Exorcist: The Beginning
Encyclopedia
Exorcist: The Beginning is a 2004 prequel
to the 1973 film The Exorcist
. This is the second version of the third Exorcist sequel. It was adapted by William Wisher Jr.
, Caleb Carr
and Alexi Hawley, and directed by Renny Harlin
. The movie stars Stellan Skarsgård
, Izabella Scorupco
, James D'Arcy
, Ben Cross
, Ralph Brown
and Alan Ford
.
Exorcist: The Beginning was retooled from the already completed Paul Schrader
's Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
(not released until later) which Morgan Creek Productions
feared would be unsuccessful. Reviews of Exorcist: The Beginning were mostly negative, and the project (both Harlin's and Schrader's films together) was not successful upon theatrical releases (despite Harlin's version being more financially successful and #1 at the box office at that time).
William Peter Blatty
(the author/screenwriter of The Exorcist
) said that watching Exorcist: The Beginning was his "most humiliating professional experience." (On the other hand, Blatty said that Dominion is "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work.")
following the horrific events he witnessed during World War II
. Many years before the events in The Exorcist, the young Father Lankester Merrin (played by Skarsgård, who played the same part in Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
) travels to East Africa. Merrin has taken a sabbatical from the Church and devoted himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith. He is haunted especially by an incident in a small village in occupied Holland during World War II, where he served as parish priest. Near the end of the war, a sadistic Nazi SS commander, in retaliation for the murder of a German trooper, forces Merrin to participate in arbitrary executions in order to save a full village from slaughter.
After WWII, Merrin is an archaeologist in Cairo
, when he is approached by a collector of antiquities who asks him to come to a British excavation in the Turkana region of Kenya
. This dig is excavating a Christian
Byzantine
church from the 5th century — long before Christianity had reached that region of Africa. Merrin is asked by the collector to recover an ancient relic of a demon before the British can find it. Merrin agrees and travels to the dig site. He is joined by Father Francis, a Vatican scholar who was on his way to do missionary work in East Africa but is diverted by the Vatican to ensure that the church is not desecrated. Upon arriving at the dig, Merrin meets the Major Granville, the British military officer in charge of the dig. Merrin also meets chief excavator, a brutish Frenchman with visible boils on his face. And he meets Sarah, a doctor who spent time in a concentration camp during WWII and is haunted by what happened to her there. Merrin's translator and guide is Chuma. In addition, Merrin learns that the diggers are disappearing or leaving in droves because the local tribemen fear the church is cursed. Merrin witnesses a digger inexplicably experience a seizure.
Merrin visits the dig site, although only the dome is uncovered, with the rest of the church buried beneath the earth. Merrin discovers that the church is in perfect condition, as though it had been buried immediately after the construction was completed. Merrin, Francis, and Chuma enter the church through the dome. They find it is near pristine condition, but there are two oddities. First, all of the statues of the angels holding weapons are pointing the spears downward, whereas it is convention for statues of angels not to have weapons or for them to be pointed triumphantly to heaven. Merrin and Francis deduce the sculptors were trying to depict the angels restraining something that was beneath the church. The second disturbing discovery is that someone has vandalized the church by ripping the enormous crucifix from its place on the altar and suspending it with Christ on the cross in an upside position, which is considered a desecration.
Merrin is determined to learn more about the archeological dig and asks to consult with the lead archeologist, Monsieur Bession. Merrin is told by Sarah that Bession went insane three weeks earlier and was transferred to a mental hospital in Nairobi. Merrin visits Bession's tent at the dig site and sees dozens of drawings of the same thing, the demon artifact that Merrin was asked to find by the collector. Merrin then travels to Nairobi to visit Bession. But when he enters Bession's room, he discovers Bession has carved a swastika on his chest and is speaking through demonic possession in the voice of the sadistic SS commander who tormented Merrin during the war. As Merrin registers these events, Bession slashes his own throat after saying he was "free." Father Gionetti, warden of the asylum, speculates that Bession was not possessed but rather "touched" by a demon, which drove him mad and eventually to suicide. Merrin is very skeptical, but before he returns to the dig site, Father Gionetti gives him the volume of Roman rituals to use in exorcism, although Merrin claims he will never use them.
Upon returning to the village, strange events continue. A local boy is attacked and killed by hyenas that seem to continuously stalk the dig, night and day. His younger brother, Joseph, enters a fugue state after watching his brother ripped to pieces. Merrin begins to suspect that something evil lies in the church and is infecting the region. There are stories of an epidemic that wiped out an entire village. However, when Merrin, growing suspicious of these rumors, digs up one of the graves of the supposed victims of this plague, he discovers it is empty. Meanwhile, the evil grows, turning people against each other and resulting in violence, atrocities, and more bloodshed.
Beneath the church lies the ruins of an even older temple — but not a Christian one. Rather, in the ruins under the church, Merrin and his allies find demonic icons, and other signs of evil and Satanism. This land is where he first encounters the demon
that calls itself Pazuzu
, which he will encounter again in The Exorcist
. This is the demon that "brushed" Bession (driving him insane) and Joseph (making him ill).
At the end of the movie, the dig's doctor, Sarah, turns out to be the possessed individual and has the demon exorcised from her in the tunnels below the church but dies. Dr. Merrin and Joseph emerge from the church, (once again buried in sand) and history has repeated itself. 50 (and 1500) years ago, everyone at the site was killed by an evil presence from the church, except for one priest. Now, only Father Merrin and the little boy are left as the British soldiers and the local tribes have annihilated each other. Merrin returns to Rome and meets with the collector at a cafe, explaining he was unable to find the relic, the collector replies, "But you found something....Didn't you?"...
was initially set to direct, but stepped down just before his death. He was replaced by Paul Schrader
, but the producers were completely unsatisfied with the completed film he presented them. Schrader aimed for a psychological film, and delivered what he described as "footage without any of the bloody violence the backers had wanted."
The producers fired Schrader and replaced him with Harlin. Screenwriter Alexi Hawley was called to retool the previous script, and he cut out some characters of Paul Schrader's version and added some new ones. Harlin went back and re-filmed most of the movie, adding new characters and deleting others. The character of Father Francis, originally played by Gabriel Mann
, had to be recast with D'Arcy because Mann had a scheduling conflict. A character played by Izabella Scorupco was introduced.
Though the film's plot centers around Father Merrin's exorcism of a boy in Africa many years before the events in The Exorcist
, little effort was made to keep the story consistent. Both versions of this prequel take a strong departure from the scenes depicted in Exorcist II: The Heretic
, which showed Merrin exorcising a teenage boy named Kokomu in flashbacks. In both Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
the location and setting is different, the boy is not named Kokomu, and (in one version) he is eventually discovered to not be the possessed victim. That said, Exorcist II: The Heretic is almost universally despised by fans of the series and is also ignored by Exorcist III: Legion. Exorcist: The Beginning also conflicts with accounts from The Exorcist since it's revealed at the end that the boy is not possessed. Dominion does not share this inconsistency.
The film is shot in Univisium
(2:1) aspect ratio
(developed by Vittorio Storaro
, who also acted as the cinematographer), although the theatrical release was presented in 2.39:1.
In 2005, the Schrader version was released to theaters as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
. The critical reaction to Schrader's version is only slightly better than Harlin's version, but Schrader's version also received high praise from William Peter Blatty
(the author/screenwriter of The Exorcist
).
. Prominent critic Roger Ebert
wrote, "I've seen both versions and much prefer Schrader's, and yet it must be said that Harlin did not prostitute himself in his version."
The project's estimated budget was $80 million ($30 million for Schrader's version and $50 million for Harlin's). Estimated worldwide theatrical gross was $78 million. Although it had beaten Harlin's film's budget, it failed to beat the whole overall project's budget.
It was nominated for two Razzie Awards, Worst Director and Worst Remake or Sequel.
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the 1973 film The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
. This is the second version of the third Exorcist sequel. It was adapted by William Wisher Jr.
William Wisher Jr.
William H. Wisher Jr. is an American screenwriter. He is best known for his work with long-time friend James Cameron on The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day...
, Caleb Carr
Caleb Carr
Caleb Carr is an American novelist and military historian.-Biography:A son of Lucien Carr, a former UPI editor and a key Beat generation figure, he was born in Manhattan and lived for much of his life on the Lower East Side. He attended Kenyon College and New York University, earning a B.A. in...
and Alexi Hawley, and directed by Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin is a Finnish-American film director and producer. He is best known for Die Hard 2 , Cliffhanger , The Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea...
. The movie stars Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
, Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco is a Polish-Swedish actress and model, best known for her portrayal of Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.- Biography :...
, James D'Arcy
James D'Arcy
-Early life:James D'Arcy was born as Simon D'Arcy and grew up in Fulham, London, with his mother, Caroline and his younger sister Charlotte. His father died when he was young. After completing his education at Christ's Hospital in 1991, he went to Australia for a year and worked in the drama...
, Ben Cross
Ben Cross
Ben Cross is a British actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
, Ralph Brown
Ralph Brown
Ralph William John Brown is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in Withnail and I, the security guard Aaron in Alien 3, DJ Bob Silver in The Boat That Rocked, and the pilot Ric Olié in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace...
and Alan Ford
Alan Ford (actor)
Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
.
Exorcist: The Beginning was retooled from the already completed Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
's Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader. It is a prequel to The Exorcist .-Plot:...
(not released until later) which Morgan Creek Productions
Morgan Creek Productions
Morgan Creek Productions is an American film studio that has released box-office hits like Young Guns, Dead Ringers, Major League, True Romance, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The King and I, The Crush, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and others. The studio was co-founded in 1987 by James G...
feared would be unsuccessful. Reviews of Exorcist: The Beginning were mostly negative, and the project (both Harlin's and Schrader's films together) was not successful upon theatrical releases (despite Harlin's version being more financially successful and #1 at the box office at that time).
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty is an American writer and filmmaker. The novel The Exorcist, written in 1971, is his magnum opus; he also penned the subsequent screenplay version of the film, for which he won an Academy Award....
(the author/screenwriter of The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
) said that watching Exorcist: The Beginning was his "most humiliating professional experience." (On the other hand, Blatty said that Dominion is "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work.")
Plot
The plot revolves around the crisis of faith suffered by Father MerrinLankester Merrin
Father Lankester Merrin is a fictional character in the novel The Exorcist , its film adaptation, The Exorcist , and several sequel films...
following the horrific events he witnessed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Many years before the events in The Exorcist, the young Father Lankester Merrin (played by Skarsgård, who played the same part in Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader. It is a prequel to The Exorcist .-Plot:...
) travels to East Africa. Merrin has taken a sabbatical from the Church and devoted himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith. He is haunted especially by an incident in a small village in occupied Holland during World War II, where he served as parish priest. Near the end of the war, a sadistic Nazi SS commander, in retaliation for the murder of a German trooper, forces Merrin to participate in arbitrary executions in order to save a full village from slaughter.
After WWII, Merrin is an archaeologist in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, when he is approached by a collector of antiquities who asks him to come to a British excavation in the Turkana region of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. This dig is excavating a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
church from the 5th century — long before Christianity had reached that region of Africa. Merrin is asked by the collector to recover an ancient relic of a demon before the British can find it. Merrin agrees and travels to the dig site. He is joined by Father Francis, a Vatican scholar who was on his way to do missionary work in East Africa but is diverted by the Vatican to ensure that the church is not desecrated. Upon arriving at the dig, Merrin meets the Major Granville, the British military officer in charge of the dig. Merrin also meets chief excavator, a brutish Frenchman with visible boils on his face. And he meets Sarah, a doctor who spent time in a concentration camp during WWII and is haunted by what happened to her there. Merrin's translator and guide is Chuma. In addition, Merrin learns that the diggers are disappearing or leaving in droves because the local tribemen fear the church is cursed. Merrin witnesses a digger inexplicably experience a seizure.
Merrin visits the dig site, although only the dome is uncovered, with the rest of the church buried beneath the earth. Merrin discovers that the church is in perfect condition, as though it had been buried immediately after the construction was completed. Merrin, Francis, and Chuma enter the church through the dome. They find it is near pristine condition, but there are two oddities. First, all of the statues of the angels holding weapons are pointing the spears downward, whereas it is convention for statues of angels not to have weapons or for them to be pointed triumphantly to heaven. Merrin and Francis deduce the sculptors were trying to depict the angels restraining something that was beneath the church. The second disturbing discovery is that someone has vandalized the church by ripping the enormous crucifix from its place on the altar and suspending it with Christ on the cross in an upside position, which is considered a desecration.
Merrin is determined to learn more about the archeological dig and asks to consult with the lead archeologist, Monsieur Bession. Merrin is told by Sarah that Bession went insane three weeks earlier and was transferred to a mental hospital in Nairobi. Merrin visits Bession's tent at the dig site and sees dozens of drawings of the same thing, the demon artifact that Merrin was asked to find by the collector. Merrin then travels to Nairobi to visit Bession. But when he enters Bession's room, he discovers Bession has carved a swastika on his chest and is speaking through demonic possession in the voice of the sadistic SS commander who tormented Merrin during the war. As Merrin registers these events, Bession slashes his own throat after saying he was "free." Father Gionetti, warden of the asylum, speculates that Bession was not possessed but rather "touched" by a demon, which drove him mad and eventually to suicide. Merrin is very skeptical, but before he returns to the dig site, Father Gionetti gives him the volume of Roman rituals to use in exorcism, although Merrin claims he will never use them.
Upon returning to the village, strange events continue. A local boy is attacked and killed by hyenas that seem to continuously stalk the dig, night and day. His younger brother, Joseph, enters a fugue state after watching his brother ripped to pieces. Merrin begins to suspect that something evil lies in the church and is infecting the region. There are stories of an epidemic that wiped out an entire village. However, when Merrin, growing suspicious of these rumors, digs up one of the graves of the supposed victims of this plague, he discovers it is empty. Meanwhile, the evil grows, turning people against each other and resulting in violence, atrocities, and more bloodshed.
Beneath the church lies the ruins of an even older temple — but not a Christian one. Rather, in the ruins under the church, Merrin and his allies find demonic icons, and other signs of evil and Satanism. This land is where he first encounters the demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
that calls itself Pazuzu
Pazuzu (The Exorcist)
Pazuzu is a fictional character and the main antagonist in The Exorcist horror novels and film series created by William Peter Blatty. Blatty derived the character from Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, where Pazuzu was considered the king of the demons of the wind, and son of the god Hanbi...
, which he will encounter again in The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
. This is the demon that "brushed" Bession (driving him insane) and Joseph (making him ill).
At the end of the movie, the dig's doctor, Sarah, turns out to be the possessed individual and has the demon exorcised from her in the tunnels below the church but dies. Dr. Merrin and Joseph emerge from the church, (once again buried in sand) and history has repeated itself. 50 (and 1500) years ago, everyone at the site was killed by an evil presence from the church, except for one priest. Now, only Father Merrin and the little boy are left as the British soldiers and the local tribes have annihilated each other. Merrin returns to Rome and meets with the collector at a cafe, explaining he was unable to find the relic, the collector replies, "But you found something....Didn't you?"...
Cast
- Stellan SkarsgårdStellan SkarsgårdStellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
as Father Merrin - Izabella ScorupcoIzabella ScorupcoIzabella Scorupco is a Polish-Swedish actress and model, best known for her portrayal of Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.- Biography :...
as Sarah - James D'ArcyJames D'Arcy-Early life:James D'Arcy was born as Simon D'Arcy and grew up in Fulham, London, with his mother, Caroline and his younger sister Charlotte. His father died when he was young. After completing his education at Christ's Hospital in 1991, he went to Australia for a year and worked in the drama...
as Father Francis - Remy Sweeney as Joseph
- Julian WadhamJulian Wadham-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
as Major Granville - Andrew FrenchAndrew French-Biography:French was born on December 10, 1859 in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. He would become a farmer....
as Chuma - Ralph BrownRalph BrownRalph William John Brown is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in Withnail and I, the security guard Aaron in Alien 3, DJ Bob Silver in The Boat That Rocked, and the pilot Ric Olié in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace...
as Sergeant Major - Ben CrossBen CrossBen Cross is a British actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
as Semelier - David BradleyDavid Bradley (actor)David Bradley is an English character actor. He has recently become known for playing the caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, in the Harry Potter film franchise.-Life and career :...
as Father Gionetti - Alan FordAlan Ford (actor)Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
as Jefferies - Antonie KamerlingAntonie KamerlingAntonie Kamerling was a Dutch television and film actor and musician.-Biography:Antonie Kamerling was still a law student when in 1990 he was cast in the then new Dutch soap opera Good Times, Bad Times. His character, Peter Kelder, quickly became one of the most popular on the program...
as Lieutenant Kessel - Eddie Osei as Emekwi
- Israel Aduramo as Jomo
- Patrick O'Kane as Bession
- James BellamyJames BellamyMajor The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy MC is a fictional character in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975...
as James
Production
The making of the movie was itself full of drama. John FrankenheimerJohn Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
was initially set to direct, but stepped down just before his death. He was replaced by Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
, but the producers were completely unsatisfied with the completed film he presented them. Schrader aimed for a psychological film, and delivered what he described as "footage without any of the bloody violence the backers had wanted."
The producers fired Schrader and replaced him with Harlin. Screenwriter Alexi Hawley was called to retool the previous script, and he cut out some characters of Paul Schrader's version and added some new ones. Harlin went back and re-filmed most of the movie, adding new characters and deleting others. The character of Father Francis, originally played by Gabriel Mann
Gabriel Mann (actor)
Gabriel Mann is an American actor and former fashion model, currently starring as Nolan Ross on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Life and career:...
, had to be recast with D'Arcy because Mann had a scheduling conflict. A character played by Izabella Scorupco was introduced.
Though the film's plot centers around Father Merrin's exorcism of a boy in Africa many years before the events in The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
, little effort was made to keep the story consistent. Both versions of this prequel take a strong departure from the scenes depicted in Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn...
, which showed Merrin exorcising a teenage boy named Kokomu in flashbacks. In both Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader. It is a prequel to The Exorcist .-Plot:...
the location and setting is different, the boy is not named Kokomu, and (in one version) he is eventually discovered to not be the possessed victim. That said, Exorcist II: The Heretic is almost universally despised by fans of the series and is also ignored by Exorcist III: Legion. Exorcist: The Beginning also conflicts with accounts from The Exorcist since it's revealed at the end that the boy is not possessed. Dominion does not share this inconsistency.
The film is shot in Univisium
Univisium
Univisium is a proposed universal film format created by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC and his son, Fabrizio, to unify all future theatrical and television movies into one respective aspect ratio of 2.00:1...
(2:1) aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
(developed by Vittorio Storaro
Vittorio Storaro
Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild judged Storaro one of history's ten most influential cinematographers.-Biography:...
, who also acted as the cinematographer), although the theatrical release was presented in 2.39:1.
In 2005, the Schrader version was released to theaters as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader. It is a prequel to The Exorcist .-Plot:...
. The critical reaction to Schrader's version is only slightly better than Harlin's version, but Schrader's version also received high praise from William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty is an American writer and filmmaker. The novel The Exorcist, written in 1971, is his magnum opus; he also penned the subsequent screenplay version of the film, for which he won an Academy Award....
(the author/screenwriter of The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
).
Reception
Critical responses were mostly negative, with Exorcist: The Beginning earning a low 11% "rotten" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Prominent critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
wrote, "I've seen both versions and much prefer Schrader's, and yet it must be said that Harlin did not prostitute himself in his version."
The project's estimated budget was $80 million ($30 million for Schrader's version and $50 million for Harlin's). Estimated worldwide theatrical gross was $78 million. Although it had beaten Harlin's film's budget, it failed to beat the whole overall project's budget.
It was nominated for two Razzie Awards, Worst Director and Worst Remake or Sequel.