Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (movie The Exorcist), William Wisher (story)

Stars:

Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Father Merrin
Izabella Scorupco	...	Sarah
James D'Arcy	...	Father Francis
Remy Sweeney	...	Joseph
Julian Wadham	...	Major Granville
Andrew French	...	Chuma
Ralph Brown	...	Sergeant Major
Ben Cross	...	Semelier
David Bradley	...	Father Gionetti
Alan Ford	...	Jefferies
Antonie Kamerling	...	Lieutenant Kessel
Eddie Osei	...	Emekwi
Israel Oyelumade	...	Jomo (as Israel Aduramo)
Patrick O'Kane	...	Bession
James Bellamy	...	James

Storyline

Archeologist Lankester Merrin is asked to go to East Africa to excavate a church that has been found completely buried in sand. Merrin is also an ordained Roman Catholic priest who, still haunted by what he was forced to do during World War II in his native Holland, eschews any religion or belief. He's fascinated by what he finds and that it dates hundred of years before Christianity was introduced to the area. Accompanied by a young priest, Father Francis, to keep an eye on the religious elements of what they find, Merrin makes his way to the camp. There he meets a young doctor, Sarah and soon realizes there is an air of gloom that envelops the entire site. Workmen go mad and a young boy is mauled by a pack of hyenas while completely ignoring his younger brother Joseph. Inside the church itself they find signs of desecration. Merrin is forced to re-examine his lack of faith and come face to face with the devil.

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Plot Keywords:

lucifer morningstar character | church | faith | excavation | archeologist | 

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Taglines:

A Renny Harlin movie. The director of Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea and Die Hard 2

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [Brazil] Warner Bros. [Spain]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Exorcist IV: The Beginning

Filming Locations:

Casablanca, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,054,001, 22 August 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$41,821,986

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$36,178,600

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment Group,Dominion Productions,Post Amazers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 125 min (Unrated Version)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The screenplay had a long and painful gestation process. William Peter Blatty refused to get involved, resulting in over a decade being spent trying to get a screenplay together, with the producers eventually settling on a draft by Caleb Carr, which incorporated elements from an earlier screenplay by William Wisher.

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Goofs

When Father Merrin pushes Father Francis against the wall, it wobbles.

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Quotes

Sarah: This place... it's cursed.

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Minister of Chance Audio Dramas (2016)

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Soundtracks

Florida Special
Composed by Dick Kolmar
Provided by Killer Tracks

User Reviews

A very scary movie for 2004

I have read many of the comments concerning this movie and find that I tend to feel that this movie should not be judged in relation to the first. This movie stands out on its own by reviewing Father Merrin's life long before his fateful encounter with Regan years later. My son Nathan and daughter Ryann both found this too scary for them and felt it was far more scarier than the first. I saw it to be more historical and would judge it on that content. Yes, people are right in their comments about all the gore and vileness, but I saw that in the first movie in 1973 when it came out. I'm going to venture to say that people are turned off by this movie simply because it in no way resembles the original. This is the part where a director steps back and quits trying to leech off the first success. Give him some credit about trying to diversify this movie for the audience. Don't go in with any type of preconceived notion about the original or you will be disappointed like the rest in these comments. It is a good movie and well worth seeing. Mark Lockwood, Lubbock Tx...