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In case you don't know the story with these movies, here it is: Morgan Creek films hired Paul Schrader to direct a prequel to The Exorcist, after director John Frankenheimer left the project, presumably due to health reasons. Schrader finished shooting, and presented a rough-cut to the studio. They hated it, and Schrader was fired shortly afterwords. Director Renny Harlin was brought on to make an entirely new film from a somewhat re-worked script, most of the same cast, and the same sets. His movie was released as Exorcist: The Beginning; it got terrible reviews, and was a box-office failure. After this, with some pressure from Schrader, and, I believe, an online petition, Morgan Creek gave Paul Schrader a minimal post-production budget to finish his film, and gave it a limited theatrical release as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist.
It's an interesting position for me to be in with these movies, because I am a fan of both directors. Both of them have made some of my favorite movies - I love Paul Schrader's sexualized Cat People remake, and Renny Harlin's The Long Kiss Goodnight is a shining example of a great dumb, but not stupid action movie - and they both have areas in which they excel. Though, it would be difficult to find two more different film-makers. Both movies focus on Father Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgård, Max von Sydow's character from the original film), who is going through a crisis of faith (much like Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist) after an incident in a Holland village during World War II, where an SS officer forced Merrin to choose which ten people would be killed for the murder of a German soldier. Merrin is on an archaeological dig in Africa, when he uncovers a thousand year old Christian church which, unbeknownst to Merrin, was deliberately buried to trap the spirit of the demon Pazuzu (the chief antagonist of the Exorcist series).
Both movies show the strengths and weaknesses of their respective directors. Schrader capably handles the dramatic and story driven scenes, but his film never really inspires any sense of dread, his climax lacks any real tension, and because of the low budget, the CGI effects are some of the worst in a feature film since that Dungeons and Dragons movie with Jeremy Irons. Thankfully, the CGI shots aren't that abundant. Renny Harlin, however, does give his film a more frightening atmosphere, and there are some scenes - particularly one involving assorted lepidoptera - which make you squirm. But, Harlin's character scenes all descend into clichés and histrionics, and he has an annoying habit of shooting too much of his scenes in close-up, which detracts from the drama. Both movies also feature cinematography by the great Italian cameraman Vittorio Storaro (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Last Tango in Paris, Apocalypse Now) who's lighting you can literally almost feel on your body as look at it.
All in all, even though it is a lesser horror movie than Exorcist: The Beginning, I have to give the edge to Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Both movies feature more drama than horror, which should automatically give favor to Schrader. Also, Dominion is simply closer in tone and spirit to the original film, which is something that any prequel/sequel/remake should strive for. However, I do recommend watching both movies, preferably back-to-back, as the experience does give one a unique insight into how much impact a director has on a film.
Final ratings: Exorcist: The Beginning - ** (out of four) Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist - *** (out of four)
score 8/10
Black-Fandango 14 June 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2443738/ |
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29-11-2019 17:37:55
