Halloween Horror Nights in 2023, on both coasts, features a house based on the classic horror property “The Exorcist.” However, for 2023, the Blumhouse movie, “The Exorcist: Believer,” serves as that house choice for this year’s event as opposed to the classic movie. We walked through this house on opening weekend at the Orlando event.

The fact that makes this house most interesting has to do with the movie being released in October 2023. So, “The Exorcist: Believer” Halloween Horror Nights house had guests walk through it before the film appeared in theatres. This led to confusion for many guests on opening night. They expressed that many scenes failed to make sense.

In fact, the intrigue of this movie’s release date creates more drama with this house. In fairness, most films, in the past, used at Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) released after the event started have not done well. We voiced that concern previously. However, the drama of the release date does not stop there.

The Power of Taylor Swift

The day before the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, all saw the power of Taylor Swift. No, Taylor Swift will not appear at HHN this year. Well, we think her schedule looks packed. Still, her star power has influenced “The Exorcist: Believer” movie release date.

“The Exorcist: Believer” movie was supposed to be released in theatres on October 13. However, a certain musical superstar’s “Eras Tour” concert film will appear in theaters on October 13. The hashtag of #Exorswift did not last long.

Look what you made me do.

The Exorcist: Believer moves to 10/6/23#TaylorWins

— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) August 31, 2023

Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions announced on Twitter (X) that #TaylorWins and that “The Exorcist: Believer” would be released in theatres on October 6, 2023.

We think this might be good news for Halloween Horror Nights fans who visit in October.  Still, the HHN house based on the 2023 movie is supposed to be like walking through a movie trailer.

When Universal announced this house, they published a short explanation. It reads, “Angela. Katherine. Two missing girls have been found with no memory of what happened to them. But wherever they went, the ultimate evil returned with them. Witness a chilling chain of events as you enter the most terrifying scenes from the new Blumhouse film.”

The Exorcist: Believer Halloween Horror Nights House

So, with all that drama, how was the HHN house? Guests will find this house’s entrance near the Universal Music Plaza Stage. Guests entered an Exorcist house 50 years after the original horror classic was first released in theatres.

Compared to the other intellectual property houses at this year’s event, “The Exorcist: Believer” had the shortest waits for guests during the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights. In fairness, “Stranger Things” and The Last of Us make for stiff competition for guest’s attention.

Our experience with this house qualifies as mixed. We found the set design well done. The scares included worked well. However, even with our knowledge of the upcoming movie, we struggled to follow the flow of the plotline within “The Exorcist: Believer.” Even though we know the entire plot of the movie with the “mother-load” plot twists, we faced difficulty putting the timeline together walking through.

Despite that, we appreciated the house overall. Will this be the most popular option at Halloween Horror Nights 2023? We doubt that. Maybe after the movie is released in theatres, our perspective will change.

Is this house worth your time? To that, we can say yes. However, please watch the trailer before entering this house. We guarantee it will help even if it feels like homework for Halloween Horror Nights. We will see you in the fog!