The Exorcists 2023 Ending Explained | Movie Recaps Review
Today I am going to explain and recap a recently released movie called the exorcists. This is totally different from The Exorcist Believer which is due for release later this month. So the movie starts at the cemetery where we see Father Ryland paying his respects. The grave was of a boy named Corey whom they had lost during an exorcism. Just then another exorcist, Father Raul Cortez introduces himself and pays his respect. He was sent here by his guru father John Murphy who had passed away due to heart issues. Father Cortez had a case of possession and he wanted Father Ryland's help. Father Ryland was an expert exorcist but he had retired after he lost Corey. Father Murphy was his leader and guide. Here a fourteen-year-old teen Huxley Hendrix was possessed by a powerful demon and she needed immediate help otherwise her death was certain. All medical and psychiatric evaluations had yielded no result. Hence Father Ryland here hesitantly agreed to help.
Next, we see a psychiatrist Doctor Olivia Beckett playing chess with her patients in the park. She was approached by Sister Caroline in whose convent the girl Hauxley was locked up. Sister Caroline explains the situation to Olivia and says Hauxley had personally asked her for help. Seeing the severity of the case Olivia too aggres for help.
At the cemetery of the chapel, we see four college guys Lauren, Amanda, Nathan, and Sophie gate crashing. Here Amanda's grandma was buried and she wanted to do some sort of ritual to prove to others that there is life after death. Even though the cemetery was closed these guys entered it. Huxley's dad Whit Huxley welcomes and thanks the team for helping his daughter. He explains that Hauxley has been to many doctors and on many medications yet nothing has worked. Father Morphy was his last hope but too died during the last exorcism. The demon inside Huxley is powerful. Hence this time sister Olivia had arranged for three exorcists to conduct the exorcism around the clock to weaken the demon bit by bit to finally expel it from the body. The idea was to compel the demon to relevel its name. Once it reveals its name it becomes weak and it's easy to expel it. Father Ryland handed over two bottles to Olivia, one had holy water and the other was ordinary tap water. It's a double-bind experiment to prove the demonic possession.
Before entering the room, Father Cortez offered the prayer of protection to Olivia but she refused. She was horrified when she saw Hauxley in chains. She was weak, smelly, and screaming like hell. Sister Caroline had put her on a hypotonic solution to keep her hydrated. Olivia now pours water from one bottle to test the demon. nothing happens, the demon smirks at her. When she poured water from the other bottle it screamed in pain. It threw Olivia to the wall in a rage which baffled her. She drank the water herself to confirm what she experienced and it turned out to be true. It was indeed a demon that was possessing Hauxlex. Melody narrates her story to Olivia. She too was skeptical once, but a demonic possession of herself made her a believer. She later joined a Baptist church and started helping people like her.
The marathon exorcism starts with Melody, she chants prayers and verses. The demon in a rage attacks her. The teens have now gathered in front of Grandma Mary's tomb to do the seance. Sophie heard some noise from the upper floor which spooked her. Apparently, the chapel was closed because of exorcism and it appeared like a ghost building. Sophie decides to leave the chapel, she asks Nathen to accompany her to the exit but he declines. He was more interested in seance. But Lauren and Amanda forced him to go after her.
Back in the room, the demon was giving a tough fight, he mimicked the voice of Melody's dad and started scolding her. Her dad had died due to an aneurysm, and here it gave an aneurysm as well. Melody quickly started bleeding which knocked her out. Olivia treated her, checked her vitals, and placed her legs above her heart level. She theorized Melody might be suffering from a genetic condition that got triggered by stressful activity like this. She was trying to find a rational explanation.
Meanwhile, Sophie got lost in the chapel. She heard a whistle tune from somewhere and believed it to be of the chapel's caretaker. But no one was visible in sight. Just then some entity attacked her and possessed her. Father Ryland was the second one to try the exorcism on Huxley. He poured all his experience into it and was forcing it out. But being old he too had health issues and a chest condition which made him stop. Sister Caroline gave him some tablets but the demon had worsened his condition.
These guys had been trying to do seance for the past twenty minutes but nothing had happened, it seemed Grandma's soul was on vacation. They still heard some terrifying noise from the above floor which forced Nathen to check it out. As he started roaming around he found Sophie who was in a possessed state. This freaked him out and he ran from there like a Usain bolt. Later he stumbled upon Whit whom he thought to be the caretaker. But it turned out, that Whit was already possessed. He attacked Nathen and made him possessed.
Father Cortez and Olivia discussed the next round of exorcism. Olivia wanted to observe Hauxley's health while Father Cortez did his thing. Sister Caroline was in deep sleep due to tiredness and Olivia was keen to know why Hauxley or the demon wanted her in the first place. father Cortez this time lays the lawyer of protection on Olivia before entering the room. As he conducts the exorcism, the demon calls Olivia the crazy girl and says I missed you. The demon whistles her a tune that scares her like hell. Olivia was haunted by it when she was just a child. She identifies the demon as Lamesh. Just then sister Caroline barges in anger as she specifically asks Father Cortez to do exorcism only in her presence. She sends both of them away from the demon.
Amanda and Lauren again heard someone walking right behind them. As they started checking on Nathen, they saw Olivia and Father Cortez and they got separated. Amanda stumbled upon Nather who attacked her and made her possessed. On the other side, Lauren got possessed by Sophie. Olivia now shares her story. When she was a kid she was possessed by this demon, and she behaved erratically, her parents admitted her to the hospital but it yielded no result. Finally, Father Murphy did the exorcism and removed the demon. Melody's oppressor was possessed by Lamech. Father Ryland lost the child Corry to Lamech and Father Cortez too was survived by Lamech. It seemed this exorcism was a trap set up by Lamech to take revenge on his previous lost cases.
Now hearing this, Whit points the gun at these guys as he has made the deal with the demon. He says the demon-possessed my wife first, she was weak and she took the easy way out by committing suicide. Later it promised me to leave Hauxley alone if I bring all you guys here. Whit fires the bullet while saying sorry which hits Melody. Father Ryland pleaded with Whit to stop but the demonic possession was strong. Father Cortez was surprised by two simultaneous possessions. Just then Melody attacks Whit from behind and knocks him down. Apparently, she was saved by the holy book which took the bullet. Here her luck lasts only a minute as sister Caroline stabs her from behind. It turned out she too was possessed by this demon and was willingly helping it.
As she left the room, Father Ryland started praying for Melody and she died on his lap. Later these three decided to leave this chappel asap as the demon was way more powerful. They needed reinforcement. While walking out Lauren and Amanda kidnapped Olivia to turn the new vessel for the demon. Olivia fought back, she poured the holy water on them and ran. Father Ryland got separated from Father Cortez. He was chased by Whit, who haunted him and attacked him.
He was saved by Olivia and Father Cortez but it was too late. Sister Caroline sneakily attacked him from behind and slit his throat. Yet he fought with her which gave some time for Olivia and Father Ryland to escape. They rushed to Hauxley's room where she was on her last breadth. Olivia quickly gave her shock and kept her alive. Father Ryland finally decides to do a ritual where he will force the demon into his body from Hauxley. Since his chest pain was too severe, there was no chance of his survival. If the host body dies then the demon will also perish. This was the Hail Mary plan.
Obviously, Olivia didn't agree at first but there was no other option. Father Ryland starts exorcism and forces the demon into himself. The demon was naturally pissed off but there was no way out. Father Ryland dies soon and the terror of Lamech ends. Whit, Amanda, and Lauren too got out of the possession. Hauxley hugs his dad Whit while Olivia sees Father Ryland's soul leaving the earth with his lost child Cory. Sophie and Nathen too became the victim of the demonic activity while it was not clear as to what happened with Sister Caroline. I guess she too got out of the possession but she was possessed by the idea of devil worship while living inside the church. This is certainly a good low-budget movie with a good script and lots of jump scares.
I guess the movie has a hidden meaning. Olivia had experienced trauma earlier in her life, she tried to bury it as a bad dream. Later she took the medical profession to help kids suffering like her. But she never addressed it directly. It came back with a bang in the form of a demon and made her realize. One can't bury trauma deep in the mind hoping it will go away, rather we have to face it.
