Full Trailer for Mike Flanagan’s THE EXORCIST: MARTYRS Promises a Brutal New Nightmare
The full trailer for Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs has arrived, and it looks like the horror filmmaker is going to put audiences through hell with this one. After the disappointing The Exorcist: Believer in 2023, the franchise could use a serious comeback, and Flanagan might be exactly the filmmaker to pull it off.
The new film stars Scarlett Johansson as an NYPD detective and single mother who finds herself caught in a terrifying supernatural investigation after witnessing the execution of a notorious serial killer known as Father Sunday, played by John Leguizamo.
Father Sunday has a disturbing obsession with Catholic imagery, and while his execution should bring his murderous crimes to an end, death apparently isn't enough to stop him.
His evil continues to spread through supernatural means, and Johansson's character soon discovers that her 12-year-old son, played by Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet), has become the target of a demonic force.
As the nightmare escalates, she turns to two priests played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Laurence Fishburne for help. Sasha Calle also stars as a fellow detective investigating the horrifying events.
The story has an interesting crime-thriller angle that brings to mind The Exorcist III, which is still one of the franchise's most unsettling entries. Combining a serial killer investigation with demonic possession sounds like a great fit for Flanagan, especially considering how effectively he's handled supernatural horror throughout his career.
The filmmaker previously made a pretty exciting promise about his approach to the franchise, saying back in 2024, “I really just saw an opportunity to make the scariest movie I’ve ever made.”
That's quite a statement coming from the guy who gave us The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep, and The Fall of the House of Usher. Flanagan has already delivered some seriously disturbing horror, but he believes this new movie pushes him into even more uncomfortable territory.
Speaking about the film, Flanagan described it as the darkest project he's ever written. "It's viciously dark. It's unsafely dark at times, and we went places in there that I've never, never gone on any of my sets emotionally.
“But I have to say that at the end of it, we found some light and some hope in it that I'm really grateful for because it's a harrowing story."
Flanagan's best horror stories have always been about more than frightening audiences. He puts his characters through some awful experiences, but there's usually something meaningful at the heart of the nightmare. With a mother fighting to save her son from a demonic evil, The Exorcist: Martyrs gives him plenty of room to explore that territory.
The trailer offers a creepy look at what's coming, including Johansson investigating a horrific crime and Ejiofor's character leading a prayer inside a church. The religious imagery, disturbing mystery, and supernatural terror all point toward a nasty experience for horror fans.
I'm very interested in seeing what Flanagan does with the serial killer aspect of the story. The idea that executing a murderer could unleash something even worse is a pretty cool premise for an Exorcist movie.
Flanagan clearly has some ambitious plans for this movie, and with this cast and premise, there's plenty to be excited about.
The Exorcist: Martyrs hits theaters on March 12, 2027.