The reboot of a popular horror franchise tops the DVD releases for the week of Dec. 19.
“The Exorcist: Believer”: A young single father contends with the demonic possession of his daughter, who becomes possessed after performing a ritual with her friend in the woods.
Writing for Tribune News Service, critic Katie Walsh found the movie “an exhausting affair, an unrelenting film that attempts to cover up its lack of shock and suspense with a kind of cinematic bludgeoning: a battering about the face and head delivered via smash cuts, jump scares, overlapping sound design and chaotic camerawork. Yet despite all this stylistic violence, all the demonic histrionics — there’s not one but two possessed tweens this time — grows tiresome almost immediately.”
Also new on DVD
“What Happens Later”: Meg Ryan, who also directed, and David Duchovny star as exes who run into each other in an airport during a weather delay and work through their past hurt in this rom-com.
“On Fire”: Action thriller in which a family living in remote Northern California must survive a sudden wildfire.
“Pet Sematary: Bloodlines”: Paramount+ prequel that dives into the backstory of a major character from the films and Stephen King’s original novel: Jud Crandall, memorably portrayed by Fred Gwynne in the 1989 movie.
“Rumble Through the Dark”: A former MMA fighter faces his toughest battle when he must partake in one last bout to save the family home. Starring Aaron Eckhart and Bella Thorne.
“Star Trek: Lower Decks – Season Four”: The Paramount+ animated sci-fi comedy/franchise entry boldly launches a fourth season.
“The Retirement Plan”: Nicolas Cage stars in this action comedy as an estranged father who has to help his daughter after she gets mixed up in criminal activity.
“The Wandering Earth II”: Sequel to the Chinese sci-fi movie that finds humanity continuing its struggle for survival.
“Under the Boardwalk”: Animated family film about two crabs who must find their way back home after being swept away by a storm.
