Exorcist: The Beginning *** (2004, Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, James D’Arcy, Ben Cross, Ralph Brown, Alan Ford) – Classic Movie Review 2522

Director Renny Harlin’s 2004 chiller is the surprise belated prequel to the 1973 chiller classic, The Exorcist, no doubt prompted by the success of the cinema release of The Exorcist: The Director’s Cut in 2000. Officially the fourth instalment of The Exorcist series, it is adapted by William Wisher Jr, Caleb Carr and credited screenplay writer Alexi Hawley.

An ideally cast and authoritative Stellan Skarsgård takes over Max von Sydow’s old role as Father Lankester Merrin, a Roman Catholic priest who can no longer call himself a man of God after witnessing Nazi atrocities in World War Two.

He’s now an Oxford-educated archaeologist, and after arriving in Cairo is sent to Kenya by creepy antiquities collector Semelier (Ben Cross) to find a devilish relic hidden in a church newly unearthed by the British. Making contact with an American priest, Father Francis (James D’Arcy), a foreign doctor, Sarah (Izabella Scorupco) and an English officer, Major Granville (Julian Wadham), Merrin soon discovers an ancient Evil lurking, and initially thinks the Devil has entered the body of a small African boy, Joseph (Remy Sweeney).

Despite Skarsgard’s stalwart star turn, Vittorio Storaro’s marvellous cinematography, a splendid production (set designs by Stefano Maria Ortolani) and sparing but decent effects, this is a stubbornly ordinary horror film that has to get by on competent professionalism, which it does.

Director Renny Harlin does manage some very stylish shots and an eerie atmosphere, and, when the climax with the Devil comes, the movie shifts up a gear for a pounding, reasonably scary climax.

Also in the cast are Andrew French, Ralph Brown, David Bradley, Alan Ford, Antoine Kamerling, Eddie Osei, Israel Aduramo, Patrick O’Kane and James Bellamy.

It has an extraordinary, unhappy story as it was retooled from director Paul Schrader’s completed film Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, which Morgan Creek executives feared would be unsuccessful. But reviews for Harlin’s film were negative, and it was a financial flop, even with its strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals.

The budget was $80million ($30million for Schrader’s version and $50million for Harlin’s and Exorcist: The Beginning took $78million at the worldwide box office. In 2005, the Schrader version was released and got some better reviews than Harlin’s version and praise from The Exorcist author William Peter Blatty as ‘a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work.’

John Frankenheimer was first director, but stepped down just before his death on July 6 2002 and Paul Schrader was hired. But the producers were unsatisfied with his psychological film ‘without any of the bloody violence the backers had wanted.’

The producers replaced Schrader with Harlin and hired screenwriter Alexi Hawley to retool the previous script. Harlin re-filmed most of the movie, with new characters added and others deleted. Father Francis was recast with D’Arcy because Gabriel Mann was working elsewhere and Scorupco’s character was added.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2522

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