Dominion - Prequel to the Exorcist Reviews
Cassandra M
Super Reviewer
December 14, 2009
It's also surprising just how little crossover there is between the two films ? not just the respective scripts and the themes, but how little footage was pressed into service on the remake (barely two minutes, most of it establishing shots and a brief deleted scene). It's also clear that the film is still uncompleted. The cgi is terrible and all too obviously unfinished and the score suffers from being performed on synths rather than by an orchestra, which gives it a demo/temp track effect that doesn't always help the film, but the biggest problem remains the direction. While co-writer Caleb Carr's complaints about Schrader having no visual sense are frankly bizarre ? it's by far his best looking movie and certainly his most cinematic ? he's unable to rack up much tension, particularly in the finale. Much of this seems to be due to his inability to inspire his cast: with much of the film played in long takes, many of the supporting players aren't up to the script and clearly aren't getting enough help (the wildly inadequate Clara Bellar suffering more than most in the role taken by Isabella Scorupco in the remake). While there isn't a performance as bad as Alan Ford's in the Harlin version, and a couple ? particularly Julian Wadham and a superb Ralph Brown ? are actually considerably better than the remake, the moral escalation of the very well-written prologue loses much of its power due to a flat performance from Antonie Kamerling's German officer. In Schrader's hands, it doesn't matter because we don't care because the performances don't convince us that it's real. Curiously, the sequence is much better handled in the Harlin version, where it's both better staged and more effectively utilised as a recurring flashback.
On the plus side, he has a much better sense of time and place than Harlin. Whereas the remake looked like a glossy modern studio picture, this does have an old National Geographic visual quality that makes it look like it was actually shot in post-war Africa. The British troops, so cartoonish second time round, are much more convincingly of their time here, adding a surprising note of authenticity.
The script is fairly intelligent and ambitious on the big themes but does drop the ball on the clumsily sketched relationship between Merrin and Rachel, with the audience having to take too much on faith with no real grounds: at times it feels like the actors are still waiting for another emotional scene to be written but are completely in the dark about its content. Similarly, it doesn't always deal with the issues it raises and, as with all the Exorcist follow-ups, it falls badly in the "we need an exorcism" finale. For once the film really does need to end with an exorcism, but when it strays outside the temple the shoddy cgi Northern Lights and Bellar's looney face just render the footage laughable. However, the substance of the Satanic threat is more interesting than conjuring tricks here, emphasising the great deceiver's nature as the father of lies, tempting not by offering future riches but by erasing the mistakes of the past that cause such torment.
The catalyst is once again a possessed youth, in this case a crippled albino outcast who finds himself being cured by the demon. Naturally, the young missionary immediately mistakes it for a miracle and the boy as proof of God's love, before painfully learning the error of his ways, leaving Stellan Skarsgard's disillusioned Father Merrin to exorcise the boy and confront his own more personal demons. Schrader makes less of the battleground ? an elaborate ancient church deliberately buried in Africa hundreds of years ago ? without ever making it enough of an intimate story to compensate. But when it works, it works well, and it constantly holds your interest. Not quite a failure, not quite a success but certainly worth digging up.
Even if you feel like giving up on it, make sure you watch the ending, where Schrader takes his obsession with The Searchers to new heights, lifting its final shot for a wonderfully outrageous homage as Skarsgard walks out of the door in a perfect imitation of Wayne's body motion to wander forever between the winds?
Dominion is a genuinely interesting and ambitious film that doesn't quite make it despite being superior to Harlin's enjoyably unambitious schlocky remake. More a drama about faith than a horror film, it's not even remotely chilling and in the hands of the director of the awful Cat People remake it's attempts to throw in a few shocks (or "trying to make the cow look like a horse" as he puts it on his heavily vetted audio commentary) simply don't work any more than the crude dream imagery straight out of a 40s noir ? he's just not interested in that sort of thing. He's much better at more human acts of violence: the suicide scene is a vast improvement on the terrible version in Harlin's film without the unnecessary supernatural trappings, while a pair of apparently arbitrary murders are all the more jolting for their human origin and the rationale behind them. For all its failings, the film is far from unsalvageable, and the decision to junk it and completely reshoot it with a new script, director and, in many cases, supporting cast seems a major over-reaction.
It's also surprising just how little crossover there is between the two films ? not just the respective scripts and the themes, but how little footage was pressed into service on the remake (barely two minutes, most of it establishing shots and a brief deleted scene). It's also clear that the film is still uncompleted. The cgi is terrible and all too obviously unfinished and the score suffers from being performed on synths rather than by an orchestra, which gives it a demo/temp track effect that doesn't always help the film, but the biggest problem remains the direction. While co-writer Caleb Carr's complaints about Schrader having no visual sense are frankly bizarre ? it's by far his best looking movie and certainly his most cinematic ? he's unable to rack up much tension, particularly in the finale. Much of this seems to be due to his inability to inspire his cast: with much of the film played in long takes, many of the supporting players aren't up to the script and clearly aren't getting enough help (the wildly inadequate Clara Bellar suffering more than most in the role taken by Isabella Scorupco in the remake). While there isn't a performance as bad as Alan Ford's in the Harlin version, and a couple ? particularly Julian Wadham and a superb Ralph Brown ? are actually considerably better than the remake, the moral escalation of the very well-written prologue loses much of its power due to a flat performance from Antonie Kamerling's German officer. In Schrader's hands, it doesn't matter because we don't care because the performances don't convince us that it's real. Curiously, the sequence is much better handled in the Harlin version, where it's both better staged and more effectively utilised as a recurring flashback.
On the plus side, he has a much better sense of time and place than Harlin. Whereas the remake looked like a glossy modern studio picture, this does have an old National Geographic visual quality that makes it look like it was actually shot in post-war Africa. The British troops, so cartoonish second time round, are much more convincingly of their time here, adding a surprising note of authenticity.
The script is fairly intelligent and ambitious on the big themes but does drop the ball on the clumsily sketched relationship between Merrin and Rachel, with the audience having to take too much on faith with no real grounds: at times it feels like the actors are still waiting for another emotional scene to be written but are completely in the dark about its content. Similarly, it doesn't always deal with the issues it raises and, as with all the Exorcist follow-ups, it falls badly in the "we need an exorcism" finale. For once the film really does need to end with an exorcism, but when it strays outside the temple the shoddy cgi Northern Lights and Bellar's looney face just render the footage laughable. However, the substance of the Satanic threat is more interesting than conjuring tricks here, emphasising the great deceiver's nature as the father of lies, tempting not by offering future riches but by erasing the mistakes of the past that cause such torment.
The catalyst is once again a possessed youth, in this case a crippled albino outcast who finds himself being cured by the demon. Naturally, the young missionary immediately mistakes it for a miracle and the boy as proof of God's love, before painfully learning the error of his ways, leaving Stellan Skarsgard's disillusioned Father Merrin to exorcise the boy and confront his own more personal demons. Schrader makes less of the battleground ? an elaborate ancient church deliberately buried in Africa hundreds of years ago ? without ever making it enough of an intimate story to compensate. But when it works, it works well, and it constantly holds your interest. Not quite a failure, not quite a success but certainly worth digging up.
Even if you feel like giving up on it, make sure you watch the ending, where Schrader takes his obsession with The Searchers to new heights, lifting its final shot for a wonderfully outrageous homage as Skarsgard walks out of the door in a perfect imitation of Wayne's body motion to wander forever between the winds?
Anthony L
Super Reviewer
September 18, 2009
Hmmm, quite shocking really. Would have expected better from Schrader. It totally lacks in mystery, suspense and horror. I can see why they remade it soon after. Exorcist the beginning isn't a brilliant movie but it?s much better than this. Renny Harlin vs. Paul Schrader, who would have thought Harlin would win!
kpn666
Super Reviewer
August 16, 2009
Welcome to East Africa, where fallen priest Lankester Merrin is conducting an archaeological dig and uncovers an old christian temple buried since the day it was erected. But he soon discovers the true purpose of the hidden church, and lets loose the evil which was buried away... which soon begins to turn the land upside down, driving animals and people insane, the results being a dying land and the death of innocents. Failing to realise the true extent of this evil before it was too late, Merrin finds the strength to confront the demon in the temple before many more are killed.
Fromt he failures of the other sequels and prequel, this was a very good effort and provided the backdrop to the horror of the classic. Obviously not for the faint of heart, but this wasn't so shocking as the original, rather tame by standards, but the style and story telling was superb, and it focused well on faith and relationships as well as pitting the characters against their own personal tests of faith, and showing the horror of guilt and evil.
Watch it... probably one of the better horror flicks of modern times.
A classy, stylish film is what creator William Blatty said about Dominion... and it was.
Welcome to East Africa, where fallen priest Lankester Merrin is conducting an archaeological dig and uncovers an old christian temple buried since the day it was erected. But he soon discovers the true purpose of the hidden church, and lets loose the evil which was buried away... which soon begins to turn the land upside down, driving animals and people insane, the results being a dying land and the death of innocents. Failing to realise the true extent of this evil before it was too late, Merrin finds the strength to confront the demon in the temple before many more are killed.
Fromt he failures of the other sequels and prequel, this was a very good effort and provided the backdrop to the horror of the classic. Obviously not for the faint of heart, but this wasn't so shocking as the original, rather tame by standards, but the style and story telling was superb, and it focused well on faith and relationships as well as pitting the characters against their own personal tests of faith, and showing the horror of guilt and evil.
Watch it... probably one of the better horror flicks of modern times.
WrenchLT
Super Reviewer
April 9, 2007
Either way, both 'Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist' and 'Exorcist:The Beginning' were unsatisfactory prequels.
Prior to watching this I'd heard from numerous people that 'Dominion' was a vast improvement on 'The Beginning'... they were wrong. I found this version even more tedious to sit through. At least Harlin's movie had some excitement going on. The only saving grace was Stellen Skarsgard, he was great in both versions.
Either way, both 'Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist' and 'Exorcist:The Beginning' were unsatisfactory prequels.
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
October 18, 2006
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]"Dominion" is a prequel to "The Exorcist"(saw it on broadcast television and have memories of the first sequel but that was too long ago to really comment on them) that explores the past of Father Merrin(played in "The Exorcist" by Max von Sydow) and his early conflict with evil. I was less interested in the story than in what Paul Schrader would do with the material. And it does get off to a good start in a unique setting but it falls apart in the second half with a predictable resolution and misused CGI effects. [/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In "Dominion", Father Lankester Merrin(Stellan Skarsgard) is on sabbatical from the priesthood following a horrific incident during World War II. In 1947, while he is in British East Africa working at archeological sites, he discovers a fifth century church in the middle of the desert that has attracted a good deal of attention from the Church. So much so, they send Father Francis(Gabriel Mann) to keep an eye on things. Once at the site, they discover what the church was built over and Father Francis calls in British troops to protect it...[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]"Dominion" is a prequel to "The Exorcist"(saw it on broadcast television and have memories of the first sequel but that was too long ago to really comment on them) that explores the past of Father Merrin(played in "The Exorcist" by Max von Sydow) and his early conflict with evil. I was less interested in the story than in what Paul Schrader would do with the material. And it does get off to a good start in a unique setting but it falls apart in the second half with a predictable resolution and misused CGI effects. [/font]
Ryan M
Super Reviewer
August 15, 2012
Here's the story of "Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist". It's a long and complicated one. Somewhere between 2004 and 2005, production had begun on a prequel to "The Exorcist" that would talk about the backstory of Father Merrin, portrayed by Max Von Sydow in the original film. Initially, John Frankenheimer was attached, but his health problems and eventual death put another man in the director's chair: Paul Schrader. He had basically made his movie, and then the studio - Morgan Creek Productions - didn't think the film that had been made would be a financial success for the company. Therefore, they hired another director - Renny Harlin - to rework the entire film; his version was called "Exorcist: The Beginning".
Now, I've seen that film, and it's bad; real fucking bad. It has used similar sets (and a few of the same actors) from Schrader's film, but it was just significantly worse all around. I guess the studio realized that too, and therefore felt the desire to give Schrader enough money to complete his movie. The stories are essentially the same, although Schrader seems to be a more capable filmmaker than Harlin. His film actually has some structure and general pacing to it, although it's not necessarily good pacing at the end of the day, and the cinematography is also an area in which he shows a lot of improvement over the previous work. "Dominion" at least has the advantage of feeling more cinematic than its predecessor.
Father Merrin (played by Stellan Skarsgard in both versions) is the troubled priest from "The Exorcist" that gave his life in the process of assisting in the exorcism of young, possessed Regan MacNeil. But before the incident, there was another encounter that he had with pure evil from a plane of existence beyond ours; in other words, quite possibly Hell. "Dominion" sees Merrin in East Africa, having left the church for a while after a traumatic event during World War II that he endured in Holland. He now devotes his life to an archeological dig; to unearth a long-lost church. He assembles a team of archeologists and a priest (Gabriel Mann) to aid him in all areas during the excavation. However, he digs up more than he bargained for when it becomes clear that evil, demonic forces have plagued the village. Merrin must choose between confronting his faith or walking away from the situation.
I know there's a good story to be told here. For the record, Schrader is obviously more devoted to telling it skillfully than Harlin ever was. Nevertheless, it's an affair that is unfortunately far too slow-moving and uninvolving to work. There are brilliant scenes which attempt to bring us into Merrin's emotionally vulnerable self-conscious, but it's not easy buying the film when everything else is too contrived. On top of that, there are bad special effects - although nothing that matches the badness of the hyena scene in "The Beginning", although the silly CGI hyenas still exist here nonetheless - and some of the acting is wooden at best, although I think Skarsgard is good in this role.
"Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist" is basically a bad movie helped by an overwhelming sense of sincerity. Underneath it all, I can't say it's well-made and I definitely wasn't engaged, but it regards its supernatural and religious themes in utter seriousness, which is more than I can say for most films that involve demons and exorcisms. Also, I appreciate that it's better than "The Beginning", if only marginally; but whatever. Both versions of this story are forgettable and not particularly well-told; but if you're going to watch one of them, you'd better make it this one. At least, in spite of its failures (a lot of them very big and hard to get by), "Dominion" is bearable. But it still doesn't do William Peter Blatty's novel legacy much justice; although he did go on record saying that he prefers this to "The Beginning". But who the hell wouldn't?
** out of ****
Here's the story of "Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist". It's a long and complicated one. Somewhere between 2004 and 2005, production had begun on a prequel to "The Exorcist" that would talk about the backstory of Father Merrin, portrayed by Max Von Sydow in the original film. Initially, John Frankenheimer was attached, but his health problems and eventual death put another man in the director's chair: Paul Schrader. He had basically made his movie, and then the studio - Morgan Creek Productions - didn't think the film that had been made would be a financial success for the company. Therefore, they hired another director - Renny Harlin - to rework the entire film; his version was called "Exorcist: The Beginning".
Now, I've seen that film, and it's bad; real fucking bad. It has used similar sets (and a few of the same actors) from Schrader's film, but it was just significantly worse all around. I guess the studio realized that too, and therefore felt the desire to give Schrader enough money to complete his movie. The stories are essentially the same, although Schrader seems to be a more capable filmmaker than Harlin. His film actually has some structure and general pacing to it, although it's not necessarily good pacing at the end of the day, and the cinematography is also an area in which he shows a lot of improvement over the previous work. "Dominion" at least has the advantage of feeling more cinematic than its predecessor.
Father Merrin (played by Stellan Skarsgard in both versions) is the troubled priest from "The Exorcist" that gave his life in the process of assisting in the exorcism of young, possessed Regan MacNeil. But before the incident, there was another encounter that he had with pure evil from a plane of existence beyond ours; in other words, quite possibly Hell. "Dominion" sees Merrin in East Africa, having left the church for a while after a traumatic event during World War II that he endured in Holland. He now devotes his life to an archeological dig; to unearth a long-lost church. He assembles a team of archeologists and a priest (Gabriel Mann) to aid him in all areas during the excavation. However, he digs up more than he bargained for when it becomes clear that evil, demonic forces have plagued the village. Merrin must choose between confronting his faith or walking away from the situation.
I know there's a good story to be told here. For the record, Schrader is obviously more devoted to telling it skillfully than Harlin ever was. Nevertheless, it's an affair that is unfortunately far too slow-moving and uninvolving to work. There are brilliant scenes which attempt to bring us into Merrin's emotionally vulnerable self-conscious, but it's not easy buying the film when everything else is too contrived. On top of that, there are bad special effects - although nothing that matches the badness of the hyena scene in "The Beginning", although the silly CGI hyenas still exist here nonetheless - and some of the acting is wooden at best, although I think Skarsgard is good in this role.
"Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist" is basically a bad movie helped by an overwhelming sense of sincerity. Underneath it all, I can't say it's well-made and I definitely wasn't engaged, but it regards its supernatural and religious themes in utter seriousness, which is more than I can say for most films that involve demons and exorcisms. Also, I appreciate that it's better than "The Beginning", if only marginally; but whatever. Both versions of this story are forgettable and not particularly well-told; but if you're going to watch one of them, you'd better make it this one. At least, in spite of its failures (a lot of them very big and hard to get by), "Dominion" is bearable. But it still doesn't do William Peter Blatty's novel legacy much justice; although he did go on record saying that he prefers this to "The Beginning". But who the hell wouldn't?
Alec B
Super Reviewer
November 1, 2011
Watching it in conjunction with 'Exorcist: The Beginning' (The film that was made when the studio was unhappy with this version) is really quite fascinating. Its perhaps a study more interesting than the films themselves in which you examine how two sets of directors and screenwriters tell essentially the same story with a few changes here and there and the results are radically different. In regards to 'Dominion', its hard to review because it never had a decent post-production budget and therefore feels unfinished. Ultimately I prefer it to the other, but it still isn't that good. Skarsgard is great here and the central dilemma is admittedly a complex and realistic one (i.e. could one's faith and life recover after facing true horror) but the conversations that result are generally predictable and the possession sequences are quite bland (although it could be from the budget constraints). Its mostly well directed by Schrader, but the script is often just to obvious.
Greg A
Super Reviewer
August 14, 2011
This movie was a fuck load of shit, yes that is my official review.
Daniel P
Super Reviewer
May 5, 2007
An interesting and, surprisingly, mostly subtle exploration of the early days of Father Merrin. Paul Schrader didn't take the easy route of merely having a period setting as a novelty excuse for doing a remake, instead crafting something quite unique that stands up as a film in its own right - the lack of 'foreshadowing' is refreshing. Stellan Skarsgård is very effective as Merrin (although most of the other performances are a bit drab), and there are some interesting scenes (the prologue especially). The film does, however, feel flat and a bit insubstantial, the CGI is truly awful, and some of the scares are so archly played they're more likely to induce laughs than anything approaching shock (in particular, the deep voiced demon is risible). Whilst Dominion in no way comes close to the quality of Paul Schrader's numerous masterpieces, it's still worth a watch and certainly was unfairly dumped by the studio.
Hellshocked
Super Reviewer
June 22, 2007
The reason the studio panicked when they saw Shrader's cut, and hired Harlin (of all people) to reshoot 75% of it is because this isn't much of a horror film. At heart it is a commentary on the nature of good, evil and the effects of colonialism. Only about 30 minutes in the film are spent on the "horror", the rest is quite cerebral.
Not all of the film works, however. Much of it may have to do with the fact I had seen many of the scenes already, out of context, in Harlin's version, but it didn't seem particularly fresh. As this is by far a more realistic film, it lacks the "epic" feel Renny's cut was going for (the whole upside down church...this is the spot where lucifer fell type of deal). It could very well be the lack of budget, but it is also not very visually inspired.
Stellan Skarsgard is quite good as the younger Merrin. His weariness is ever present, and he has such a great face. The supporting cast, alas, including the usually dependable Gabriel Mann, are not quite up to the task.
Kudos to Shrader for crafting a film that owes very little to The Exorcist. Rather than using this opportunity to craft a 2nd rate retread, he tried to create something original and personal. It may not always work, but the results are certainly worth watching.
Being a fan of Paul Shrader, I was very curious about this one. I was very surprised when I actually saw it, because while the Renny Harlin cut was a nonstop bombardment of violence and quick cuts, I actually preffered some of the plot elements in that one to this one. Still, this is clearly the superior film.
The reason the studio panicked when they saw Shrader's cut, and hired Harlin (of all people) to reshoot 75% of it is because this isn't much of a horror film. At heart it is a commentary on the nature of good, evil and the effects of colonialism. Only about 30 minutes in the film are spent on the "horror", the rest is quite cerebral.
Not all of the film works, however. Much of it may have to do with the fact I had seen many of the scenes already, out of context, in Harlin's version, but it didn't seem particularly fresh. As this is by far a more realistic film, it lacks the "epic" feel Renny's cut was going for (the whole upside down church...this is the spot where lucifer fell type of deal). It could very well be the lack of budget, but it is also not very visually inspired.
Stellan Skarsgard is quite good as the younger Merrin. His weariness is ever present, and he has such a great face. The supporting cast, alas, including the usually dependable Gabriel Mann, are not quite up to the task.
Kudos to Shrader for crafting a film that owes very little to The Exorcist. Rather than using this opportunity to craft a 2nd rate retread, he tried to create something original and personal. It may not always work, but the results are certainly worth watching.
Adam M
Super Reviewer
June 6, 2007
Not a bad cash-in type film of the most well known horror ever!Some scary moments here and there.
iLeo
Super Reviewer
March 29, 2007
A fantastic film!
AromasAndThings
January 8, 2011
it's a decent watch but it pales in comparison to the original. No real chills or creeps, unless the thought of the unholy just freaks you out to begin with.
MeWithTheFace
January 23, 2010
wasn't really scary, throught the whole film I was like "this is what he did before exorcising the DEVIL outta a 12 year old?
saintboondock1
October 1, 2008
i didnt know what i should think of this the first time i saw this... but i wll say it works better as a drama then it dose a horror film but it is better then the renny harlen film it shows whatt he went through better then then other film if you want to see the real perqeal then the exoricst this is it and other the other film should be shown as a extra on dvd release and this dose what it should do....
May 25, 2008
LOUSY! I don't understand why they make sequels to PERFECT movies...you can't improve or expand on "The Exorcist"...it can't be done BETTER!
hothispanicangel
October 28, 2007
makes you thinks....great movie better than its remake The Exorcist the beginng that came out on theaters..this is the oringal...
majinshake
July 11, 2007
Hmmmm... a truly... unique... prequal to "The Exorcist" and, in alot of ways, better than "the Beginning"... give it a look if you like either.
nativesunljt
June 2, 2007
Superior to Harlin's version in so many way's and I found it to be more creepy and suspenseful. I really like this version so much more.
