Exorcist: The Beginning vs Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist

Most of you have probably seen Exorcist: The Beginning.  It was the released a few years back and it was a barely adequate prequel for the Exorcist. It's all about the first time Father Merrin meets Pazuzu in the deserts of Ethopia.

But many of you probably did not see Dominion which is actually the first prequel to the Exorcist.  It's all about the first time Father Merrin meets Pazuzu in the deserts of Ethopia.

If these two movies sound the same it's because they are -- and they aren't.   They have the same cast and the same sets and pretty much the same story but they are filmed by two different directors.

The history is that Dominion directed by Paul Schrader was nearly completed and then shelved by Morgan Creek films.  They then hired Renny Harlin to direct a new version of the film.  But after the poor audience response to Harlin's version Morgan Creek ressurected the Schrader version and released it.

Neither film is fantastic.  Dominion is a bit detached and Harlin's version is a bit hard to follow.  However, when you put the two of them together you not only get the bigger picture about the story, you get a totally unique insight into the thought processes of film-making.  I don't know of any two other films in the history of film that you can do this with.

You can literally see the decisions that were made between versions.  I find it interesting that in the second film they cut out a lot of exposition, they completely cut out a character and changed the focus of the film.  Actually, I agree with many of the decisions that were made I just think they went a little hog wild cutting things.  They even change who Pazuzu is (I'm pleased they did that because I found Schrader's Pazuzu a bit insulting).

Anyway, I don't want to spoil this experience for you.  

I highly recommend this Exorcist excercise. Enjoy!

Seen them both. They both sucked. I struggled to get through the Dominion one. It was just so freaking boring. I get that they wanted to make something off of it, but holy cow. The Beginning was an improvement, but as you said, neither are fantastic. If the "Exorcist" title weren't attached, these movies would never have been even considered. PASS on both.

Your exercise would be interesting if one had the time though. It would be cool for someone interested in the process to learn something. Just don't go in expecting much of the movies.

Just curious as to if anyone has seen both of these and which one they think is better? I know they are both based off the same script and feature (basically) the same cast, but I have heard they are both very different movies. I will be watching both films and comparing them. Even if they both suck, it will be fun to see how different they are.

~Zack~

They're both fairly different. Characters are merged or changed or left-out, scenes are re-shot with new actors (like Isabelle what's-her-face-from "GoldenEye").

Schrader's version is more subdued, more of a character study. Whereas Harlin's version is packed with CGI hyenas and scenes that try too hard to recreate the twisted sexuality of the original.

Neither are particularly successful. Schrader's is slow and sort of dull, Harlin's is a complete trainwreck. But it's kind of interesting to see the same scenes twice in different places or with different actors. If you're interested in them you should probably just check them out.

Of course, neither of them come anywhere close to the insane fucked-upness of "The Heretic". That movie is completely bat-shit.

What exactly is so bad about part 2? I thought the plot sounded interesting, but I've heard it's terrible.

And which prequel should I watch first?

~Zack~

It doesn't matter which one you watch first. I saw Harlin's first and then looked for Schrader's to see if it was any better, if that helps.

As to why part 2 is so bad... well, there's really no good place to begin. Literally everything - everything - that can go wrong with a movie went wrong with this. Dumb writing, terrible performances, a plot that goes from not making any sense to being completely insane, horrible visual effects.

It's just.... there are no words. Here's the original trailer:



Maybe this will help get my point across. It's just completely wrong. It has no business being called an "Exorcist" movie, or a movie of any kind.

I have seen both of these.
I'm a pretty big Schrader fan, so I side with Dominion.
Besides, there was only a real hyena in his film.
Pretty sure Captain Cutthroat Island used all the CG critters.

I did dig be able to watch both interpretations back to back.
It is a bit of a master class in interpretation of narrative.
Harlin is a studio guy and Schrader's a writing guru.

Ultimately though, I thought both films were pretty average for differing reasons.

E.D.

Just finished Dominion and I'm kinda meh about it. It had some really great things going for it. The opening scene with the Nazis was fantastic and haunting. And Skarsgard is fantastic in the lead role. I also really enjoyed the way the film was shot. It had an old style to it that is hard to recapture today. However, the effects were pretty much god awful throughout. And the main villain was more laughable than scary. Also, some of the editing wasn't too great. So yeah... it gets a 5 out of 10 from me. Not a complete disaster, but it could have been so much more. Still, a lot classier than most horror films now days.

~Zack~

I've only seen The Beginning, and I didn't much care for it.