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October 28, 2008
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
Should I see it?
No.


Short Review: Apparently, Satan’s latest ploy is to bore us into complacency.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist

Thanks to some rather stupid executive decision making, there were two separate films made to be the prequel to the horror classic The Exorcist. This version was the first to be completed. The story is this: director Paul Schrader handed this rendition of the story to the heads of Morgan Creek. Upon seeing a mature, risky film, the brain trust over at Morgan Creek decided that it was not commercial enough for their needs. After all, this film was thoughtful and made for adults. These geniuses decided to forgo the re-shooting of key scenes, re-editing of others and decided to throw everything out. In a further move of pristine intelligence and marketing brilliance, the suits at Morgan Creek canned Schrader and hired Hollywood’s used car salesman Renny “I never met a film I couldn’t ruin” Harlan. They brought Harlin on to remake the whole darn thing. Dropping Schrader for Harlin is like dropping Lawrence Oliver for Carrot Top. Sure, they can both put on a show but…

While not a marvel, this movie is still rather solid. Unlike the Harlin version, which is more cartoon than movie, this film takes itself and its subject matter seriously. In addition, unlike Harlin’s version, this film is watchable.

Stellan Skarsgård plays the young Father Merrin with a troubled, haunted intensity that captivates the screen. Skarsgård is very strong in this role, (he should be since he had to play it twice.) His Father Merrin is a fully realized character that speaks to the spiritual conflict Schrader attempts to explore with this story. The rest of the cast is passable but nothing special. They all orbit around Skarsgård's brooding performance.

Regardless of Skarsgård's work, this film doesn't capture the essence of the original piece. I believe the story itself is to blame for the film ultimately not succeeding. The evil in this film doesn’t emanate from a tangible source. It is more of a haunting than a possession story. Father Mirren is not confronted by the nemesis in physical form until the final third of the film. This means Mirren spends most of the movie sulking about as we wait for the inevitable possession scene to take place. This is where The Exorcist wins. Regan, the possessed girl in the original film, is a physical manifestation of evil. We had something to sink our collective movie watching teeth into. The use of a suggestive possession in this film is interesting and should have been explored in a novel, not on screen. This is a movie, we like to see things move.

The issues of the missing nemesis aside, this film delves into sin in a way that few other films have ever tried. There are two scenes in the film that are quite striking. We are shown Father Mirren during World War II where he is forced into his own brand of Sophie’s Choice. The residual guilt he feels from this terrible time in his life (I won’t go into details as to not ruin the movie) is the breeding ground from which Satan plies his wares against the Father in later life. There are some wonderful discussions and glimpses into sin and how one reacts to sin can lead one to the embrace of darkness. This film deserves great credit for doing something Hollywood steadfastly has refused to do, to take evil seriously.

Overall, this is a far superior film to the other prequel, which was released last year to an appropriate dead silence. Schrader’s version is a film made by a serious filmmaker trying to do what he was paid to do, entertain and inform on the human condition. This film fails on the first charge and succeeds on the second.


Related Reviews:
The Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Arrow in the Head
Roger Ebert

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posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 9:00 AM



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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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