not
want to alienate anyone, however you want be able to deliver a truth when
needed. Again, very well planned and executed by the writers room, bravo!
Where you have excellent writing you need a superior cast to
deliver the story. The casting is magnificent, the two lead actors, Alfonso
Herrera and Ben Daniels are seasoned enough actors to be able to portray the
characters with a depth they need. Making them believable and giving the
audience empathy for them. These two actors are also not well known enough for
the audience to have their resumes prevalent in their mind when watching. The
only people in the cast easily recognizable are Geena Davis and Alan Ruck, both
veteran film actors who add credibility to the show.
Lastly, some (namely uneducated television executives) will
want to push the technology side of genre over the top. Kill them with the
impossible! This can be very easily done and ruin a movie or show. I still have
a little bitterness for the use of technology in the recent movie The Conjuring
2. An otherwise awesome movie, the use of technology to create the crooked man
as a form the demon liked to take to terrorize the family completely threw me
out of the experience. This is why in these cases, less is more. In tonight’s
The Exorcist pilot I think the production staff and director made the best
choice of using technology on a limited basis. Kinda like the demon, only
showing itself when absolutely necessary. Good job!
Challenges ahead for the show will be numerous. Tonight they
have set the bar pretty high. We will see if they can maintain the critical
balance of creepiness, scare and want. You have a tough audience and only time
will tell how it shakes out. My advice, center your focus on the writing, the
core of good against evil and showing the hope and faith in humanity.
The Exorcist can be seen on Friday’s 8pm CST on FOX, check
your local listings. The Exorcist is being put to the three episode test, will
it be compelled to stand up in the end or be defeated by lack of faith?
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