Exorcist: The Beginning

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Exorcist: The Beginning

R

Released Aug 20, 2004

1h 54m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

11%

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132 Reviews

27%

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50,000+ Ratings

Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) is haunted by his experiences in World War II, when occupying Nazi troops forced him to be complicit in their atrocities. In the aftermath, he has renounced his faith and begun working as an archaeologist. He travels to Kenya, where a fifth-century Byzantine church holds ancient relics. There he encounters Sarah (James D'Arcy), a doctor and concentration camp survivor. The strange occurrences that soon begin reunite him with the evil he sought to escape.

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Critics Consensus

A mediocre, gory horror film, nowhere near the quality of the 1973 original.

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Namrata Joshi

Outlook

The sfx in the climactic duel with the Devil is cheesy to say the least and the Devil's makeup render him more laughable than scary. On the face of it, the dice is loaded heavily against the movie.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 7, 2019

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

The serious Catholic themes that made the original film genuinely disturbing have been flattened out into a cartoonish backstory pitting Merrin against Nazi storm troopers.

Feb 27, 2007

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Time Out

Reams of tedious exposition finally give way to a random jumble of horror movie clichs, rising to a shrill pitch of hysteria that is never remotely frightening.

Jun 24, 2006

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James Croot

Stuff.co.nz

One of the most pointless prequels of all-time.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 7, 2022

Full Review

Nigel Floyd

The List

Leaving aside the folly of making a prequel to William Friedkin's 1973 horror classic, this fails on every level. Ninety minutes of tedious exposition give way to a random jumble of horror clichés that rise to a shrill pitch of hysteria.

Rated: 1/5

Apr 22, 2019

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Dorothy Woodend

The Tyee (British Columbia)

Unlike the first film, in which audience members fainted and threw up, the showdown between good and evil prompted more laughter amongst the audience than terror.

Aug 24, 2017

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Liam S

Watch it if you like bad movies

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/06/24

Full Review

Blu B

The first 15 minutes or so is so misleading because this actually starts out as a competant well made film and you think your gonna be in for a good supernaural thriller. Than....I don't even know. The pacing is just atrociously bizarre. It somehow is super boring AND insanely batshit Evil Dead crazy. The editing is horrifcally bad after the first 15 minutes. It jumps around terribly and becomes completely incoherent. It becomes about the little boy Jacob, Marion's backstory, the actual investigation into the discovered site, and other stuff that I don't even know because it's so unclear and incoherent. And again it's crazy because this starts on on solid footing. The music is alright and defintely the most stable thing, but it's boring and forgettable. The acting and cinematography again despite a solid opening are terrible overall. Scenes just straight don't make sense, it becomes so dark and dull to look at, this becomes loaded with bizarre scenes that just make no sense at all. Stellan is actually alright in this bt gets weighed down by just bizarre scenes involving side characters which I don't even know man. A lot of other performancse are just alright or very lifeless. Skip This at all cost. It's a terrible shame how horrific this devolves.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

Full Review

Rospi D

Let's admit it if Exorcist: The Beginning camed before the first then the critics would be different. It has strong scenes, performances "the CGI could be better" but a perfect setting - country, actors and screenplay are the right choices for a well constructed Religious film like this. Just ignore the previous & new garbage and watch this movie directly.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/24

Full Review

Elvis D

Tras haber convertido The Exorcist en una trilogía que fue rápidamente olvidada, Warner Bros decidió excavar más a fondo ofreciendo una entrega que nos remonta varios años atrás antes de la primera película. Esta precuela toma elementos de las primeras dos películas y nos presenta la primera confrontación entre Merrin y Pazuzu. La película es evidentemente como muchas entregas del cine de terror lanzadas en los 2000, pero esta película mantiene ciertas características reconocibles de The Exorcist. Supieron replicar bien la estatua de Pazuzu, la historia logra encajar bien en el canon de la película original y la versión poseída de Sarah logra recordar un poco a Regan cuando estaba poseída. Una cuestión que queda es como la estatua de Pazuzu y su fragmento acabaron en Iraq como se vio al principio de la primera película. La película no toma en cuenta los flashbacks de la segunda película que presentaban a Merrin exorcizando a Pazuzu, pero se puede suponer que ese segundo enfrentamiento ocurrió tiempo después de lo que se presencia en esta película. Stellan Skarsgård logra encarnar una aceptable versión de Merrin antes de la versión veterana que interpreto Max Von Sydow. En aspectos técnicos y visuales, la película no logra tener ese aspecto terrorífico que tanto caracteriza a la película original, pero esta precuela de The Exorcist es una entrega decente para conocer los sucesos que darían inicio a la historia que todos conocemos. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 8/10.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

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KerryWhite's S

Rating: 6/10. 61/100

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/05/23

Full Review

Sahooon C

You'll be better of if you skipped this film. I didn't hate it but no one should go out their way to watch it. Just watch the first exorcist and pretend the rest don't exist

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/30/23

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Renny Harlin

Director

Stellan Skarsgård

Father Lankester Merrin

Izabella Scorupco

Sarah

James D'Arcy

Father Francis

Remy Sweeney

Joseph

Julian Wadham

Major Granville

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Synopsis

Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) is haunted by his experiences in World War II, when occupying Nazi troops forced him to be complicit in their atrocities. In the aftermath, he has renounced his faith and begun working as an archaeologist. He travels to Kenya, where a fifth-century Byzantine church holds ancient relics. There he encounters Sarah (James D'Arcy), a doctor and concentration camp survivor. The strange occurrences that soon begin reunite him with the evil he sought to escape.

Director: Renny Harlin
Producer: James G. Robinson
Screenwriter: William Wisher Jr., Caleb Carr, Alexi Hawley, William Peter Blatty
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Morgan Creek Productions
Rating: R (Gore|Disturbing Images and Rituals|Language|Some Sexual Dialogue|Strong Violence)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 20, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $41.8M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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