Rating of
2.5/4
"Exorcist: The Beginning" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/03/12
Exorcist - The Beginning is not a promising proposition. The dreadful title aside, making prequels to accepted classics is NEVER a good idea although I'd have to say that I was never as impressed with the original The Exorcist as everyone else seems to be. It tells the story of how Father Merrin first encounters the demon and why he made hunting it his life's work. All set in the sandblown deserts of Kenya where the demon is unearthed, the one thing this film apes reasonably well is the look of the film, the photography being very attractive and atmospheric but the biggest boost this film receives is in its star; Stellan Skarsgard is a very strong central character who suffers from horrific flashbacks to the atrocities of Nazi Germany that caused him to lose his faith. By far the biggest handicap to the film however is Renny Harlin's inevitable insistence on blockbuster-izing the story making the final showdown look like a battle with a supervillain rather than a malevolent entity. Up until this point there is actually a lot to commend the film and if it weren't for the ridiculous climax I would be recommending it wholeheartedly. But even as it is, it's nowhere near as bad as you'd think.
