Reams of tedious exposition finally give way to a random jumble of horror movie clichés, rising to a shrill pitch of hysteria that is never remotely frightening.
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:126
Fresh:14
Rotten:112
Average Rating:3.5/10
Consensus: A mediocre, gory horror film, nowhere near the quality of the 1973 original.
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin (STELLAN SKARSGÅRD) is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable... Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin (STELLAN SKARSGÅRD) is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable brutality perpetrated against the innocent people of his parish. In the wake of all he has seen, both his faith in his fellow man and the Almighty have deserted him. He can no longer honestly call himself a man of God. Merrin has traveled far from his native Holland in a desperate attempt to escape the horrors that he witnessed there. While drifting through Cairo, he is approached by a collector of rare antiquities to join a British archeological excavation in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. They have unearthed a Christian Byzantine church in inexplicably pristine condition - as if it had been buried on the day it was completed. The collector wants Merrin, an Oxford-educated archeologist, to find an ancient relic hidden within the church before the British discover it. But beneath the church, something much older sleeps, waiting to be awoken. Madness descends upon the local villagers and the contingent of British soldiers sent to guard the excavation. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village - atrocities he had prayed never to see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, and the horror has only just begun. In the place where Evil was born, Merrin will finally see its true face. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, a Morgan Creek production, Exorcist: The Beginning, directed by RENNY HARLIN and starring STELLAN SKARSGÅRD, JAMES D'ARCY and IZABELLA SCORUPCO. The film is produced by JAMES G. ROBINSON, executive produced by GUY McELWAINE and DAVID C. ROBINSON. Story by WILLIAM WISHER and CALEB CARR, screenplay by ALEXI HAWLEY. VITTORIO STORARO serves as cinematographer. The film is edited by MARK GOLDBLATT. Music by TREVOR RABIN. Exorcist: The Beginning will be released on August 20, 2004 by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures and Morgan Creek International. Exorcist: The Beginning has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue." [More]
Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, James D'Arcy, Izabella Scorupco, Ralph Brown
Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, James D'Arcy, Izabella Scorupco, Ralph Brown, Alan Ford
Director: Renny Harlin
Director: Renny Harlin
Screenwriter: Alexi Hawley
Producer: James G. Robinson
Composer: Trevor Rabin
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Exorcist: The Beginning
It isn't quite hell, but clambering to the end of this dusty remnant of an idea is certainly purgatory.
Harlin's hamfisted horror-show offers an hour and a half of tooth-grinding boredom followed by 20 minutes of all-singing, all-dancing, knees-up stupidity.
Laughably poor prequel that is dumb, nonsensical and not remotely scary -- however, it remains watchable thanks to Stellan Skarsgard.
A botch job of mistimed scare scenes, bland characters and computer-generated hyenas.
More than 30 years after the original hit screens, along comes the very best of the sequels.
The serious Catholic themes that made the original film genuinely disturbing have been flattened out into a cartoonish backstory pitting Merrin against Nazi storm troopers.
Some things are better left mysterious, and some movies better left unmade.
One would think studios would shy away from this dead horse; I guess the power of crap compels them.
What is rather horrifying is how this would-be thriller manages the bizarre feat of being simultaneously dull and completely ridiculous.
I'd love to say this will be final nail in The Exorcist's coffin, but somehow I doubt it.
Latest News for Exorcist: The Beginning
May 31, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Renny Harlin
Finnish director Renny Harlin has one of the most schizophrenic CVs in movie-dom. He's directed some of the most beloved action films of the last 20 years, including Die Hard 2,... More...
April 14, 2005:
Schrader's Exorcist Prequel Gets a Release Date
Remember all the hoopla that surrounded last year's "Exorcist: The Beginning"? How the execs didn't like Paul Schrader's cut so they hired Renny Harlin to do the whole... More...
December 09, 2004:
Schrader's Shelved Exorcist Sequel to See Limited Release in '05
Moviehole chimes in with an exclusive scoop update on Paul Schrader's version of "Exorcist: The Beginning": "Why isn't Paul Schrader's cut of "The Exorcist:... More...
June 11, 2004:
Gene Wilder has been dug up and is narrating the trailer for The Exorcist. ![]()
More...
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