John Carpenter has no idea "how you can screw up" an 'Exorcist' reboot.

The horror icon - who worked with filmmaker David Gordon Green on the recent 'Halloween' reboot trilogy - has responded after the director's movie 'The Exorcist: Believer' has been panned by critics.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times newspaper, he said: “I like what David did when he made the three ‘Halloweens'.

“I loved No. 2 [‘Halloween Kills’]. Thought that was fabulous. I heard ‘The Exorcist’ really didn’t cut it.

"That could be a kick-a** movie. I don’t understand how you can screw that up.”

Carpenter - whose horror movie output includes the likes of 'The Thing', 'The Fog' and 'Assault on Precinct 13' - admitted while he doesn't really go to the cinema much, he does try to keep up and he'll be checking out 'The Exorcist: Believer' when he gets the chance.

He added: "I don’t go out. I haven’t been to a movie in a while, but I see them at my house. I’ll see it there."

He recently watched Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' blockbuster and while he insisted he wasn't the target audience for the movie, he heaped praise on Margot Robbie for her performance.

He said: "I watched 'Barbie'. I can’t believe I watched 'Barbie'. It’s just not my generation.

"I had nothing to do with Barbie dolls. I didn’t know who Allan was. I mean, I can sum it up.

"She says, 'I don’t have a vagina', and then at the end, 'I’m going to go to a gynecologist!' That’s the movie to me.

"I mean, there’s a patriarchy business in there, but I missed that whole thing. Right over my head. But I think she’s fabulous, Margot Robbie."

The new 'Exorcist' flick is a direct sequel to William Friedkin's original 1973 picture 'The Exorcist', considered to be one of the greatest horror movies ever made, and director Green recently admitted he wanted to do the series justice with his new adaptations.

The 'Halloween Ends' director told Collider: "I'm always my own worst critic, and putting pressure on myself that may or may not be the healthiest.

"But to me, it's trying to bring an integrity to a franchise that means a lot to me as a movie geek. So, just get the right team together, work your a** off, and make a movie."