Popular reviews

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  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★½

  Before seeing this prequel to the Exorcist, I heard that this version and the "original" directed by Paul Schrader were completely different and had little in common. And indeed, ladies and gentlemen, they are very different from one another. The tone, the style, the narrative, the direction, the soundtrack, everything.

  Now, if I'm being honest, this Renny Harlin-directed version works better as a prequel to William Friedkin's classic than Paul Schrader's version. Not only because in this one we see Pazuzu making an appearance, but we also see a greater connection through other elements.

  As for the film itself, it is to some extent more entertaining. Whereas Paul opted for more psychological and introspective camera work, Harlin, as expected, goes…

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  Review by Andrew Jupin ★½ 5

  Morgan Creek Executive: You know, Paul Schrader, your prequel to The Exorcist is too much of a dull, psychological thriller. Predominantly focusing on a priest's crisis of faith? Fuck that. Where are all the scares? The thrills? The side-boob? You're fired!

  Paul Schrader: Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

  Morgan Creek Executive: Will do. Now that that's settled, let's find ourselves a director who has no problem eating someone else's lunch; someone with absolutely no standards whatsoever; someone who will re-write this entire film, re-shoot 90% of it, and add in all the tits, gore, nazis, child death, and the absolute worst CGI we can create, and finally give the people all the things they loved about the first Exorcist film...

  Renny Harlin, raising his hand: Right here!

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  Review by matt lynch ★★

  Interesting that they shot almost an entirely new movie here to replace Schrader's but didn't bother to fix the weird CG hyenas...instead they just added more scenes of them. You'd think Harlin would've insisted on using some of that money on an LL Cool J appearance.

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  Review by Ryan Daniel ½ 2

  I completely forgot I was in the middle of this series months ago and never finished it. Or maybe I did know and just really didn’t want to. If the latter is true, that shit is justified this movie is terrible.

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  Review by {Todd} ★ 6

  "There was nothing left to bleed" - Sarah,

  - Renny Harlin Masterpieces Ranked: boxd.it/1v4qa

  Finally, the origin story that nobody wanted!

  Stellan Skarsgard plays a priest, on sabbatical, called to an archaeological dig that has discovered an unknown Catholic church in Africa. Why was the church covered up, what secrets does it hold, and how does it link to the original films? These questions are all horribly answered in Exorcist: The Beginning.

  There was a part in the middle for ten minutes where I thought it might be getting better... then it got worse.

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  Review by One Godfella 侍 ★★½ 2

  You have no beginning of time. It's always been there.

  Skarsgård is a worthy successor as Father Merrin.

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  Review by Eric Szyszka ★½ 2

  Indiana Jesuit

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  Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★ 2

  Part of my birthday movie marathon! Movie #7

  Unremarkable film elevated beyond complete mediocrity by Stellan Skarsgård's performance! The man is so good at his craft I swear I'd be enthralled watching him do even the most mundane things in life like washing dishes or taking out the trash!

  Worth watching atleast once but get it on the boob tube for free, don't dole out any smackeroo's for it!

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  Review by Slig001 ★★★

  As pointless prequels go; this one isn't THAT bad. There's plenty of interesting imagery and the central plot, which revolves around a buried church that is holding in some kind of evil beneath it, is great. Really the film is hampered by the fact that it is a prequel to The Exorcist and therefore has to be a prequel which takes time away from.the more interesting elements of the film. The problems with production are well documented and this is Renny Harlin's attempt to clean up Paul Schrader's version of the film (which was later released as Dominion). The major problem this film has is the plotting as it's very obvious that it doesn't really know exactly what it wants…

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  Review by Mr. DuLac ★★

  You asked the question, now you listen to the answer!
  -Father Francis

  Within five minutes of Exorcist: The Beginning I was thinking "This seems a bit like overkill..." as I watched the unveiling of thousands of upside down crucified CGI men in the desert. Little did I know I'd be thinking that throughout the entire film.

  In 1973 The Exorcist featured a scene with two priests in a hallway preparing to enter the room of a 12 year old girl to perform an exorcism and the sense of dread is like nothing else you've ever seen. Dread doesn't exist on any level in this film.

  It's my own fault, I thought I was going to watch a prequel to Exorcist…

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  Review by 𝖂𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖆𝖒 ★★★

  Thank God they made this. I was really wondering where Father Merrin got his bible

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  Review by Chris Cabin ★½

  Renny Harlin is good at big deaths and big action, and those are the kinds of scenes that primarily work here. They make up a total of 25 minutes in this nearly two-hour pseudo-spiritual harangue, a great deal of which is anchored to the Nazi's occupation of Europe during World War II, the long, bloody, and alive-and-kicking history of white colonialist occupation in Africa, and the banishing of Lucifer from Heaven. On a technical level, this is rarely fun to watch. Harlin is not incapable in this regard but I think he is a director uniquely suited to America's live-wire fantasies of big-city life and the peculating, oft-violent secrets that create the foundation of many suburban neighborhoods. He does some…