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20
American Carol, An
26
Babylon A.D.
24
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41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
45
Blindness
58
Body of Lies
63
Burn After Reading
58
City of Ember
15
College
82
Dark Knight, The
43
Death Race
15
Disaster Movie
43
Eagle Eye
58
Express, The
49
Family That Preys, The
57
Flash of Genius
36
Fly Me to the Moon
54
Get Smart
72
Ghost Town
55
House Bunny, The
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73
Kung Fu Panda
46
Lakeview Terrace
52
Longshots, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
51
Mamma Mia!
xx
Max Payne
43
Meet Dave
37
Miracle at St. Anna
35
Mirrors
xx
Morning Light
34
My Best Friend's Girl
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
39
Nights in Rodanthe
54
Quarantine
36
Righteous Kill
53
Rocker, The
xx
Secret Life of Bees, The
xx
Sex Drive
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
36
Space Chimps
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
47
Swing Vote
60
Traitor
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93
WALL-E
27
Women, The
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
73
Kung Fu Panda
72
Ghost Town
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
63
Burn After Reading
60
Traitor
58
Express, The
58
City of Ember
58
Body of Lies
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
57
Flash of Genius
55
House Bunny, The
54
Quarantine
54
Get Smart
53
Rocker, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
49
Family That Preys, The
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
46
Lakeview Terrace
45
Blindness
43
Eagle Eye
43
Meet Dave
43
Death Race
41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
39
Nights in Rodanthe
37
Miracle at St. Anna
36
Space Chimps
36
Righteous Kill
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
27
Women, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
20
American Carol, An
15
Disaster Movie
15
College
xx
Secret Life of Bees, The
xx
Sex Drive
xx
Max Payne
xx
Morning Light
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

xx
All of Us
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
63
Appaloosa
68
Ashes of Time Redux
68
August Evening
62
Baghead
81
Ballast
55
Battle in Seattle
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Billy: The Early Years
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
56
Bottle Shock
50
Breakfast with Scot
61
Brick Lane
xx
Call and Response
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Choke
43
Choose Connor
41
Cthulhu
62
Duchess, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
66
Elegy
xx
Elephant King, The
80
Encounters at the End of the World
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
64
Fall, The
xx
Filth and Wisdom
28
Fireproof
65
Flow: For Love of Water
37
Forever Strong
xx
Frontrunners
82
Frozen River
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
51
Good Dick
82
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44
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31
Hounddog
53
Humboldt County
72
I Served the King of England
71
I.O.U.S. A
40
Igor
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
xx
Just Buried
62
Kabluey
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
78
Last Mistress, The
xx
Lower Learning
63
Man Named Pearl, A
89
Man on Wire
xx
Mary
62
Mister Foe
86
Momma's Man
80
Moving Midway
53
Nights and Weekends
73
Obscene
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
55
Ping Pong Playa
76
Pool, The
82
Rachel Getting Married
56
Religulous
56
RocknRolla
55
Save Me
72
Secret, A
45
Shoot on Sight
57
Sixty Six
82
Tell No One
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
57
Towelhead
72
Transsiberian
83
Trouble the Water
83
U2 3D
84
Up the Yangtze
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
79
Visitor, The
xx
W.
61
Wackness, The
51
What Just Happened?
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
89
Man on Wire
86
Momma's Man
85
Edge of Heaven, The
84
Up the Yangtze
83
U2 3D
83
Trouble the Water
82
Tell No One
82
Happy-Go-Lucky
82
Frozen River
82
Rachel Getting Married
81
Ballast
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Moving Midway
79
Visitor, The
78
Last Mistress, The
76
Pool, The
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Obscene
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Secret, A
72
Transsiberian
72
I Served the King of England
71
I.O.U.S. A
68
August Evening
68
Ashes of Time Redux
66
Elegy
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
Flow: For Love of Water
64
Fall, The
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
63
Appaloosa
63
Man Named Pearl, A
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Duchess, The
62
Mister Foe
62
Baghead
61
Wackness, The
61
Brick Lane
57
Towelhead
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
57
Sixty Six
56
Religulous
56
Bottle Shock
56
RocknRolla
55
Save Me
55
Battle in Seattle
55
Ping Pong Playa
53
Humboldt County
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
53
Nights and Weekends
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
51
Good Dick
51
What Just Happened?
50
Breakfast with Scot
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Choke
45
Shoot on Sight
44
Henry Poole is Here
43
Choose Connor
41
Cthulhu
40
Igor
37
Forever Strong
31
Hounddog
28
Fireproof
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
xx
All of Us
xx
Elephant King, The
xx
W.
xx
Billy: The Early Years
xx
Call and Response
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Just Buried
xx
Filth and Wisdom
xx
Lower Learning
xx
Frontrunners
xx
Mary
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Exorcist: The Beginning
Warner Bros.
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue
Starring
Stellan SkarsgÄrd,
Izabella Scorupco,
James D'Arcy,
Remy Sweeney,
Julian Wadham,
Andrew French,
Ralph Brown,
and
Ben Cross
In the place where Evil was born, Father Merrin will finally see its true face. (Warner Bros.)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
Horror
|
Suspense/Thriller
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Alexi Hawley
William Wisher Jr. (story)
Caleb Carr (story)
William Peter Blatty (movie The Exorcist)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Renny Harlin
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: March 1, 2005
Video: March 1, 2005
Theatrical: August 20, 2004
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
115 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
60
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
Here's a popcorn movie with soul, welcoming the masses to consider how much can change in popular culture over 30 years, as the horrific becomes the familiar.

50
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Nothing fails like bad horror. But it's not despicable. It is merely boring.

50
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
The movie goes too far on too little motivation - and the middle section, with its maggoty villains, roiling skies and native revolts, seems almost barmy. Yet Exorcist: Beginning does score a small victory. It's not as bad as you'd think.
50
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Crust
A perfectly mediocre horror film. There is some hoot-inducing dialogue and cheesy effects, but the film's workmanlike narrative marches gamely forward, managing a handful of respectable scares along the way.

50
San Francisco Chronicle
Peter Hartlaub
While the fourth "Exorcist" movie may have unmitigated disaster written all over it, the finished product is somehow sort-of-kind-of not all that bad.

42
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
The new movie is a dusty piñata stuffed with omens and not much more.

40
LA Weekly
Ron Stringer
The surprise ending, when it comes, is more of a hoot than a holler.

40
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
The gooseberry Harlin came up with will win no proselytizers, but it does have a pleasant matinee modesty, a cool sepia-period look, and an interesting flashback relationship with Nazis.

40
Film Threat
Pete Vonder Haar
A horror movie that starts off decently but quickly falls victim to cliché. It is, ultimately, a disappointing genre entry, and one that falls far short of the originals greatness.

40
Variety
Joe Leydon
Earns points simply for not being bad enough to leave a stain on the screen. Unfortunately, this annoyingly disjointed shocker stumbles badly after promising early scenes, and quickly devolves into a chaotic blur of underdeveloped characters, illogical transitions and standard-issue scary-movie tropes.

40
Empire
Ian Nathan
It isnt quite hell, but clambering to the end of this dusty remnant of an idea is certainly purgatory.

38
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
Congratulations, Renny Harlin. You've successfully exorcised all the horror out of The Exorcist.

38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
The devil is back in Exorcist: The Beginning, and he is more disgusting than ever. Not more scary, just really yucky, in a kind of maggots-on-a-pizza-slice way.

30
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
There's no pea soup, but sketchy effects, cheap jolts, swirling cameras, and buckets of blood surround Exorcist: The Beginning with the potent aroma of cheese.

30
The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
The scariest thing about this film is how desperate the makers are to earn a scream.

30
The New York Times
Manohla Dargis
The risible dialogue, the bulging eyeballs, the heaving bosoms, the digitally rendered hyenas and squirming maggots, the movie fails to achieve the status of the instant camp classic. That's partly because the vibe of the film is too torpid.

25
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
The acting is serviceable at best, the direction unfocused - and the special effects and makeup cheesy-looking. This is surely the most dreary-looking film ever shot by the great Vittorio Storaro ("Apocalypse Now").

25
Premiere
Aaron Hillis
Its terrible enough to torture the damned.

20
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Pokey, blood-spattered, cheap-scare-larded prequel.

20
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
The serious Catholic themes that made the original film genuinely disturbing have been flattened out into a cartoonish backstory.

12
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
This prequel has something to appall everybody.

11
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
Sloppy, confusing, and dull as a dented crucifix.


The average user rating for this movie is 4.5 (out of 10) based on 35 User Votes
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