The Exorcist trailer: First look at TV series proves it has nothing on the original

Hey - any excuse to drag out Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' for another spin, right?

The new TV series Fox is trying push into our eyeballs simply isn't The Exorcist.

It's AN Exorcist; the job title, not the iconic William Friedkin film from 1973, adapted from the novel of the same name. There's nothing here to connect Fox's new proposed 21st-century reimagining of the tale to its source; not outside of the use of two priest characters, and an invoking of Mike Oldfield's infamous "Tubular Bells" music.

The original saw two men of faith, one committed (Father Merrin) and one wavering (Father Karras); here, Father Tomas Ortega (Sense8's Alfonso Herrera) is the compassionate, progressive face of the Catholic Church, whilst Father Marcus Brennan (Ben Daniel) is a fierce Templar Knight raised by the Vatican to battle evil.

Both cross paths when one suburban family fall into the clutches of dark forces; but this isn't the young Regan MacNeil, but college student Katherine (Scream Queens' Brianne Howey), who becomes increasingly reclusive. Her younger sister Casey (Hannah Kasulka), meanwhile, is convinced she can hear strange noises emanating from within the walls of their family home.

Their mother Angela (Geena Davis) believes the presence in their house is demonic, leading her to seek the help of the Catholic Church and leading to an epic face-off between the priests and an ancient evil. Surely that's got to be Pazuzu if there's any hope of tying back into the novel?

Really, there's little in the trailer to inspire any familiarity with the original film: eschewing its creeping, psychological frights for trashy jump scares and birds colliding into windows.

We'll just have to wait and see if there's any promise here when The Exorcist premieres in the fall.