Exorcist: The Beginning is a
2004 prequel to the 1973
film
The Exorcist. This
is the second version of the third
Exorcist sequel. It was
adapted by
William Wisher Jr.,
Caleb Carr and Alexi Hawley, and directed
by
Renny Harlin. The movie stars
Stellan Skarsgård,
Izabella Scorupco,
James D'Arcy,
Ben
Cross,
Ralph Brown and
Alan Ford.
Exorcist: The Beginning was retooled from the already
completed
Paul Schrader's
Dominion: Prequel to the
Exorcist (not released until later) which
Morgan Creek Productions feared
would be unsuccessful. Reviews of
Exorcist: The Beginning
were mostly negative, and the project (both Harlin's and Schrader's
films together) was not successful upon theatrical releases
(despite Harlin's version being more financially successful and #1
at the box office at that time).
William Peter Blatty (the
author/screenwriter of
The
Exorcist) said that watching
Exorcist: The
Beginning was his "most humiliating professional experience."
[82710] (On the other hand,
William Peter Blatty said that
Dominion: Prequel
to the Exorcist is "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of
work." )
Plot
The plot revolves around the crisis of faith suffered by
Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgård) following
the horrific events he witnessed during
World War II.
After
WWII, Merrin is an archaeologist in
Cairo
, when he is approached by a collector of
antiquities who asks him to come to a British excavation in the
Turkana region of Kenya
. This
dig is excavating a
Christian Byzantine church
from the 5th century — long before Christianity had reached that
region. Further, the church is in perfect condition, as though it
had been buried immediately after the construction was completed.
Merrin is asked to participate in the dig and find an ancient relic
hidden in the ruins before the British do. Merrin takes the job,
but soon discovers that all is not well — something evil lies in
the church and is infecting the region. The local tribesman hired
to dig refuse to enter the building, and there are stories of an
epidemic that wiped out an entire village. However, when Merrin,
growing suspicious of these rumors, digs up one of the graves of
the supposed victims of this plague, he discovers it is empty.
Meanwhile, the evil grows, turning people against each other and
resulting in violence, atrocities, and more bloodshed.
Beneath the church lies the ruins of an even older temple — but not
a Christian one. Rather, in the ruins under the church, Merrin and
his allies find demonic icons, and other signs of evil and
Satanism. This land is where he first encounters the
demon that calls itself
Pazuzu, which he will encounter again
in
The Exorcist. This demon is
said to "brush" several people, including a child named Joseph, who
falls ill because of it, and the former head of the dig who is
driven insane by visions.
At the end of the movie, the dig's doctor, Sarah (
Izabella Scorupco), turns out to be the
possessed individual and has the demon exorcised from her in the
tunnels below the church but dies. Dr. Merrin and Joseph emerge
from the church, (once again buried in sand) and history has
repeated itself. 50 (and 1500) years ago, everyone at the site was
killed by an evil presence from the church, except for one priest.
Now, only Father Merrin and the little boy are left as the British
soldiers and the local tribes have annihilated each other. Merrin
returns to Rome and meets with the collector at a cafe, explaining
he was unable to find the relic, the collector replies, "But you
found something....Didn't you?"
Cast
Production
The making of the movie was itself full of drama.
John Frankenheimer was initially set to
direct, but stepped down just before his death. He was replaced by
Paul Schrader, but the producers were
completely unsatisfied with the completed film he presented them.
Schrader aimed for a psychological film, and delivered what he
described as "footage without any of the bloody violence the
backers had wanted."
The producers fired Schrader and replaced him with Harlin.
Screenwriter Alexi Hawley was called to retool the previous script,
and he cut off some characters of Paul Schrader's version, besides
adding some new ones. Harlin went back and re-filmed most of the
movie, adding new characters and deleting others. The character of
Father Francis, originally played by
Gabriel Mann, had to be recast with
D'Arcy because Mann had a scheduling conflict. A character played
by Izabella Scorupco was introduced.
Though the film's plot centers around Father Merrin's exorcism of a
boy in Africa many years before the events in
The Exorcist, little effort was made to keep
the story consistent. Both versions of this prequel take a strong
departure from the scenes depicted in
Exorcist II: The Heretic, which
showed Merrin exorcising a teenage boy named Kokomu in flashbacks.
In both
Exorcist: The Beginning and
Dominion: Prequel to the
Exorcist the location and setting is different, the boy is
not named Kokomu, and he is eventually discovered to not be the
possessed victim. That said, Exorcist II: The Heretic is
universally despised by fans of the series and is also ignored by
Exorcist III: Legion. Though Exorcist: The Beginning also conflicts
with accounts from The Exorcist as well since it's revealed at the
end that the boy is not possessed. Dominion does not share this
inconsistency.
The film is shot in
Univisium (2:1)
aspect ratio (developed by
Vittorio Storaro, who also acted as
the cinematographer), although the theatrical release was presented
in 2.39:1.
In 2005, the Schrader version was released to theaters as
Dominion: Prequel
to the Exorcist. The critical reaction to Schrader's
version is only slightly better than Harlin's version, but
Schrader's version also received high praise from
William Peter Blatty (the
author/screenwriter of
The
Exorcist); he said that Schrader's version is "a handsome,
classy, elegant piece of work." )
Reception
Critical responses were mostly negative, with
Exorcist: The
Beginning earning a low 11% "rotten" rating on
Rotten Tomatoes. Prominent critic
Roger Ebert wrote, "I've seen both versions and
much prefer Schrader's, and yet it must be said that Harlin did not
prostitute himself in his version."
The project's estimated budget was $80 million ($30 million for
Schrader's version and $50 million for Harlin's). Estimated
worldwide theatrical gross was $78 million. Although it had beaten
Harlin's film's budget, it failed to beat the whole overall
project's budget.
It was nominated for two
Razzie
Awards, Worst Director and Worst Remake or Sequel.
Production errors
- In one close-up, during the final exorcism of Sarah, Izabella
Scorupco's prosthetic demon makeup is clearly detaching from her
face. This is most visible around the eyes.
References
- Bruce Westbrook, " "Dominion" director says he feels
vindication with movie's release - Latest prequel on demons matches
Harlin's version ," Houston Chronicle, May 21, 2005
- Exorcist: The Beginning at the Internet Movie
Database
- Bruce Westbrook, " "Dominion" director says he feels
vindication with movie's release - Latest prequel on demons matches
Harlin's version ," Houston Chronicle, May 21, 2005
- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/exorcist_the_beginning/
-
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050519/REVIEWS/50412001/1023
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204313/business
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