Review of Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) by Pekka K — 06 Feb 2008

This movie managed to surprise me. I expected something quite mediocre, and was pleasantly surprised. For the most part, the movie managed to maintain a good level of suspense. Instead of blood and flesh strewn all over the place, the gore is served in small convenient portions, hinting at things happening that aren't caught by the camera.

Towards the end, when Father Merrin crawls through an underground tunnel, there is a very rewarding shot that really conveys the claustrophobic nature of the tunnel, somewhat similar to the "Buried Bride" scene in Kill Bill part 2.

Unfortunately, the end becomes somewhat clichéd, which spoils the movie a fair bit. I'd gladly have awarded it 3.5 or 4 stars if it had managed to maintain the suspense up until the very end, like for instance in the Ring.