Exorcist: The Beginning Movie Review 2004

Once upon a time, Paul Schrader was set to make a prequel to the 1973 horror classic "The Exorcist." He shot his film, which was rejected by the producer as insufficiently scary. So Renny Harlin was hired to basically re-shoot (and re-cast) the entire movie. This backstory has got to be more interesting than what finally showed up on screen. In 1949, Merrin (holdover Skarsgard) has temporarily rejected the priesthood and is working as an archeologist. He agrees to travel to Kenya and bring back an artifact unearthed at a mysteriously preserved Byzantine church. Scary, possibly supernatural, things begin to happen--a child even becomes possessed! Would that any of the cheap theatrics could, more than momentarily, hold a viewer's interest. Schrader's version is also expected to be released on DVD.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on DVD
Running time 114 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Classic Horror, Psycho-Thriller, Devils, Nuns & Priests, Period Piece: 1940s, Middle East, Big Digs, Grim Reaper

Screenplay

William Wisher, Caleb Carr, Alexi Hawley

Cast

Stellan Skarsgard, James D'Arcy, Izabela Scorupco, Remy Sweeney, Julian Wadham, Andrew French, Ben Cross, David Bradley

Cinematography

Vittorio Storaro

Director

Renny Harlin

Music

Trevor Rabin

Other

Michael C. Moore, Mark Goldblatt, Eugenio Ulissl, Luke Reichle, Stefano Ortolani

Producer

James G. Robinson, Morgan Creek Productions, Warner Bros.