If there’s any director from this generation who can guarantee audiences a good scare, it’s Mike Flanagan. His best TV shows and movies know how to tap into our deepest fears. Whether it’s fear of the unknown in Midnight Mass, human trauma in The Haunting of Hill House, or slow-burning tension from Doctor Sleep, this horror director knows how to creep us out with his projects. With Flanagan’s latest project confirmed to be the next Exorcist movie and the “scariest movie” he’s made, I’m already really nervous.
Blumhouse and Mike Flanagan have collaborated successfully on films like Oculus, Hush and Ouija: Origin of Evil. Now the two horror forces will again come together for “a radical new take” of The Exorcist horror reboot. Flanagan told THR his goal is to make the upcoming horror film the “scariest movie” he’s made, and I’m shaking already:
We aren’t making this easy on ourselves. But I’ve always felt that there’s no point in going into a franchise or into a property that monolithic unless there’s something new you can bring. I chased The Exorcist very aggressively because I was convinced I had something that I could add. This is an opportunity to do something that I believe has never been done within the franchise — something that honors what came before it but isn’t built on nostalgia. I really just saw an opportunity to make the scariest movie I’ve ever made. I know expectations are high. No one’s more intimidated than I am.
If even Mike Flanagan is “intimidated” by his own project, I have the perfect excuse to be just as freaked out. The TV series/film director has easily scared me with his popular Netflix shows. I jumped when Nell’s ghost popped out between Shirley and Theo while driving in The Haunting of Hill House. The sacrifice of Riley Flynn burning alive in front of Erin in Midnight Mass still lives rent-free in my mind. Not to mention, Flanagan’s latest scary series The Fall of the House of Usher, packs a whole bunch of terrifying moments with its chilling music and gruesome character death scenes.
It’s hard to believe that the filmmaker who makes a living scaring audiences couldn’t even stomach a horror film when he was a kid. Mike Flanagan told THR that he used to avoid the horror genre as a child until he was forced to see the horror miniseries IT at a slumber party when it aired on ABC. As traumatizing as that experience was for him, the Before I Wake director/writer told himself that he could feel himself getting braver with each horror film he made himself watch. By the time Flanagan was in college, he claimed he was hard to scare and at the point where he knew he wanted to delve into the horror genre as a filmmaker. It proves a little exposure therapy is a great way to tackle your fears.
I’m confident that Mike Flanagan will stick to his word that The Exorcist reboot will surely make us shudder. With the 1973 William Friedkin movie that started it all still considered one of the best horror films of all time, the other Exorcist movies that followed didn’t pan out well. However, I believe there’s still hope in the Exorcist franchise if the next director signing on already has a knack for scaring audiences.
The most recent installment, Exorcist: Believer, got mixed reviews from critics with many complaining it wasn’t very scary. As David Gordon Green’s supernatural horror film experienced a box office stumble on top of that, the planned trilogy was scrapped. Knowing that Mike Flanagan will be the next director to reboot the horror film that made audiences of the ‘70s leave theaters in tears, I have no doubts that the Gerald’s Game director will do the same for audiences of this generation.
As nervous as I am with Mike Flanagan saying his new Exorcist movie will be the “scariest” film he’s made, I’m also really excited about it. The American filmmaker’s TV and film projects have already proven himself to do a great job of providing scary moments in unexpected places and deep character developments. Exorcist might be the perfect project for Flanagan to get his hands on and really deliver scares that horror enthusiasts like myself crave, no matter how nervous they are to approach.
Mike Flanagan’s new reboot of The Exorcist is expected to be released in theaters on March 13, 2026. Until then, you can find many of Flanagan’s well-known scary projects on your Netflix subscription.