Summary

• The Exorcist: Believer introduces a new demon, Lamashtu, who torments two families.
• The tragic ending reveals the consequences of desperate choices, condemning one girl to death while the other is saved.
• The film's vague final shot leaves viewers questioning the other girl's well-being and whether Lamashtu's influence still lingers.

One of the most intriguing aspects of The Exorcist franchise was how the MacNeil family kept being haunted by Pazuzu. Linda Blair's Regan fought the entity for two films, with her mother, Chris (Ellen Burstyn), now reprising her role in the sequel, The Exorcist: Believer. This time, with the original film being the only one in canon, Chris has to help save the souls of two girls whom Satan's soldier has taken.

While The Exorcist: Believer doesn't use Pazuzu, it employs a demon connected to Pazuzu by the name of Lamashtu. Admittedly, the film doesn't clarify this, but what's clear is the being knows Chris and how to mess with her mind. Unfortunately, it uses this tactic on both families and their friends as The Exorcist: Believer tries to expel the entity from the girls in the final ritual. This leads to a terrifying ending, which is bittersweet once the demon's trickery unravels.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on May 7, 2024: The Exorcist: Believer is the latest entry in the long-standing horror franchise, with viewers treated to one hell of a scare. Released in 2023, the film has since inspired several questions, namely involving what happened to Katherine in The Exorcist: Believer. Though controversial, it became a success, with the series as a whole still set to continue. While some fans might need the ending of The Exorcist: Believer to be explained, the studio is already pushing forward for a new movie.

The Exorcist: Believer Dupes the Families

The Exorcist: Believer finds Chris trying to cast out the demon from Katherine, only to get stabbed with a crucifix. She loses both her eyes but does enough to incapacitate the girl. Both families decide to assemble a holy squad to perform their own exorcism. Sadly, the Catholic Church doesn't sanction its Father Maddox for the ritual as it fears the girls dying and becoming culpable in the eyes of the law and media.

The exorcism then pivots on Angela, who was trying to contact her mom via a séance in the opening act. This allowed the demon into her and Katherine in the woods. However, Angela's dad, Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.), is stunned by the demon's revelation: the exorcism can save one child alone. Still, Victor, who lost faith after his wife died when she was pregnant with Angela, knows it'd be wrong to choose. Katherine's mom, Miranda, is of the same mindset, wanting to have faith the procedure would save both and that they should ignore Lamashtu's lies.

After Maddox is killed, though, Katherine's dad, Tony, panics and picks Katherine to live. But as he begs Lamashtu to carry out his wishes, the Exorcist: Believer ending deals a cruel hand. While Victor saves Angela using her mom's scarf as an emotional totem and sign of love to come back to them, Tony's actions condemn Katherine to death. Lamashtu pulls a sinister trick, wanting to play on the selfish nature of mankind.

The Exorcist: Believer's Tragedy Outweighs Its Triumph

It's likely that had both families believed in God and held true to their faith, they'd have saved the two girls. This might have kept what happened to Katherine in The Exorcist: Believer from taking place. Still, Tony was frightened and desperate, especially after seeing the demon use telekinesis to snap Maddox's neck. Even the rest of the prayer squad was in shambles, so his choice is sympathetic and understandable.

It's why Miranda ends up meeting him for coffee in the finale, hinting they separated for a bit but are now willing to work it out. From the beginning, Miranda believed it was all demonic possession and wanted an exorcism immediately. So, she's quite passionate about how it should have all played out. Given their preacher was there to witness it all, she expected Tony to stay true to the cause and not broker a deal. They also have two children, so reconciling the two makes some sense. While this scene evokes warmth and sentiment, the endearment is lost when director David Gordon Green cuts to Katherine's soul in the film's representation of Hell.

She's in the chamber that Victor found while trying to locate the girls earlier. He saw a snake there and found items hinting the girls were taken. Now, this narrow spot is revealed as a spiritual gateway to Hell. Katherine is dragged into a drain and sucked down to Hell by many hands, with the being, assumed to be Satan, stating they'll keep her soul forever. It's as tragic as the ending to Drag Me to Hell by horror director Sam Raimi, with an innocent child damned to suffer for all eternity. What happened to Katherine in The Exorcist: Believer is a true downer of an ending, and it ties into the true conclusion.

The Exorcist: Believer Has a Vague Final Shot

Victor and Angela make up to lighten the mood. He knew she was hurting, having never known her mom. Plus, the demon harps on another bombshell: Victor asked doctors to save his wife and not his child after the woman got injured during an earthquake. This guilt ate at him, as audiences thought he saved the kid. This is what Lamashtu used to torment the father, joking about how it's using the child he never wanted as a vessel. Victor exorcised that drama, however, as Angela returns to school. She's trying to live a normal life again, but the final shot of her smiling leaves fans wondering if she will be well, if she's faking, or if part of Lamashtu remains. The Exorcist: Deceiver is due in April 2025, so Lamashtu may have wanted to keep her as a spy.

As for why this may be a possibility, it revolves around Regan. Blair said she'd be supervising on the film, but the finale has her reconciling with Chris in a cameo. The movie borrowed an arc from the Exorcist TV series, where Regan hid away from her mom for decades after Chris' book on the grief, trauma and terror of possession in the '70s became popular. However, the sequel will have to scare up a lot of fan support this time, especially since horror isn't as popular as it has been. Thankfully, a beloved director for the genre might turn things around after what happened to Katherine in The Exorcist: Believer.

The Future of The Exorcist Franchise

The Exorcist: Believer ending also affirms Regan has made peace and is back to mend fences with an injured yet hopeful Chris. Given that Lamashtu did scribe Regan's name in the hospital window, it could be that Lamashtu wanted to lure Regan out in a sadistic game. It would be long-winded, but it would give both demons some synergy as the past comes full circle. Ultimately, The Exorcist: Believer ends with an air of cynicism, leaving viewers wondering if the puppet mastering is truly finished now that Regan's back. What happened to Katherine in The Exorcist: Believer was only the beginning, especially given the director. David Gordon Green also made the recent trilogy for the classic Halloween series, with what was once merely one movie spread out into three.

Thus, it's likely that at least two more Exorcist movies that build upon what happened to Katherine in the Exorcist: Believer ending may be in the works. These can expand upon what was glimpsed in the most recent movie's conclusion while perhaps incorporating elements throughout the franchise. The upcoming sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver, had at one point hit a potential snag in development, especially given the fact that the movie's predecessor didn't perform to its full potential in a year when the genre was firing on all cylinders. Thankfully, things are finally turning around, with horror director Mike Flanagan seemingly tapped to direct it. Hopefully, This will set the series back up to succeed again, with The Exorcist: Believer merely a stepping stone to an even more terrifying film.