Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (movie The Exorcist)
William Wisher Jr. (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 August 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Years before Father Lancaster Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu leads to the rediscovery of his faith.

Plot Keywords:

Catholic Church | Hyena | Archeologist | Butterfly | Blood

Cast

Stellan Skarsgård	...	Father Lankester Merrin
Gabriel Mann	...	Father Francis
Clara Bellar	...	Rachel Lesno
Billy Crawford	...	Cheche
Ralph Brown	...	Sergeant Major
Israel Aduramo	...	Jomo
Andrew French	...	Chuma
Antonie Kamerling	...	Kessel
Julian Wadham	...	Major Granville
Eddie Osei	...	Emekwi
Ilario Bisi-Pedro	...	Sebituana
Niall Refoy	...	Corporal (Thief)
Lorenzo Camporese	...	Private (Thief)
Burt Caesar	...	Dr. Lamu
Marcello Santoni	...	Dutch Farmer

Also Known As:

Exorcist: The Original Prequel (USA) (pre-release title)
Paul Schrader's Exorcist: The Beginning (USA) (pre-release title)
Paul Schrader's Exorcist: The Original Prequel (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (certificate #41536) | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Ireland:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Morgan Creek International

Trivia:

Father Francis' line "Satan is real!" is a reference to The Louvin Brothers' album and song of the same name.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Major Granville shoots himself, you clearly see that there is only a small bit of blood on the top of his head, but when the body bag is pulled back so Rachel can identify the body, the entire top of his head is blown open

Quotes:

Cheche: Don't ever touch me with that again, priest!

Movie Connections:

References The Searchers (1956)

Soundtrack:

Back to Me

This movie is fantastic.

If you go into this film thinking you are going to see twirling heads and pea-soup you are going to be disappointed. If you go into this film with an open mind you will be pleasantly surprised by the depth, sophistication, spiritual drama, and sheer craft involved. There is meat to this picture. I think the artists involved rightly avoided trying to best or even mimic the original and instead focused on dread-- a creeping sort of existential dread-- instead of cheap, quick scares. You don't jump in your seat with fear, but you walk out of the theater feeling unnerved and it stays with you. Unlike most of the American popcorn horror flicks being made today, this film lingers in your head long after.