Review of Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) by Andrew U — 24 Jun 2009

Exorcist: The Beginning has had an all-too-real curse all its own, something that should have been a warning to the filmmakers. The film was originally directed by Paul Schrader, who reportedly turned in a suspense film that didn't have the sort of slam-bang horror elements that the studio wanted to see.

So enter Renny Harlin (The Long Kiss Goodnight), well known for his action pieces, to re-shoot the film. Not interested in just doing some re-shoots to try and "save" someone else's film, Harlin was determined to make the film his own.

The studio agreed, allowing Harlin to not only re-shoot but re-cast the film. The result is what is bound to be one of the most interesting film experiments in the history of Hollywood when the DVD release shows up ? two directors who worked from the same script to deliver two distinctly different movies.

Since Harlin's version is the one that Warners is releasing to theaters this weekend, it will be this version that will be regarded as the "official" release. Both shoots, much like the shoots for the films in the '70s, were plagued with problems, not the least of which involved Harlin being hit by a car soon after taking the job, shattering his leg.

While I'm sure the pain in Harlin's leg was excruciating, the pain the audience feels while Exorcist: The Beginning unspools for nearly two hours is more like a dull, throbbing toothache, the kind that just won't go away no matter what you do.

The film has a look reminiscent of the Indiana Jones films. Set in post-World War II Africa, former Catholic priest Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard, King Arthur) is working as an archeologist, drifting from place to place.

Merrin saw more than his share of horrors at the hands of the Nazis which has caused him to question the nature of good, evil and even God. When a mysterious man (Ben Cross, The Order ? he just can't seem to get away from religious thrillers, apparently) offers him a large sum of money to investigate a dig that has turned up an ancient Catholic church in an area of Africa that shouldn't have an ancient Catholic church, Merrin is hesitant but intrigued.

Merrin is joined by a young priest from Rome (James D'Arcy, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World) who may be withholding information from Merrin but is excited to be working with the man who literally wrote the book on many of the Catholic rituals.

There's a lot of potential for genuine suspense and mood here but Harlin chooses instead to use repeated scenes of children being tortured, victimized and brutalized in an attempt to instill a feeling of horror in the audience.

Harlin overuses these sequences to the point that they lose all effect. The film's pace is slow and deliberate, probably in an attempt to try to build mood and suspense but all it manages to build is excruciating boredom.

When the film finally cranks it up and gets to the exorcism after a plot twist that we might give a darn about if the audience hadn't lost interest about half an hour before it happened, it's way too little, far too late.

The final climax brings in elements from the original Exorcist, including some makeup design and bits of dialogue, in an attempt to create a connection with that far superior film.