EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING. (2004). Director: Renny Harlin. NOTE: We are reviewing this more recent film to accompany our critiques of the first three Exorcist films.
In 1949 Cairo a younger Father Merrin (Stellen Skarsgard), who has temporarily given up the cloth due to events of WW 2, investigates the archaeological dig of a church that has been built over a temple of human sacrifice – where sinister things, of course, begin to happen. This is a classy production, well-directed by Harlin, and strikingly photographed by Vittorio Storaro (witness that stunning pulled-back shot of the crosses during the prologue), but despite some exciting moments and powerful images (a dead baby pulled from its mother's womb covered in bugs), it's almost a complete misfire. For one thing, there's too much going on in the screenplay, which incorporates native uprisings, sandstorms, and even Nazis without a clear focus on anything. The actual exorcism, which isn't that well-staged (and looks as silly as ever), is dragged in for the final moments, giving the picture no real climax or pay off. The derivative flashback, showing how Merrin had to choose ten people for the Nazis to kill (a couple of little children are shot in the head to persuade Merrin to choose), overpowers the rest of the story, which seems trivial in comparison. The fixation on hyenas (which tear one poor boy apart in an effective if disturbing sequence) remind one less of The Exorcist and more of The Omen trilogy. Add to all this the fact that Skarsgard is a somewhat bland leading man in this and you have a film that is somewhat boring even at its busiest. Ben Cross shows up for about two minutes in bookending sequences and is completely wasted (he would have been much better as the lead). A lot of hard work and talent went into this; it's a shame it was all for nothing.
Verdict: Unfortunate. **.
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