Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Exorcist: Believer!

While the creators of The Exorcist: Believer spent years convincing the original movie’s star to return, Chris’s storyline proves that The Exorcist’s Ellen Burstyn was right to steer clear of the series. The Exorcist franchise has a troubled history. While the 1973 original is widely considered to be a uniquely powerful masterpiece of supernatural horror, its first sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic was a laughable failure that some critics consider one of the worst movies ever made. Since then, The Exorcist III won over critics but didn't exactly redeem the franchise’s reputation, nor did any of its other installments.

Although a short-lived TV show did revive The Exorcist in 2016, this series didn't make a major impact. As such, all eyes were on director David Gordon Green’s 2023 reboot The Exorcist: Believer when the sequel arrived in cinemas. Even though The Exorcist’s original star Ellen Burstyn was not initially interested in returning for the sequel, she was eventually convinced to come on board for the legacy follow-up. However, how the movie handles Chris’s return proves that Burstyn’s original hesitation was the right instinct. The Exorcist: Believer’s poorly thought-through comeback does a disservice to Burstyn’s iconic character, cheapening Chris's legacy in the process.

The Exorcist: Believer’s Chris Return Is Muddled

The biggest issue with Chris’s return in The Exorcist: Believer is that Chris’s stance toward the original movie’s events fundamentally doesn’t make any sense. Depending on who she is talking to and what scene she is in, Chris either is the believer of the title or is a burnt-out cynic who knows better than to worry about demons. For example, Chris says she wasn’t allowed to attend her daughter’s exorcism because she wasn't a member of the patriarchy. Within the world of the original movie, the two priests who performed the exorcism died in the process.

It's not clear if Chris is saying she should have died during her daughter’s exorcism, or if she's saying she was better equipped to perform the exorcism than two priests. Neither of these questions is answered by The Exorcist: Believer’s ending, as the movie awkwardly tries to balance a cynical attitude toward organized religion with irrefutable onscreen evidence of supernatural demons. Many horror movies have stumbled into this problem before, but The Exorcist: Believer might be the worst case of the issue. Critiques of the real-life Catholic Church’s patriarchy don’t make sense coming from a character who sincerely believes her daughter was possessed by a demon and saved by priests.

The Exorcist: Believer’s Chris/ Regan Reunion Doesn’t Add Up

At the end of The Exorcist: Believer, The Exorcist’s original heroine Regan reunites with her mother Chris, and forgives her. However, this development only makes the movie’s message more muddled and confusing. What is Regan forgiving Chris for? The Exorcist: Believer’s story just proved that demons are real in the world of the franchise, which would naturally call for Regan to thank Chris for spreading the word with her memoir. The idea of the mother/daughter duo growing apart because Chris exploited Regan’s exorcism for fame is intriguing, but The Exorcist: Believer never explores this since Chris is intended to be an unambiguously morally upright heroine.

As a result, Linda Blair’s The Exorcist: Believer cameo doesn’t add up any better than the rest of Chris’s storyline. Chris’s subplot and its criticisms of the Catholic Church only make sense for viewers who don’t believe in demons, but the movie then immediately affirms that demons are very much real in the world of the series. Not only that, but Burstyn’s character always knew that demons were real since her daughter was possessed by one that almost killed her. With that in mind, her disillusionment isn’t grounded in anything and Regan’s feud with her mother doesn’t have a strong foundation.

The Exorcist: Believer’s Chris Betrayal Means Ellen Burstyn Shouldn't Have Returned

All of these storytelling snags could have been cleared up if Chris had been replaced by a new character. If The Exorcist: Believer’s Chris MacNeill role had been played by an original character, they could have been someone who had no reason to trust in the Catholic Church and experience fighting demons. However, that is not who Chris canonically is. Chris is someone who relied on a fictional version of the Church’s priests to exorcise a demon from her daughter, as anyone who has seen The Exorcist can attest. Thus, ironically, The Exorcist: Believer’s version of Chris’s character will only add up for viewers unfamiliar with The Exorcist.