Genre: Thriller, Adventure, Horror, Occult, Demonic Possession, Psychic, Period Piece, Demon, Devil, Animals, Gore, Murder, Religion
Tagline: A new chapter of evil
Plot: In the aftermath of World War II, Lancaster Marin finds himself in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. Haunted by memories of the war, he has taken sabbatical from the priesthood and journeyed far from his native Holland. He has come to lead the archeological excavation of a mysterious, Byzantine church, buried in pristine condition as if on the day it was completed. Directly underneath the church, Merrin discovers a much more ancient crypt- and finds himself face-to-face with unspeakable Evil.Madness descends on the local villagers and the contingent of British soldiers sent to guard the excavation. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village-atrocities he’d hoped to never see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, but the horror has only just
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 Exorcist: The Beginning, the long-coming and heavily troubled fourth film in the once-respected, now-desecrated series, is quite possibly the worst movie of the year.--Don Kaye (horrorchannel.com)
This is not a great film. This isn't even a quality film. But it avoids the wretchedness expected from its troubled history and delivers a reasonable final product with which one could adequately fill a lazy Saturday afternoon. For all the insurmountablehurdles in its path, Exorcist: The Beginning does its job as well as it can and never looks back; a wise policy when the devil is snapping at your toes. C--Rob Vaux (Flipsidemovies.com)
“Exorcist: The Beginning” makes a critical error, and once again lets down the franchise with another overheated attempt to jolt audiences instead of creeping them out. D+--Brian Orndorf (FilmJerk.com)
After more than three decades of waiting for a worthy successor (or more accurately progenitor) to 'The Exorcist', audiences are sure to be disappointed with 'The Beginning', a poorly written, badly executed knockoff that provides few chills.  --Greg Ursic (Movie-Gurus.com)
Perhaps the zeitgeist has changed; perhaps movie-goers are more jaded now. Whatever the reason, Exorcist: The Beginning is less terrifying than frustrating, less scary than silly. After three decades, two sequels, and now a prequel, let's hope this is one series the studios won't keep trying to resurrect.--Ed Owens (CineScene)
At one point, it was inconceivable that any big-budget Hollywood picture could rival Exorcist II: The Heretic as the most ridiculous and boring horror movie ever made. It took a stillborn cousin, Exorcist: The Beginning, to come close.  --Eric Meyerson (FilmCritic.com)
There's been a tremendous struggle to bring Exorcist: The Beginning to theaters, and having seen the end result, it's hardly been worth it.  --David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)
EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING, spends virtually all of its time trying to convince us that there was a reason for it to be made.  --Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)
Harlin achieves a few moments of delicious creepiness early on, before we realize the story isn’t going anywhere. By the time we get to the real exorcising, it’s too late. We’re bored with, and as, hell. D+--Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
A plodding mess of a movie, with very few frights, and those that are there are all timeworn clichés. 53/100--Brian Webster (Apollo Guide)
The film certainly "looks nice", but it doesn't have anything interesting to say and ultimately turns into an over-the-top, profanity-ridden tete-a-tete between the man who doesn't have faith and the demon itself, which while viscerally invigorating, doesn't really bring any greater meaning to any of it. 4/10--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
The acting is serviceable at best, the direction unfocused - and the special effects and makeup cheesy-looking. This is surely the most dreary-looking film ever shot by the great Vittorio Storaro ("Apocalypse Now"). --Lou Lumenick (New York Post)
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| Written by |
| William Wisher Jr.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The 13th Warrior, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist |
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| Cast |
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 | James D'Arcy
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, An American Haunting, Guest House Paradiso | | Julian Wadham
The English Patient, The Madness of King George, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist | Andrew French
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, EastEnders: Slaters in Detention | Ralph Brown
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Alien 3, Amistad | |
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Exorcist: The Beginning lacks the warmth of emotions and characters that danced around the edges of the otherwise pitch-dark The Exorcist and ultimately missteps by trying to impersonate superior scenes from that film.  --Dustin Putman (The Movie Insider)
Harlin’s version is a lot of noisy tomfoolery that never coalesces into a solid horror yarn, lacking even the beloved pea soup ’n’ rotating noggins that made us quake way back when. Sloppy, confusing, and dull as a dented crucifix.  --Marc Savlov (Austin Chronicle)
Harlin's film isn't Friedkin's, and it isn't as good as Blatty's EXORCIST III. But it is surprisingly good. It's a solid horror film with just enough depth to keep us riveted in the characters as well as the story. If I may borrow a page from Unholy's book, it links to the original very well, and could potentially add new dimensions to that film.--Scott W. Davis (HorrorExpress.com)
The movie turned out to be a lot better than I expected, but the fact that the movie was rushed stands out like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in New York City. ... minus the FX, the movie was pretty cool and I loved the story and the mythology behind everything.  --Mr. Disgusting (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
It's certainly the franchise's most graphically violent instalment, but if an Exorcist movie should be measured by whether it re-visits you in bed at night, then here Harlin has failed.-- (slasherama.com)
A better story line and view to the movie could of been the key but after two attempts at making it still didn't get there in the end. Never the less I'm judging the movie for itself and it isn't that bad of a movie. -- (terrorwatch.net)
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