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The Chronicles
Volume 2 Issue 9 |
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London Vampyre Group
PO Box 487
London
WC2H 9WA
© Copyright 2007
London Vamypre Group
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Exorcist: The Prequels
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Early in 2004, Paul Schrader was asked to direct a prequel to the Exorcist covering the activities of Father Lancaster Merrin in the period prior to the original film. Schrader duly splurged the budgeted $50 Million and the result was "Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist". At the executive screening of the first cut of the film the backers were aghast at the lack of shock and gore on display, bemoaning the fact that the bombast contemporary horror they thought they'd bought had in fact been delivered as a slow burning psychological horror with very little blood.
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So far, so not that unusual - but then something rather odd happened - something which as far as I know is unique in annals of filmdom. Instead of just recutting the film or sending it straight to DVD (as would normally be the case), the backers fired Paul Schrader and plucked another $50 Million in crisp notes from their wallets and asked Renny Harlin to make the film they had originally asked for ("Exorcist: The Beginning"). Yes, Renny "Die Hard" Harlin. No chance of getting a slow burn subtle horror film from him. Not only did Harlin shoot from pretty much the same script, but he used many of the same actors as well - in particular Stellen Skarsgard plays Father Merrin in both films. So we have a rare opportunity to compare two versions of the same film with the same script, locations and actors but with markedly different approaches.
The story focusses on the travels of Father Merrin as an apparently rootless lapsed priest and archaeologist who encounters demonic possession in colonial East Africa. Merrin is asked to visit a dig where an impossibly old Christian church has been uncovered. While there, a young vatican priest and doctor provide spiritual and medical advice respectively, alongside the British Army at it's colonial worst. Merrin of course must ask himself if he can make the journey back to his faith in order to defeat the evil he must battle.
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The plots of the two versions are near identical, so I'll focus more on the style and thematic differences. Harlin ("Beginning") has clearly taken his "contemporary" remit to heart - lots of blood, gory deaths and absolutely blatant lifting of imagery and character riffs from the original Exorcist - hey, if you're going to make a cash-in sequel, at least make it obvious seems to have been the thinking. Schrader's film ("Dominion") is comparitively bloodless and is in no real hurry to get going - but it's all the better for it - the shocks when they do come contrast well with the languid pace generally. Dominion works hard to create a great sense of forboding without needing to resort to glowing eyes or gallons of gore.
The physical incarnation of good old Satan himself is certainly more believable in the Scharder film, with the make-up and obvious "homages" to the original (in look and dialogue) in the Harlin film a bit too similar for my liking. It only just stops short of spinning heads and projectile vomit.
Skarsgard as Father Merrin seems to give a markedly quieter performance in the Schrader film, acting out a bit more in the Harlin film, almost as if he knew he had to turn up the volume a little for a director like Harlin and the type of film he (and the backers) wanted.
I'd recommend viewing the two films back to back if you can (they are both around 2 hours) to give the best feel for the differences. The clear winner for me was the Schrader version. The prologue to the original Exorcist always intrigued me and Dominion fleshes that out in the manner I'd hoped for. That said, if you want in your face horror where all the dots are connected (in blood) on screen for you, go for the Harlin version. Brash and obvious, but still a good film.
Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist: 7/10
Exorcist: The Beginning: 6/10
Zuul
Have you seen these films? Think I'm talking rubbish? Then come and discuss this review on the London
Vampyre Group forums - a thread with this review has been started
here.
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