The Exorcist, a horror film widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential in cinema history, has a vastly different story to tell when it comes to its franchise. Over the past half-century, each subsequent film has fallen short of capturing the quality and impact of the original, making the entire series a half-century-long display of failure. Among these underwhelming sequels and spin-offs, Exorcist: The Beginning, 2004 prequel directed by Renny Harlin, stands out as a particularly disappointing example.
Set roughly a quarter-century before the events of the original film, the plot follows Father Lenkster Merrin, a troubled Catholic priest who, haunted by his experiences in Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, wanders the globe in search of a new purpose in life. In Cairo, he encounters Semelier (played by Ben Cross), an antiques collector who convinces him to join an archaeological dig in British Kenya. There, the remains of a 6th Century Byzantine-style church have been inexplicably discovered. As Merrin delves deeper into the dig, he experiences a series of disturbing incidents and supernatural phenomena that slowly convince him that some kind of demonic force is at work.
Exorcist: The Beginning, more than anything else, demonstrates the pitfalls of Hollywood's decision-making. It's not only a prequel, but also a remake/reboot of an already completed prequel, directed by Paul Schrader, with a budget of $30 million. Warner Bros. wasn't satisfied with the low quantities of gore and scares in the finished product and hired Renny Harlin to shoot additional footage. He convinced the studio not only to make occasional reshoots, but add completely new scenes and add different cast. The result was a full-blown remake, with a staggering $50 million budget.
While Harlin did provide some scary and gory scenes, he failed in almost every other aspect. Instead of building suspense slowly, The Beginning is burdened by a confusing prologue set in the time of the Crusades, and the motive of the Byzantine church in the middle of Africa is not properly explored. The film is talk-heavy and lacks action, making it boring until the rushed and perfunctory final act.
The use of CGI is extensive and, unlike the original, makes the setting look like a low-budget television film recreated in a studio rather than an actual Hollywood blockbuster shot in Moroccan locations. Despite a solid performance by Stellan Skarsgård, the film is a bad one that doesn't even have the luxury of being so bad it's good, unlike Exorcist II: The Heretic.
The hostile reactions from critics and fans of the original Exorcist and its creators convinced Warner Bros. executives to admit their mistake and release Paul Schrader's version, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, the following year. Schrader's film won favour by looking light years better than The Beginning. This led to a near two-decade hiatus before the next instalment, 2023's The Exorcist: Believer, which continued the pattern of failure.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
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