Exorcist : The Beginning (2004)
Our Score: 5/10
IMDb Score: 8/10
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Summary:
"God isn't here today" Indeed, he has better taste in movies! |
Perhaps they should have gone for "third time's a charm" when filming
the fourth installment to the Exorcist pantheon.
In my experience, a prequel is meant to explain the frayed ends of
other films. To bring light at the end of the tunnel, like a
retrospective... to help us understand and find answers to the
questions of the earlier installments.
Exorcist, the Beginning does no such thing. Instead it leaves all the
unanswered questions, unanswered, and obscures the questions by
repeating them incorrectly, thus tarnishing the original thought that
gave rise to the questions in the first place.
Exorcist begins in Iraq, at the dig site of a a torn and destroyed
ancient church... parts of which we see in this film, which
miraculously takes place in Africa. "We think this is the place Lucifer
fell" That's great but utterly tainted by the fact the original church
in Exorcist is in IRAQ, and this movie somehow takes place in Africa.
When making a film, do your homework! No names are married to the 2
priests 1500 years ago, or the 4 priests who came in 1896, characters
disappear without rhyme or reason, and things degrade from there.
The story follows no set path, in fact neither do the characters. As a
doctor who believes in nothing of the supernatural, becomes a believer
overnight due to a radio turning on by itself, playing some music, and
getting her period! That was outright entropy of storyline one sees
only in the worst films of this genre.
The only thing this director seems to know how to do, are scenes of
grave sites, ironically enough, and sadly there are only 2 such scenes,
lasting a total of 30 seconds combined, those being the Prologue and
the scene with Merren watching the sky in the mysterious graveyard are
the best eye candy the film could dream to possess. I only wish the
entire film could have held that level of intensity.
Basically stuff happens, disjointed from everything else that happens,
nothing is answered, it's as if they threw stuff they just wanted to
happen together to make the film, without a thought of actual
storyline, or story progression. Flow of events simply did not exist in
any enjoyable manner.
Plot holes and flaws aside, this movie doesn't deserve to even be
called part of the Exorcist mythos. This was simply, a bad movie, which
will only hurt the good Swedish actors who wasted their time to be a
part of it.
A butterfly crawls out of the Major's mouth so he quickly blows his
brains out. I mean give me a freaking' break - this movie was beyond
retarded, it was terribly directed, the music was unsupported, and the
characters had no substance. In fact the story itself was a smattering
of incorrect referencing, cliché symbolism, and racial propaganda so
overdone it was almost levity.
I laughed when I saw the swarm coming in from afar over the scene of
the well, hoping Sadako or Samara from the brilliant horror film THE
RING, would climb out and teach these filmmakers a thing or two about
psychological horror and suspense... but no such luck was to be had.
Tagline: God is not here today, yeah, cos he has better taste in
movies! Number one on Entertainment Weekly's list of the scariest
movies of all time. Number 196 of the top 250 movies as rated by fans
on the IMDb.com database. Number one R-rated film of all-time if
adjusted for inflation. Banned in several countries including the
United Kingdom. Possibly the scariest and most controversial film ever
made.
The movie was The Exorcist, the horror film about a possessed child
that took the world by storm in 1973. Those of us lucky enough to see
the film in a packed theater or to have lived through its release will
never forget the experience. News about paramedics being on hand in
major cities to handle the panic stricken and reports of people
fainting in theaters were rampant. Religious leaders like Billy Graham
condemned the film claiming the movie itself to be possessed by the
devil and there were rumors of a curse put upon the production crew
that grew increasingly elaborate with every broken telephone
connection.
All the hype and hysteria lead to buckets and buckets of cash for the
Warner Bros. Studio and then two inferior sequels (which seem to be the
right of passage for a film in this genre). Restored in 2003, director
William Friedkin added some 'never-before-seen' footage and re-released
The Exorcist theatrically. Its second run scared up another $40 million
to add to its already impressive cume.
So based on a franchise that fizzled out with the third installment in
1990 only to be resurrected with the 30-year anniversary DVD edition of
the original, Hollywood has decided to go back and try and breathe new
life into the series by telling the story of Father Merrin before he
encountered the possessed Regan MacNeil in the apt titled Exorcist: The
Beginning.
Going backwards in time is usually easier for filmmakers as they don't
have to deal with leftover character explanations or story plots that
still needed resolve. But this was the least of the films production
problems.
First were the revolving door of directors attached to the project
including John Frankenheimer who stepped down from the production
eerily just before his death. Then Paul Schrader (Auto Focus) came on
board and shot an entire film. Studio executives were however
unimpressed with the lack of scares and gore and green lit the film to
be re-made again under the helm of Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger). Harlin
re-shot the entire film incorporating only a few scenes from the
original Schrader version.
The next obstacle was with the availability of the actors for a second
full shooting schedule. When Gabriel Mann was unable to reprise his
role due to a scheduling conflict, another actor, namely James Darcy
from Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was brought on
board to replace him. Other actors and actresses and additional story
lines were added to help shape Harlin's new vision and voilà, two
versions of a film to make the perfect 2-sided DVD (Like that will ever
happen!).
Whether Schrader's version will ever see the light of day is unknown
and that is too bad, for in the interim, we are left with a shell of a
film that is so misguided and uninteresting, it made Scary Movie look
like an Oscar contender. For those of you who caution to comment that
no film could ever live up to the original, I argue that this movie
stands on its own to being the worst of in the series and maybe even
one of the worst films of 2004.
Exorcist: The Beginning centers on the Father Merrin character. Here,
he is not far removed from the brutality he witnessed during World War
II and his faith has severely waned. While aimlessly drifting through
Egypt, Merrin is contracted to help in the excavation of a church that
has been uncovered as part of an archaeological dig in Kenya. As their
desecration begins, an evil is unleashed unto the land with unspeakable
force. How much force you ask? Well, enough force to cause the MPAA of
slapping a NC-17 rating on the film unless specific cuts were made. As
Merrin continues his research strange things begin to happen to the
village. Tribesmen fall into uncontrollable seizures, hyenas begin
lurking amongst the workers and after a young boy is torn apart, his
younger brother seems to be in a state reminiscent of Regan MacNeil.
While the everyone from the Vatican to the British Army tries to
interfere with the progress or the information being released as part
of the dig, Merrin and the local doctor (Izabella Scorpuco) defy the
warning signs of evil as they try to put the pieces of the churches
puzzle together.
For a movie that is suppose to scare the pants off us, I didn't even
feel a tug at my zipper. I was actually surprised at the lack of scares
and how the film tried to resort to the usual tricks to try and induce
jumps. Clocks that stop ticking, crosses that turn upside down when
you're not looking and doors that open and close on their own have all
been done before and wouldn't scare even my young nephew despite the
fact that with each attempt they blast a sound bit so loud that it's
obvious that they felt they needed the help. Also crippling the films
credibility were the below average special effects. The hyenas were so
CGI as to be distracting and the possessed individual in the final
chapter comes after Father Merrin like something out of the Evil Dead
series. In maybe the most ridiculous scene in the film, dead
butterflies stuck to a hobby board begin fluttering. Scary indeed.
Maybe the filmmakers should have taken a look at the history of church
related mysteries in the past five years. The Order and Stigmata proved
that people are no longer interested in seeing religiously over toned
thrillers. Maybe the real horrors of war and its atrocities being
broadcast over our breakfast tables have us more grounded in present
day repugnance.
It would not be fair to bark at the acting in Exorcist: The Beginning
simply because Stellan Skarsgĺrd and company have so little to work
with, they don't seem to be interested in their roles and let's face it
– it's hard to take the bull by the horns when the bull is a donkey.
For all my bitching and complaining, I will give this stinker a ˝ star.
I did like the opening that had a wide angled shot that takes place
after a war leaving thousands dead or dying on the battleground, and I
will admit to not seeing the twist at the end of the film even if it
was for lack of interest. But ˝ star or no stars, my hopes is that
people read this review and spare themselves the wallet ravaging to
give this dog the box office it deserves.
