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.
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.
I would like to start by saying that this is far better than Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) but absolutely nothing compared to The Exorcist (1973) or The Exorcist III (1990). You know that there is going to be an exorcism and they don't let you think otherwise at any point. The problem is that the build up to this finale is not looking at the social aspects and the introverted paranoia associated with such confusion but instead focuses on confusing the issue. It feels painful as this has been done before so much better. This is boring with little development until near the end with an interesting twist and some cool scenes. The biggest gripe is that this film is laced with computer effects designed to impress the audience. You don't need to be impressed, you need to be scared. This film isn’t that bad, it simply doesn't deliver.
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.
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.
This prequel to "The Exorcist" seeks to follow the first confrontation between a young Father Merrin and Pazuzu, countering the opening scenes of the first film. The environment of the film is roughly in British Kenya, where a Byzantine chapel has just been discovered, in perfect condition because it was deliberately buried soon after construction. Here begins the problems of this film, with the script gluing Byzantine art to a chapel whose interior has nothing to do with it, besides being outside the geographical area where the Byzantines were. Okay, the movie is fiction, but does it need to invent something so unrealistic? Father Merrin is the most dense and complete character. Interpreted by Stellan Skarsgård in a relatively satisfactory manner, he is a priest in doubt due to the remorse and traumas of World War II. All this has been well used and intelligently developed. Another thing I liked was the romantic subplot between the priest and Sarah, the attractive nurse of the field, played by Izabella Scorupco. Possessions are slow to occur although demonic signs are evident, and the ending may even be surprising, but only partially. The film attempts to compensate for obvious screenplay flaws with special effects, but most attempts are so rudimentary that it does not have the desired impact. Renny Harlin may not be the worst director ever but he is definitely not one of the best. Throughout the film, there are very obvious exaggerations, likely fruit of a bad script and an indolent director. One of them is the characterization of Scorupco at the end of the film, in a clear and unnecessary allusion to "The Exorcist". This film was an effort, but an effort without glory or merit for any of those involved.
“God is not here today, Priest”. Oh I laughed my ass off when I heard that golden nugget of a line. Renny Harlin you really outdid yourself here buddy, **** on legacy of The Exorcist with this boring, predictable, jump scare filled garbage.
0/10 Jay x
I watched this today with my boyfriend and during the movie I predicted what would happen, and I was right every time. It was just too predictable and like other movies. Don't really see exactly how this is the beginning, and the movie stunk too much to watch it again to understand. :/ Plus, the DVD features were extra boring.