Review of Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) by Johnny T — 16 Mar 2011

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. It rates fairly high on both the Scare-O-Meter and Gross-Out Scale, with an early hyena attack guaranteed to have you flinching in terror. 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.

VERDICT: "Rental" - (Negative to Mixed reaction). These films are only worth renting because of certain good things that are worth seeing, but are not worth paying at a theatre to see due to bad things that overcome anything good.