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October 27, 2008
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Should I see it?
No.


Short Review: The scariest thing about this horror movie is that it was released.

Exorcist: The Beginning

To be fair, this film had one hard time getting made. The project began with John Frankenheimer as director. He died in 2002. Then Paul Schrader (yes, they actually handed it over to the screenwriter of The Last Temptation of Christ) took over and was canned. Finally, the producers, having shown their great judgment decided to one-up themselves and bring on Renny "I’m a Hack, Everyone In The Industry Knows I’m A Hack" Harlin to remake the film. With all of that, there is no way this film is any good – it isn’t.

Here’s the deal, the reason the first movie is so successful is because it made the story plausible. This film is so disjointed and unrealized it can barely stand on its own. Then again, Renny Harlin, the used car salesman of Hollywood, is known for making spectacular disasters such as Nightmare On Elm Street IV and Die Hard II. Like the demon of the Exorcist films, Renny intrudes into unwitting films and contorts them into unseemly abominations. The difference is that it’s the audiences that are left with the spinning heads and green vomit.

This movie is not all bad. It has some well-choreographed sequences and the first act is pretty solid. The movie hits a wall with its juvenile concepts of demonic possession. The possessed person in this film is a parody of the original. It truly is almost laughable. All of the weak points that make this film not work return to the concept of believability.

The word is that Paul Schrader had made a complete film before being dumped from the project. Then Renny made this pathetic effort. This other version, the Schrader version, of the film is apparently going to be released to fulfill some contractual obligation. We can all look forward to that release since we know he couldn’t do a worse job.


Related Reviews:
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)


Other Critic's Reviews:
PopMatters
Film Threat


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posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 12:00 PM




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