Though it was generally assumed that the demon from William Friedkin's original masterpiece, Pazuzu, was the same evil spirit that possessed the two girls in The Exorcist: Believer, it's now come to light that it was actually a different entity entirely.
The female demon, a massive monstrosity known as Lamashtu, does make an appearance during the final act exorcism scene, but we only get a couple of quick glimpses.
During an interview with PolyGon.com, special makeup effects head, Christopher Allen Nelson, revealed that old Lamashtu originally had a larger role in the film.
“You see [Lamashtu] very abstractly in the final exorcism,” Nelson explained. “But we did an entire head-to-toe prosthetic suit, harness, wings, horns, a full realization of Lamashtu which I’m very, very proud of and was very difficult. It was five and a half hours of makeup in, about an hour and a half makeup out, including a 12-hour shoot day.”
Interestingly, Pazuzu and Lamashtu were adversaries in Mesopotamian legend, with the former said to protect pregnant women from the malevolent demigoddess. Could we see Pazuzu return in Deceiver or the final chapter in the trilogy for a face-off with his ancient enemy? It may sound like a somewhat silly premise, but that doesn't mean it's not on the cards.
"Exactly 50 years ago this fall, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. Now, on Friday, October 13, a new chapter begins. From Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green, who shattered the status quo with their resurrection of the Halloween franchise, comes The Exorcist: Believer.
Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil."
The Exorcist: Believer also stars Ann Dowd as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.
The movie is now in theaters, with sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver, arriving on April 18, 2025.