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By
WAYNE KLEIN
It's said that the devil is
in the details and director Renny Harlin ("Die
Hard 2," "Cliffhanger") gets most of the details
right in this prequel to "The Exorcist." Father
Merrin (Stellan Skårsgard) has buried his faith
along with a terrible incident from his past.
Merrin has been hired by a mysterious man named
Semelier (Ben Cross in a cameo appearance) to go
to a Kenyan dig. It seems that Semelier feels that
Merrin's skills as an archeologist will come in
handy in helping a team uncover the mystery of a
church dating back a thousand years before any
Christian set foot in Kenya. The area seems
cursed, as the original archeologist has gone
insane; the area has a history of plagues and
death associated with it. What Merrin uncovers
exhumes his faith breathing new life into it but
also shakes him to his very core. Accompanied by
Father Francis (James D'Arcy) sent by the Vatican
as an observer and assisted by Sarah (Izabella
Scorupco) a visiting physician, Merrin must
uncover the mystery at the heart of this ancient
church before disaster strikes.
Featuring a stellar cast, intelligent script by
first time screenwriter Alexi Hawley (based on a
story by Caleb Carr author of "The Alienist" and
William Wisher co-writer of "Terminator 2") and
outstanding cinematography by Vittorio Storaro
("Apocalypse Now," "1900," and the TV adaptation
of "Dune"), Harlan's film mixes elements of an
"Indiana Jones" style adventure film with the
atmospheric horror of the original "The Exorcist."
While the last third of the film ultimately falls
apart, "Exorcist: The Beginning" begins with much
promise and the first hour of the film seems
possessed by the energy that drove William
Friedkin's original classic.
Like most modern horror films, "Exorcist: The
Beginning" has its moments of shock but Harlin
also manages to generate a feeling of foreboding
not unlike that which made "Alien" such a
memorable film. Although some of the CGI effects
are weak (given the film's $50 million budget and
the $30 million previously spent on Paul
Schrader's shelved version of this film), it's
understandable that some effects, for instance the
ones involving hyenas, aren't quite as convincing
as they could be. Then again, it would have
behooved Morgan Creek to spend the extra money to
make some of the marginal effects better looking.
The DVD release features a fine featurette that
manages to skirt the conflict between Morgan Creek
Productions and original director Paul Schrader
("Hardcore" and writer of "Taxi Driver" and
"Raging Bull"). Harlin manages to avoid discussion
of the version that Schrader directed, although
about 10% of this film was part of Schrader's
original final cut. Evidently when Harlin was
brought on board screenwriter Hawley retooled the
screenplay dropping a number of characters. The
reshoot meant that Harlin had to recast a key role
(that of Father Francis played here by James
D'Arcy but originally played by actor Gabriel Mann
of "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Life and Death
of David Gale") and added the character of Sarah.
There is a brief mention of John Frankenheimer's
involvement (he withdrew from the film just prior
to his death in 2002) but nothing is discussed
about how Schrader's psychological horror film
compared to Harlin's more visceral horror film.
Reportedly, Morgan Creek Productions will
eventually release Schrader's version as well
(with $30 million invested in the first film, one
would hope so) and the two films would provide a
fascinating set of bookends in a boxed set in the
Exorcist Quartet. Perhaps we'll see that down the
line from Warner Brothers. If so, I'm hoping
they'll also remaster William Peter Blatty's "The
Exorcist III" and, perhaps, include the director's
cut of that film too. We also get the creepy
original theatrical trailer and a fascinating
commentary from track from director Harlan.
Although it doesn't quite live up to Friedkin's
1973 classic, "Exorcist: The Beginning" offers
plenty of thrills and chills and doesn't discredit
the franchise like John Boormann's disastrous
"Exorcist II: The Heretic." Featuring an
intelligent script, "Exorcist: The Beginning"
keeps the audience involved for much of its
running time, although the film seems to run out
of gas before the last third. Harlan and his
collaborators have to be given credit for trying a
different tact with this prequel and focusing on
the most fascinating but mysterious character from
the original film. Harlan's slick direction,
snappy pacing and keen visual flair keep
"Exorcist: The Beginning" from lapsing into a
predictable rehash of what's come before. |
