Summary
- The Exorcist: Believer at Universal Orlando Resort features new demons in the haunted house, suggesting that the film will have multiple demons and a stronger demonic force than the original.
- The masks available for purchase at the park resemble cult worshippers’ attire and don’t match the demons seen in the haunted house, adding to the mystery surrounding the film.
- While having more demons may provide opportunities for scares, it doesn’t guarantee that the sequel will be scarier, as the original film used subtlety and limited appearances of Pazuzu to create fear.
The Exorcist: Believer is one of Universal Orlando Resort’s ten new haunted houses this year for Halloween Horror Nights, and it provides park attendees with a first look at the film’s new demons. A direct sequel to The Exorcist was announced in 2020 from Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green. Ellen Burstyn returns in the film as Chris MacNeil, Regan’s (Linda Blair) mother from the 1973 film, who helps two families after their daughters are possessed by demons. A new demon has been teased in the trailers, although they haven’t shown its physical form.
Now, the haunted house for The Exorcist: Believer at Universal Orlando Resort has shown what the new demon in the film will look like and seemingly confirms that there will be more than one. As park attendees walk through the haunted house, scare actors for Lidya Jewett and Olivia O’Neill’s characters, Angela and Katherine, will pop out behind doors and hidden walls. But what’s more interesting is the seemingly different demons that are scattered throughout. The first possible demon resembles a wrinkled, decomposing corpse, while the other is a massive creature with three eyes and spiked horns. The Halloween Tribute Store at the park has demon masks for purchase with varying designs as well.
What Multiple Demons Could Mean for The Exorcist: Believer
Despite there being two full-length trailers out, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding The Exorcist: Believer. Green confirmed the demon in the trailer is not Pazuzu from the original film, and there are few clues on the new demon(s)’ origins in the Halloween Horror Nights haunted house. But with the film seemingly having multiple demons and two children being possessed instead of one, it’s clear that Chris MacNeil is about to face an even stronger demonic force than she did in the ’70s.
While the images of the scare actors are likely the newest threats the characters will be facing in The Exorcist: Believer, the masks available for purchase look more reminiscent of something cult worshippers in horror movies wear while performing rituals and human sacrifices. Plus, they don’t look like anything that appears within the haunted house. That being said, this is purely speculation at this point. The trailers and plot synopsis for The Exorcist: Believer reveal that the little girls go missing near the beginning of the film before they are demonically possessed, but the reason behind their disappearance is still a mystery.
Having different demons throughout The Exorcist: Believer‘s haunted house gave Universal Orlando Resort plenty of opportunities to scare parkgoers. However, potentially having more demons doesn’t necessarily mean it will make the sequel scarier. The Exorcist only showed Pazuzu a handful of times, most of which were subliminally placed in the frame, and it is still considered one of the scariest films ever made, even after 50 years. Many are skeptical about The Exorcist getting a sequel from Blumhouse, especially after Halloween Ends proved to be incredibly divisive, so hopefully, the different demons play a bigger role than just giving audiences cheap scares.
Key Release Dates
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
