It’s been 50 years since William Friedkin brought William Peter Blatty’s novel to life with The Exorcist. It’s a film that continues to capture and terrify audiences. Released in 1973, it’s a classic that continues to thrill and enthrall audiences. It also set the benchmark for the genre; a genre we’ve seen revisited time and again over the years.

David Gordon Green and Danny McBride know something about revisiting classic franchises. The pair teams to tackle Halloween, spinning up a modern trilogy that concluded with mixed reviews last October. Now, they have a revival of The Exorcist, something of a direct sequel that returns the feature character played by Ellen Burstyn.

But before we get to that, we head to Port au Prince, Haiti. Here, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) is taking photos and celebrating with his wife on what appears to be a baby moon. Soon, an earthquake strikes, and his wife is crushed in the collapsed hotel. He has a choice—his wife or his unborn child.

Flash-forward 13 years and Victor is a single father to Angela (Lidya Jewett) living in Georgia. When Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) disappear in the woods, it throws Victor and Katherine’s parents (Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz) into a tizzy. When the girls return three days later with no memory, it’s clear something darker is going on.

By now, we know what to expect from an exorcism film and we know what the climax is going to be. The engagement in the film comes from how you are drawn into the characters and the world that is built. That’s where The Exorcist: Believer falls apart.

The first portion drags as it tries to build the story. The characters and world don’t really pop. By the time we get to Chris MacNeil (Burstyn) the film picks up a bit. Some scares are thrown in and then we get something of a twist before the expected exorcism climax.

There are a couple types of exorcism films. One type is interested in using the rite of exorcism as a means of crafting a horror film. The second type is interested in exploring the religious implications. This film tries to ride the line between and mix the two and doesn’t do either well. It’s not really scary and despite the title, it has a muddled message at best about faith and belief.

I am not sure we needed another Exorcist film but if we were going to get one, I’d have liked to see something more compelling. This one simply falls flat.

The Exorcist: Believer is now playing in theaters.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.