The Exorcist: Believer
When two girls disappear into the woods and return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, the father of one girl seeks out Chris MacNeil, who's been forever altered by what happened to her daughter fifty years ago.
Despite a mid-range budget of $30.0M, The Exorcist: Believer became a box office success, earning $136.3M worldwide—a 354% return.
1 win & 22 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Exorcist: Believer (2023) showcases deliberately positioned dramatic framework, characteristic of David Gordon Green's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 51 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.9, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (2% through the runtime) establishes Victor Fielding and his pregnant wife Sorenne are in Haiti. She gets a scan showing their healthy baby girl Angela. Life is peaceful and full of promise.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Angela and Katherine go into the woods after school to "contact spirits" and disappear. Victor and Katherine's parents Tony and Miranda frantically search but the girls are nowhere to be found.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to The girls return home but something is wrong. Strange behavior begins - violent outbursts, speaking in tongues, knowledge they shouldn't have. Both families realize this is beyond medical explanation. Victor must choose: continue denying the supernatural or accept that something evil has taken his daughter., moving from reaction to action.
At 56 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat The demon fully reveals itself during an attempted intervention. It speaks through both girls simultaneously, claiming it will only release one child - the parents must choose which daughter dies. False defeat: they now know exorcism is the only option, but the cost may be unbearable. Stakes are clear and time is running out., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 84 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The exorcism begins but goes horribly wrong. One of their helpers dies. The demon seems invincible. Both girls are dying, their bodies failing. Victor faces his darkest moment - he may lose Angela just as he lost Sorenne. All is lost. His choice to save her thirteen years ago may have been for nothing., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 91 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 82% of the runtime. Victor realizes the demon's lie: they don't have to choose. The entity feeds on division, control, and lack of faith. By coming together - all faiths, both families, choosing love over fear - they can win. He finally accepts faith not as weakness but as strength. They will save both girls., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Exorcist: Believer's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping The Exorcist: Believer against these established plot points, we can identify how David Gordon Green utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Exorcist: Believer within the horror genre.
David Gordon Green's Structural Approach
Among the 8 David Gordon Green films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. The Exorcist: Believer represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete David Gordon Green filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional horror films include Lake Placid, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Cat's Eye. For more David Gordon Green analyses, see Pineapple Express, Halloween Kills and Our Brand Is Crisis.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Victor Fielding and his pregnant wife Sorenne are in Haiti. She gets a scan showing their healthy baby girl Angela. Life is peaceful and full of promise.
Theme
After the earthquake, Victor must choose between saving his wife or their unborn child. A stranger tells him: "Sometimes we must have faith in what we cannot see." The theme of faith versus control is established.
Worldbuilding
Thirteen years later. Victor raises Angela alone in Georgia as a single father, having chosen to save her over his wife. He's protective and lacks faith. Angela befriends Katherine, whose religious parents contrast with Victor's secular household. The girls' friendship deepens.
Disruption
Angela and Katherine go into the woods after school to "contact spirits" and disappear. Victor and Katherine's parents Tony and Miranda frantically search but the girls are nowhere to be found.
Resistance
Three days of searching. Community searches, police involvement, media coverage. Victor resists prayer and faith-based solutions while the religious Wests turn to their church. Tension builds between rational and spiritual approaches. The girls are found wandering with no memory, barefoot and disoriented.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The girls return home but something is wrong. Strange behavior begins - violent outbursts, speaking in tongues, knowledge they shouldn't have. Both families realize this is beyond medical explanation. Victor must choose: continue denying the supernatural or accept that something evil has taken his daughter.
Mirror World
Victor reluctantly seeks out Chris MacNeil, who survived her daughter Regan's possession fifty years ago. She represents the thematic mirror - someone who lost faith but found it again through horror. She connects him to people who can help.
Premise
The possession escalates. Medical tests reveal nothing. The girls display superhuman strength, speak in dead languages, reveal buried secrets about those around them. Victor assembles a team: priest, faith healers, Chris. They research and prepare. The demon taunts them, demonstrating its power. Both families struggle as their daughters become strangers.
Midpoint
The demon fully reveals itself during an attempted intervention. It speaks through both girls simultaneously, claiming it will only release one child - the parents must choose which daughter dies. False defeat: they now know exorcism is the only option, but the cost may be unbearable. Stakes are clear and time is running out.
Opposition
Preparation for the exorcism. The families gather support from multiple faith traditions. The demon grows stronger, hurting people around them. Victor's atheism is challenged as rational solutions fail. Relationships fracture under pressure. The entity plays on Victor's guilt over his wife's death, the Wests' religious certainty, and everyone's fears. Community members are injured. Time is running out.
Collapse
The exorcism begins but goes horribly wrong. One of their helpers dies. The demon seems invincible. Both girls are dying, their bodies failing. Victor faces his darkest moment - he may lose Angela just as he lost Sorenne. All is lost. His choice to save her thirteen years ago may have been for nothing.
Crisis
Victor breaks down. In his dark night, he finally confronts what he's been avoiding: he cannot control everything. His wife's death wasn't his fault. Saving Angela was an act of love, not betrayal. Chris shares her experience - faith isn't certainty, it's choosing to believe when you have nothing else.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Victor realizes the demon's lie: they don't have to choose. The entity feeds on division, control, and lack of faith. By coming together - all faiths, both families, choosing love over fear - they can win. He finally accepts faith not as weakness but as strength. They will save both girls.
Synthesis
The finale exorcism. Multiple faiths unite - Catholic, Baptist, root worker, all together. Victor participates, finally having faith. Both families refuse to choose, standing together. The demon rages but weakens against unified belief. The ritual intensifies. Both girls convulse. In the climactic moment, Victor offers himself, willing to sacrifice his life for Angela - the opposite of his wife's death. This breaks the demon's power. The entity is cast out. Both girls are saved.
Transformation
Weeks later. Angela and Katherine recover together. Victor visits Sorenne's grave for the first time in thirteen years, finally at peace with his choice. Angela joins him, whole and healthy. Where the opening showed Victor alone with a choice that haunted him, the closing shows him with his daughter, having found faith and forgiveness. He is transformed from a man ruled by guilt and control into a father who can believe.