Based on a true story this film follows all the usual beats of the exorcism genre including the family in a new house, the bumps in the night, the big show down trying to cast the demon out of the family for good. It’s paint by numbers, except for the unique family dynamics that the writers and director Lee Daniels brings to the story.

Ebony Jackson, played by Andra Day, is the troubled mother to three kids. She’s a recovering alcoholic, who’s trying to raise her kids with her cancer stricken mother Alberta, played by Glenn Close. The family has recently moved to a new house. Alberta is going to a clinic for her cancer treatments, but that isn’t stopping her from living her life to the fullest and pursuing every hot man she finds. She’s also recently become Christian and is trying to make amends for the life she’s lived. It’s a fascinating character. Ebony is struggling to manage her mother and her three kids. Her son is getting bullied. Her daughter is growing up and demanding things like new cell phones. Her youngest is having troubles with demons. You know the usual family stuff. Ebony is struggling to stay sober. She is broke and trying to stretch every penny she can. She is in a contest for her kids affection with her ex who is deployed overseas. She is also paying her her moms cancer treatments without telling her. These are fascinating women. They are well rounded characters struggling with the hardships of life.

If the movie was just about this family trying to get by, I’d love it. If the movie was about this family fighting a demon that is the manifestation of its trauma and turmoil more of a metaphor than a real demon, I’d love the movie. But this film is also a full blown Exorcist remake. It follows the same plot beats. It walks the same tired paths. Once it leans into the horror movie clichés I found myself checking out. It’s just a lesser version of a good horror movie.

The horror doesn’t work for a number of reasons. Lee Daniels doesn’t stage his scares well enough to build tension. The scares need more focus and more at stake to feel earned. You can’t just have strange noises and dark shadows. You need to create a sense of danger. I need to feel that my characters are in imminent danger for me to care about the evil thats menacing them.

If the film didn’t follow the genre conventions so closely it might have been harder to predict that the scares. Because the movie is so obvious in its influences you can pretty much predict every moment as it’s about to happen. There’s a bad smell coming from the basement I wonder what’s down there. The youngest kid is talking to an imaginary friend. I wonder if thats going to be a ghost. There’s some kind of darkness in the closet I wonder where the monster is hiding. It feels rote. It feels boring.

The first half of the movie feels fresh with rich characters and specific situations. It feels unique, specific, and exciting. It is good in all the ways the second half of the film is not. I wanted to love this movie, but it doesn’t work for me. Glenn Close is awesome. Andra Day is excellent. The movie doesn’t live up to their quality.

Not my cup of tea. B-