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Movie Review - Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Renny Harlin |
| Starring: |
Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, and James D'Arcy |
| Rated: |
R (for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language) |
| Length: |
114 minutes |
| Genre: |
Horror |
| Tagline: |
A new chapter of evil |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
| Website: |
Exorcist: The Beginning |
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PLOT
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It's 1949. Do you know where your former "I've now lost my faith" priest is? Well, if you have anything
to do with this movie then he's in Cairo, Egypt. A collector of rare antiques tracks him down and convinces
him to join an excavation team in Kenya. A 5th century Christian church has been found. What's weird is that
the church was built 1000 years before Christianity was ever brought to the region. What's the dealio??
Well, Merrin (Skarsgård) plans to get to the bottom of it. However, the team unearths a little more than
they bargained for. Although I never saw any actual bargaining going on. An example of why it's probably
best not to dance with the devil ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Folks, last time I checked (which was about 10 minutes ago), this isn't exactly a prequel to The
Princess Bride. This is a prequel to a movie that involved a demon-possessed girl who spewed more
vomit than Robert Downey Jr. on a 24-hour alcohol/cocaine binge and whose head did a 360 faster than
Billy Joel's car plowing into a neighbor's house. Still not sure how that didn't snap her neck, but
I digress.
This is one twisted, creepy, make-you-turn-away movie. I'm warning you right now, if you can't take
graphic and disturbing images, then this isn't for you. Listen up: a guy cuts his own throat,
a little boy is mauled by hyenas, a little girl is shot in the head, a still-born baby is covered with
maggots, Michael Moore is shown without a shirt on, gettin' the picture yet? We're talking disturbing,
violent images.
As you can probably surmise, unless reading comprehension's got you down, there is quite a bit of gore.
But thankfully, that's not where all the scares come from. I thought some of the creepiest moments in
the movie came from what I like to call "snapshots." Little things that happen quickly, and you have
to be paying attention to catch 'em - a shadow flys by the top of the camera, a face materializes in the
dark but then vanishes, Fran Drescher's laugh emanates from the back right speaker, small details of that
nature that are very subtle but really add a lot to the atmosphere.
And the dark atmosphere is a big part of this movie. Now I don't scare easily, so for me I'd say the
movie is more creepy and tense than it is scary. Not once did I have to run to the bathroom and change
into the extra pair of boxer briefs that I brought with me. I guess I'm just at the point where a woman
walking down a dark corridor with a candle doesn't frighten me that much. Unless that woman is Rosie
O'Donnell and she's not wearing any makeup and that light is shining her face big and bright on the
screen. Then I'm running for the hills. Scenes like that provide plenty of tension, and I might be
coaxed into jumping a couple of times, but it's not the kind of stuff that has me whimpering like the
president of the chess club on prom night.
On the down side, some of the CGI is a little unpolished. For a minute I thought it weird that Joan
Rivers had a cameo in the movie. I was quite perturbed until I realized it was just a fake-looking
hyena. The scene with the demon-possessed human crawling backwards on the cave wall was pretty cool
though.
I also thought the story could've been fleshed out a little more. The setup is great, although not
overly original, and the movie tensely pulled me along, forcing me to constantly wonder what the purpose
of the church was. Plus, I really like the whole idea of "this is the area where Lucifer fell." But then
the story just leveled out and never really advanced from there. The demon possession
doesn't truly come into play until the last act, and it would've been nice if in the midst of all his
taunting, the demon had taken the time to make reference to the war in Heaven. Maybe say a few things
to make himself seem really ruthless and cold-blooded. Instead, the demon busts out the one-liners as
if he's auditioning for a stand-up act on Letterman. You know when half the audience is inexplicably clapping
and cheering DEMONIC TAUNTING that something has gone dreadfully wrong.
Ah well, it's all minor stuff. This isn't the smartest horror movie in the world, but it's a crowd
pleaser, and if all you want is to kill some time with a few good scares, then it delivers.
Word of advice: if at all possible, I recommend seeing this movie in as empty a theater as possible.
Maybe wait a couple of weeks after the release or grab some friends and catch a midnight showing in a
safe location. The theater was packed when I saw it, and it really took away from the experience.
People were laughing and talking during really dark, tense scenes, and one dude behind us snored the
entire time. I had to restrain myself from breaking out some jiujitsu. Plus, whenever something scary
would happen half the audience would scream and then laugh hysterically for the next couple of minutes.
It was very distracting. This is just one of those movies where it's best to watch it with a handful
of friends in a nice, quiet setting. In other words, find a screen showing
Catwoman and ask the manager if he'll switch reels for you.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Ryan Phillippe (Mr. Reese Witherspoon) and Dawson's Creek alum Kerr Smith were both considered
for the role of Father William Francis.
- Liam Neeson was originally cast as Father Merrin.
- Paul Schrader submitted the first version of the movie (complete), however, the studio was unhappy
because the movie was a psychological drama rather than a gore-fest. Renny Harlin was brought on board
and approximately 90% of the movie was re-shot. Schrader's version will reportedly be released on DVD
at the same time as Harlin's version.
- Stellan Skarsgård was in Timecode with Kyle MacLachlan who was in X Change with Stephen
Baldwin who was in The Young Riders with Josh Brolin who was in The Hollow Man with Kevin
Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Um, no. This movie is pretty brutal. It's not saturated with profanity, but it's got a few "f" words
thrown in. The most likely to offend is when the demon is taunting Father Merrin with sexual dialogue.
It's definitely stuff a demon might say, but plenty of people might take offense. If you are squeamish
in the least, then there's more than enough gore and disturbing images to keep you uncomfortable. This is
definitely a movie for older teenagers. If you even THINK about taking a pre-teen, I'll find you and
slap you upside the brain.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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If you watch the trailer and are expecting a fluffy, light-hearted comedy then you're just a moron and
you don't need to be operating a car. You probably shouldn't even have access to a computer. Otherwise,
the movie pretty much delivers what the trailer sets up.
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THE GIST
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If you're easily repulsed, then avoid it. But if you're really in need of a horror fix, then
Exorcist: The Beginning should satisfy. Guys, this is the perfect movie to take your gal to,
especially if she's a little skittish. She'll be grabbing your arm as if it's Johnny Betts' arm, but
I'm afraid she'll be able to easily tell the difference. Don't take it personally though.
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