Movie Type: Supernatural Horror, Psychological Drama
Themes: Crisis of Faith, Demonic Possession, Redemption
Main Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Ralph Brown, Israel Adurama
Release Year: 2005
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In 2003, respected filmmaker and screenwriter Paul Schrader was hired to direct a prequel to the 1973 box-office smash The Exorcist. However, when Schrader turned in his film to executives at Morgan Creek Productions, the producers felt the film was not marketable, and they opted to remake the picture with director Renny Harlin, who brought a more visually aggressive approach to the story than Schrader's more contemplative vision. In 2004, Harlin's film, Exorcist: The Beginning, was released to middling critical and financial response, while the following year, Schrader's version went into limited release following film festival screenings. In Schrader's Exorcist: The Prequel, Father Lankester Merrin, the aging exorcist from the original story (played here by Stellan Skarsgård) is introduced in 1944, as he serves a flock in Holland during the Nazi occupation. After Nazi officers force Merrin to choose ten members of his congregation for immediate execution, Merrin is left an emotionally broken man, and he takes a leave of absence from his duties. Three years later, Merrin is taking part in an archeological project in East Africa, and he and his crew -- including priest Father Francis (Gabriel Mann), Major Granville (Julian Wadham), and Rachel Lesno (Clara Bellar) -- discover that a church from the fifth century has been buried in the desert. As Merrin and his associates discover that that a porthole to evil is located in the church, Cheche (Billy Crawford), a local boy Merrin has taken under his wing, begins showing signs of having fallen under the spell of Satanic forces. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Paul Schrader finally gets his due with the release of his far superior Exorcist prequel, Dominion. A brooding tale of lost faith that skillfully inverts the horror of William Friedkin's masterpiece, Schrader's cut is a devilish drama that satisfies the need for a serious look into Father Merrin's past. And while producers Morgan Creek were unhappy with the end result, Dominion succeeds simply because it does not fall prey to the stereotypical shocks that littered Renny Harlin's shameless schlock-fest, Exorcist: The Beginning. Both films cover enough familiar ground to make it an interesting case of déjà vu, though there's no denying that Schrader's film is a cut above your average fright flick. Dominion might not have pea-soup pukes, but that's not quite the story it has to tell. The simple idea of a possessed child evolving instead of becoming gruesomely disfigured doesn't quite afford one that much grisly horror, which is why most of the evil in the film comes from Schrader's knack for human frailty and not silly CG hyenas or Linda Blair knock-offs. The look of the film is superb, with the great Vittorio Storaro coming out of retirement to deliver a pic glowing in the warm African sun and near operatic at the end. Through it all, Stellan Skarsgård grounds the production with a solid performance made even better by the fine appearance by Gabriel Mann as Father Francis. Sadly, the picture is hindered by some spotty moments of effects that don't quite make the tale as timeless as it should be. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Andrew French - Chuma; Antonie Kamerling - Kessel; Julian Wadham - Major Granville; Eddie Osei - Emekwi; Ilario Bisi-Pedro - Sebituana; Billy Crawford - Cheche
Credit
Marco Tretini - Art Director, Andy Nicholson - Art Director, Stefano Ortoliani - Supervising Art Director, Pam Dixon - Casting, Wayne Morris - Co-producer, Art Shaeffer - Co-producer, Luke Reichle - Costume Designer, Marco Scotti - Costume Designer, Aaron Barsky - First Assistant Director, Paul Schrader - Director, Tim Silano - Editor, Guy McElwaine - Executive Producer, David C. Robinson - Executive Producer, Angelo Badalamenti - Composer (Music Score), Trevor Rabin - Composer (Music Score), Dog Fashion Disco - Composer (Music Score), John Graysmark - Production Designer, Vittorio Storaro - Cinematographer, James G. Robinson - Producer, Matthew Waters - Sound/Sound Designer, Danilo Bollettini - Special Effects Supervisor, William Wisher - Screenwriter, Caleb Carr - Screenwriter
