Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

A Masterpiece!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith. Exorcist: The Beginning is another really good and quite creepy Prequel/Sequel to the Exorcist (1973) although not as good as the original. Skarsgard does once again a terrific job as Merrin and the opening scene was creepy to say the least and the exorcism sequence in the end as well although the CGI were a bit lackluster at times. (8/10)

I would like to start by saying that this is far better than Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) but absolutely nothing compared to The Exorcist (1973) or The Exorcist III (1990). You know that there is going to be an exorcism and they don't let you think otherwise at any point. The problem is that the build up to this finale is not looking at the social aspects and the introverted paranoia associated with such confusion but instead focuses on confusing the issue. It feels painful as this has been done before so much better. This is boring with little development until near the end with an interesting twist and some cool scenes. The biggest gripe is that this film is laced with computer effects designed to impress the audience. You don't need to be impressed, you need to be scared. This film isn't that bad, it simply doesn't deliver.

In the same way that Columbus discovered "America"--a giant place that was there for millions of years; Marrin discovered churches in east Africa. The problem is that Christianity factually entered that area during the 3-4th centuries. The first church in that region--Debre Damo--was built in the late 500's A.C.E. It is worth noting that Christianity actually started in the east and then spread to Rome.. not the other way around. Aside from that, as an atheist, I don't take much of the movie seriously. I do like the horror genre so I try my best to appreciate a good story line either way.I was drawn to the side-story that "bad things" were happening during the filming of this movie back in 2003. I am not certain as to whether they were trying to use the same "supernatural appeal" that Blair Witch had a few years earlier.

I wasn't really expecting that much, but this movie really surprised me. Going into it i was unsure if it was going to stack up to its earlier counterpart, but i was pleasantly surprised. The writer of this movie must have been seriously disturbed as a child. The script is fantastic and the movie all together is flawless(the cgi was a bit spotty, but was forgivable). The conflicts in the movie add even more suspense to this already suspenseful movie. Father Merine has lost his faith in God and anything supernatural and throughout the entire movie is looking for a logical answer for everything that is happening around him. This film also had one of the most disturbing scenes i have ever seen, with a young child being mauled by a pack of hyenas. It was brutal. But this movie is a great compliment to its cult classic sequel. A must see.