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