Between a troubled production (which included extensive re-shoots, re-casting, and a screenplay seemingly written as filming went along), it’s no surprise that “Exorcist: The Beginning” is a bit of a mess. Give its troubled history it’s better than one might expect, but there’s very little story here, and the plot consists mostly of Stellan Skarsgaard’s dull-as-dirt Father Merrin leering into the camera. With some truly amateurish GCI and little character development, there isn’t much to go on here. The climax comes perilously close to laughable, between the aforementioned CGI, over-polished makeup, ludicrous voice work and lame dialogue.
Rating: ★★ (out of 5)
Paul Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist was a tad better, but neither film is very good. The idea is good, but The Exorcist is one of those movies that didn’t need sequels.
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I agree! Although have you watched the show on Fox? It’s incredible, the best thing in the franchise since the original, and without spoiling anything, it’s 100 per cent part of the mythology, it’s basically Exorcist 5 as a miniseries.
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I didn’t know about the TV show! That’s interesting. I’ll try to catch the first episode. Thanks!
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