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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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    121 - 131 (sorted by date)
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    Wandering into the territory of cinema as audience punishment.

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Walter Chaw
    Walter Chaw
    Film Freak Central

    A snorefest interrupted briefly by a only a few semi-decent moments.

    Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Rebecca Murray
    Rebecca Murray
    About.com

    The prequel...just goes to show, once again, that The Exorcist was a one-of-a-kind film. But you know how it goes: the power of cash compels them.

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Peter Canavese
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews

    A plodding mess of a movie, with very few frights, and those that are there are all timeworn clichés.

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Brian Webster
    Brian Webster
    Apollo Guide

    This is what happens when an entire movie is created via reshoot.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Scott Weinberg
    Scott Weinberg
    eFilmCritic.com

    A sincere—and sincerely problematic—film that may have been shot twice, but deserved a third try to get things right.

    Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Dustin Putman
    Dustin Putman
    DustinPutman.com

    you'd think evil would have multiple game plans, kinda like Joe Gibbs or Bill Parcells. Instead, Hawley and Harlin just want to reenact their favorite scenes from the original

    Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Willie Waffle
    Willie Waffle
    WaffleMovies.com

    There's been a tremendous struggle to bring Exorcist: The Beginning to theaters, and having seen the end result, it's hardly been worth it.

    Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    David Nusair
    David Nusair
    Reel Film Reviews

    A grimly goofy, tediously bloody, dismally un-scary trashing of Friedkin's original that fits comfortably with the myriad other 'supernatural' disasters of recent years.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    I was mildly surprised when it didn’t stink up the joint. In that regard, you can call it the Queen of the Damned 2004.

    Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
    08/19/04
    Jon Popick
    Jon Popick
    Planet Sick-Boy

    It never approaches the stratospheric badness of Exorcist II: The Heretic, but this lemon does its damndest to heap more dirt on the franchise’s grave.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    05/25/04
    Nick Schager
    Nick Schager
    Slant Magazine
     
     
    121 - 131 (sorted by date)
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    April 14, 2005: Schrader's Exorcist Prequel Gets a Release Date
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