Exorcist: The Beginning R

Exorcist: The Beginning
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Format:  DVD
item number:  W72W
on most orders of $75+
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DVD Details

  • Rated: R
  • Closed captioning available
  • Run Time: 1 hours, 53 minutes
  • Video: Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: March 1, 2005
  • Originally Released: 2004
  • Label: Warner Home Video

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring , , , &
Directed by
Edited by &
Screenwriting by
Composition by
Produced by
Director of Photography:
Executive Production by &

Entertainment Reviews:

Rotten10%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 134

Spilled27%

AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 80,472
Unlike the first film, in which audience members fainted and threw up, the showdown between good and evil prompted more laughter amongst the audience than terror. Full Review
The Tyee (British Columbia)
Aug 24, 2017
Rating: 3/4 -- More than 30 years after the original hit screens, along comes the very best of the sequels. Full Review
ESplatter
Jun 19, 2008
Rating: 2/10 -- An utter violation of anything that ever made The Exorcist memorable... just gaudy effects and things jumping out to say "boo!" Full Review
Antagony & Ecstasy
Jun 7, 2011
Rating: 2/5 -- A botch job of mistimed scare scenes, bland characters and computer-generated hyenas. Full Review
BBC.com
Oct 31, 2004
Reams of tedious exposition finally give way to a random jumble of horror movie clichés, rising to a shrill pitch of hysteria that is never remotely frightening. Full Review
Time Out
Jun 24, 2006
The serious Catholic themes that made the original film genuinely disturbing have been flattened out into a cartoonish backstory pitting Merrin against Nazi storm troopers. Full Review
Chicago Reader
Feb 27, 2007
Rating: 1/5 -- Most of the movie feels nothing like an Exorcist film. Full Review
eFilmCritic.com
Jul 30, 2007

Product Description:

When Father Lankester Merrin arrived to expunge a troublesome demon from Regan MacNeil in the original EXORCIST movie, many viewers were left cowering in fear. But questions remained as to the true identity of the mysterious Merrin, and how he rose to become such a potent force in the battle against demonic possession. For inquisitive fans still fervently pondering the unfathomable Merrin, help is at hand in the shape of this prequel film, EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING. In the post-World War II world, Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) has seen his faith lapse due to some tumultuous firsthand experiences on the battlefield. Taking a lengthy sabbatical in an attempt to rekindle his belief, Merrin travels to East Africa. While there, he encounters an archaeological team who have uncovered a Byzantine-era church which, astonishingly, shows no visible signs of decay. Upon investigating the remarkable find, Merrin happens upon a crypt beneath the church, and inadvertently unleashes the same omnipotent demon that he duels with in the first EXORCIST movie. The local villagers unwittingly succumb to the powerful otherworldly force, and as chaos breaks out, Merrin experiences a cruel sense of irony when the very horrors he sought to escape engulf him once more.

Overcoming a difficult production that saw original director Paul Schrader ousted from the crew, Renny Harlin (DIE HARD 2) pulls out all the stops to deliver a creepy complimentary piece to the other EXORCIST movies. The casting of Skarsgard as the younger Merrin was a wise move, and neatly augments the work of fellow Swede Max Von Sydow in the first film. Working in the shadow of such a legendary movie is never easy, but Harlin manages to create a disquieting air of uneasy menace as he allows the tale to unfurl.

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Product Info

  • UPC: 085392467426
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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