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


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

Labels: exorcism, film, movie review, Paul Schrader, Renny Harlin, Stellan Skarsgård

This movie is easily the best horror movie of all time. A young priest, haunted by doubt and personal turmoil joins with an older priest to exorcise an adolescent girl, possessed by a demon. The demonic portions of the film are overplayed at times, the spinning head and spewing pea soup is a bit much, but overall William Friedkin handles his subject matter with a masterful hand. Horror works best if the filmmaker takes the subject seriously and grounds it in reality. In this case, Friedkin succeeds because he has respect for the theological aspects of the story and doesn't handle them with a smirk but with some reverence. He clearly understands that if you're going to propose possession than you have to seriously acknowledge that God exists and is the only answer to the conflict.

Strong performances from Max Von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn and Jason Miller make the most of the script penned by William Peter Blatty and Friedkin does well to capture their work.

This isn't a film for everyone. People easily frightened may want to avoid the movie. Those sensitive over the topic of possession may also want to pass this one up.

As a quick kick in the short loins to my atheist friends. If you're a slack-jawed atheist you may also want to see something else because, well, if you're really an atheist then this movie will be a stupid thing for you to watch. You can't tell me you don't believe in God but then turn around and get frightened by demon possession. It would be akin to me having a irrational fear of unicorns. I've had atheists try to tell me they thought this was a scary movie. Yeah? I guess I'd be scared too if I was unconsciously acknowledging the existence of God while still consciously denying him.


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


Other Critic's Reviews:
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
FilmHead

Labels: Ellen Burstyn, exorcism, film, Jason Miller, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, movie review, William Friedkin

Labels: exorcism, film, Laura Linney, movie review, Tom Wilkinson