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Movies / On DVD / Exorcist: The Beginning
Exorcist: The Beginning

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Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

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Reviews Counted:126

Fresh:14

Rotten:112

Average Rating:3.5/10

Consensus: A mediocre, gory horror film, nowhere near the quality of the 1973 original.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Aug 20, 2004 Wide

Box Office: $41,784,746

Synopsis: Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin (STELLAN SKARSGÅRD) is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable... Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin (STELLAN SKARSGÅRD) is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable brutality perpetrated against the innocent people of his parish. In the wake of all he has seen, both his faith in his fellow man and the Almighty have deserted him. He can no longer honestly call himself a man of God. Merrin has traveled far from his native Holland in a desperate attempt to escape the horrors that he witnessed there. While drifting through Cairo, he is approached by a collector of rare antiquities to join a British archeological excavation in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. They have unearthed a Christian Byzantine church in inexplicably pristine condition - as if it had been buried on the day it was completed. The collector wants Merrin, an Oxford-educated archeologist, to find an ancient relic hidden within the church before the British discover it. But beneath the church, something much older sleeps, waiting to be awoken. Madness descends upon the local villagers and the contingent of British soldiers sent to guard the excavation. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village - atrocities he had prayed never to see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, and the horror has only just begun. In the place where Evil was born, Merrin will finally see its true face. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, a Morgan Creek production, Exorcist: The Beginning, directed by RENNY HARLIN and starring STELLAN SKARSGÅRD, JAMES D'ARCY and IZABELLA SCORUPCO. The film is produced by JAMES G. ROBINSON, executive produced by GUY McELWAINE and DAVID C. ROBINSON. Story by WILLIAM WISHER and CALEB CARR, screenplay by ALEXI HAWLEY. VITTORIO STORARO serves as cinematographer. The film is edited by MARK GOLDBLATT. Music by TREVOR RABIN. Exorcist: The Beginning will be released on August 20, 2004 by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures and Morgan Creek International. Exorcist: The Beginning has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue." [More]

Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, James D'Arcy, Izabella Scorupco, Ralph Brown

Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, James D'Arcy, Izabella Scorupco, Ralph Brown, Alan Ford

Director: Renny Harlin

Director: Renny Harlin
Screenwriter: Alexi Hawley
Producer: James G. Robinson
Composer: Trevor Rabin
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Release:

Mar 1, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Exorcist: Dominion traces the story of Father Merrin back to his first encounter with the Devil during his missionary work in Africa.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Exorcist: The Beginning

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    81 - 100 (sorted by date)
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    Suitable only for teenagers on a first date or Mel Gibson Catholics.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    08/22/04
    Liz Braun
    Liz Braun
    Jam! Movies

    the special effects work on the film is so mediocre that the audience actually laughed at one moment that was intended to be terrifying. Demonic butterflies? Please.

    Full Review Source: Sean the Movie Guy | comment Comment
    08/22/04
    Sean McBride
    Sean McBride
    Sean the Movie Guy

    Stellan Skarsgard's haunting portrayal of a man struggling with his faith overshadows the special effects and horror aspects of this 'Exorcist' prequel.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    08/22/04
    Betty Jo Tucker
    Betty Jo Tucker
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    What would possess a filmmaker to create another "Exocist" movie?

    Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
    08/22/04
    Linda Cook
    Linda Cook
    Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

    Nothing seems believable and the scares never come.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    08/22/04
    Diana Saenger
    Diana Saenger
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    Harlin’s hackwork screams volumes of a falsely moody and generic scarefest...an inexplicable tease for true horror hedonists

    Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    Frank Ochieng
    Frank Ochieng
    Movie Eye
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    It manages a trifecta of pain: It's dull, it's grim, it's stupid. How's that for a recommendation?

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    Stephen Hunter
    Stephen Hunter
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Maybe the long-troubled, twiced-filmed prequel should be called Exorcist: The Boring.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    Phil Villarreal
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    A great waste of time, talent and resources

    Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    Pamela Troy
    Pamela Troy
    culturevulture.net

    Impressive on a number of levels and awful on precious few.

    Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    Eugene Novikov
    Eugene Novikov
    Film Blather

    Director Paul Schrader delivered a movie that the studio didn't like. Now Renny Harlin makes one that nobody likes.

    Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
    08/21/04
    Dan Lybarger
    Dan Lybarger
    Kansas City Star

    Jesus, Mary and Joseph -- could they have made a worse movie out of Exorcist: The Beginning?

    Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Sean Means
    Sean Means
    Salt Lake Tribune

    This one is all hokum and not willing to dig deeper than into the familiar demonic bag of horror movie tricks.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    an example of the studio getting exactly what they ask for and the final product suffering because of it

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Robin Clifford
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    The Beginning surpasses both sequels, yet it still feels like a potboiler that regurgitates reliable jolts as if it were sticking to its own rites.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Bruce Westbrook
    Bruce Westbrook
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The original Exorcist verged on being demonic child porn. This Beginning simply feels as if it has no end.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Owen Gleiberman
    Owen Gleiberman
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This is the kind of film that mysteriously vanishes from most participants' resumes.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Kirk Honeycutt
    Kirk Honeycutt
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    If this violent, tedious and gore-splattered prequel to the horror classic is any indication, the devil has officially become boring.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    E! Online

    This movie is no Exorcist, but it's no Alien vs. Predator either.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    08/20/04
    Michael Wilmington
    Michael Wilmington
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    81 - 100 (sorted by date)
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    Latest News for Exorcist: The Beginning

    May 31, 2009: Five Favourite Films with Renny Harlin
    Finnish director Renny Harlin has one of the most schizophrenic CVs in movie-dom. He's directed some of the most beloved action films of the last 20 years, including Die Hard 2,... More...

    April 14, 2005: Schrader's Exorcist Prequel Gets a Release Date
    Remember all the hoopla that surrounded last year's "Exorcist: The Beginning"? How the execs didn't like Paul Schrader's cut so they hired Renny Harlin to do the whole... More...

    December 09, 2004: Schrader's Shelved Exorcist Sequel to See Limited Release in '05
    Moviehole chimes in with an exclusive scoop update on Paul Schrader's version of "Exorcist: The Beginning": "Why isn't Paul Schrader's cut of "The Exorcist:... More...

    June 11, 2004: Gene Wilder has been dug up and is narrating the trailer for The Exorcist. Opens in new window
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