Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist *** (2005, Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann) – Classic Movie Review 2525

Director Paul Schrader’s alternative and original prequel to The Exorcist (1973), written by William Wisher and Caleb Carr, forms the satisfactory fifth entry in The Exorcist series. It is the reasonably happy ending to an extraordinary, unhappy story.

John Frankenheimer was first director of Exorcist IV The Prequel, but stepped down just before his death on July 6 2002 and Paul Schrader was hired and delivered the completed film Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. But the Morgan Creek studio executives were unsatisfied with his psychological film ‘without any of the bloody violence the backers had wanted’ and feared would be unsuccessful.

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

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 only $78million at the worldwide box office.

After the poor audience and critical response to Harlin’s version, Morgan Creek gave around $35,000 to Paul Schrader to finish his version, released in cinemas in a limited showing in May 20 2015. It 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.’

Stellan Skarsgård stars in both films as  the young Father Lankester Merrin who travels to East Africa, where he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in an initial battle that leads him to the rediscovery of his faith.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2525

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