Father Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgård) travels to a dusty town in East Africa and participates in an archaeological excavation which unearths a Byzantine church. This mysterious temple dates back to a time before Christianity arrived to the region. But what's even more mysterious is the evidence which suggests that the perfectly preserved church was buried as soon as it was completed. Panic among the townspeople soon follow and evidence of a demonic force gives reason to suspect that something else was unearthed.
This feature was the original prequel to "The Exorcist" but apparently it wasn't shocking enough for studio executives. For this reason, they ended up asking Renny Harlin to take over. The end result was the much maligned but mildly entertaining "Exorcist: The Beginning". Admittedly, this version is not as graphic as Harlin's but "Dominion" has other qualities that are superior. First, since this version concentrates more on the story than scare tactics, there's more character development. One of the stand-out performers here is Gabriel Mann. His portrayal of the other tortured priest is gripping. So likable is his character that he steals every scene he's in. Stellan Skarsgård also turns in a good performance but it's due largely to his imposing presence than his acting since he does nothing here which he hasn't already done before and his face is devoid of expression throughout. But the man's charisma commands our attention. Even when he's not saying a word, we are drawn to his character. While Mann takes us in with his words, Skarsgård does it with his presence.
"Dominion" is not as horrifying as the 1973 original but if you let yourself get too involved with the events taking place, it may end up affecting you more than you thought it was capable of. What we see more of here, is the diabolical, murderous deeds of man. The opening segment for instance, involving Merrin and the Nazi's is unpleasant and disturbed me to the core. The grisly scene is replicated in Africa years later. We clearly understand why Merrin loses his faith in God. There is a similar scene in Harlin's film but it's repeated so often throughout that whatever impact it originally had is lost.
The victim of demonic possession in this story also differ's. For those who have not yet seen either of these movies, I will not give spoilers. However, I will state that in "Dominion's" case, it does not really contradict the original film's story, at least in regards to the characters. I cannot say the same for Harlin's picture. Another aspect of Schrader's account that is dissimilar is in the make-up effects. In Harlin's interpretation, the possession make-up resembled that of the original "Exorcist". The victim of possession had the same facial scars and characteristics. In "Dominion", it does not. The exorcism scene, visually, when compared to Harlin's version, is not as grotesque (or as lame) but this exorcism disturbed me more. The demon played more with Father Merrin's head. It was less destructive physically but not emotionally. While watching the other prequel, I wanted more shocks yet when watching "Dominion", I did not. Schrader set the tone to such a different level, that cheap shocks would have changed its tone completely. It would have seemed out of place. While "The Beginning" is gorier and plays more like a typical contemporary horror movie, Schrader's version is more psychological. It does not rely on cheap thrills to torture it's main character and its target audience. For this reason, I proclaim it the winner.
Recommended.
This feature was the original prequel to "The Exorcist" but apparently it wasn't shocking enough for studio executives. For this reason, they ended up asking Renny Harlin to take over. The end result was the much maligned but mildly entertaining "Exorcist: The Beginning". Admittedly, this version is not as graphic as Harlin's but "Dominion" has other qualities that are superior. First, since this version concentrates more on the story than scare tactics, there's more character development. One of the stand-out performers here is Gabriel Mann. His portrayal of the other tortured priest is gripping. So likable is his character that he steals every scene he's in. Stellan Skarsgård also turns in a good performance but it's due largely to his imposing presence than his acting since he does nothing here which he hasn't already done before and his face is devoid of expression throughout. But the man's charisma commands our attention. Even when he's not saying a word, we are drawn to his character. While Mann takes us in with his words, Skarsgård does it with his presence.
"Dominion" is not as horrifying as the 1973 original but if you let yourself get too involved with the events taking place, it may end up affecting you more than you thought it was capable of. What we see more of here, is the diabolical, murderous deeds of man. The opening segment for instance, involving Merrin and the Nazi's is unpleasant and disturbed me to the core. The grisly scene is replicated in Africa years later. We clearly understand why Merrin loses his faith in God. There is a similar scene in Harlin's film but it's repeated so often throughout that whatever impact it originally had is lost.
The victim of demonic possession in this story also differ's. For those who have not yet seen either of these movies, I will not give spoilers. However, I will state that in "Dominion's" case, it does not really contradict the original film's story, at least in regards to the characters. I cannot say the same for Harlin's picture. Another aspect of Schrader's account that is dissimilar is in the make-up effects. In Harlin's interpretation, the possession make-up resembled that of the original "Exorcist". The victim of possession had the same facial scars and characteristics. In "Dominion", it does not. The exorcism scene, visually, when compared to Harlin's version, is not as grotesque (or as lame) but this exorcism disturbed me more. The demon played more with Father Merrin's head. It was less destructive physically but not emotionally. While watching the other prequel, I wanted more shocks yet when watching "Dominion", I did not. Schrader set the tone to such a different level, that cheap shocks would have changed its tone completely. It would have seemed out of place. While "The Beginning" is gorier and plays more like a typical contemporary horror movie, Schrader's version is more psychological. It does not rely on cheap thrills to torture it's main character and its target audience. For this reason, I proclaim it the winner.
Recommended.