Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

Years before Father Lankester 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.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

William Wisher, Caleb Carr

Stars:

Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Father Lankester Merrin
Gabriel Mann	...	Father Francis
Clara Bellar	...	Rachel Lesno
Billy Crawford	...	Cheche
Ralph Brown	...	Sergeant Major
Israel Oyelumade	...	Jomo (as Israel Aduramo)
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

Storyline

Lankester Merrin is a archaeologist by profession but an ordained Roman Catholic priest who has lost his faith and abandoned his vocation. He is haunted by what he was forced to do in his native Holland during World War II. The church he's excavated in Northern Kenyan dates to the Byzantine period but this puts its construction hundreds of years before Christianity was introduced to the area. the church was buried to the rooftop in sand and as its structure is exposed, a madness slowly descends on the camp. the local tribesmen are prepared to go to war and demand that the church be buried. Soon, two British soldiers are found dead and their commanding officer, Major Granville, shoots a innocent civilian in cold blood. As fear descends upon everyone in the camp, it becomes apparent that a young disabled boy, Cheche, is possessed by the devil forcing Merrin to re-examine his own beliefs.

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Plot Keywords:

supernatural horror | church | faith | demon | africa | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

Exorcist: The Original Prequel

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$138,311, 22 May 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$251,495

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mary Beth Hurt (Paul Schrader's wife) does the uncredited voice of Cheche.

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Goofs

The uniforms worn by the British major and the other Imperial troops are from the wrong period. They are uniforms that were worn up until the Second World War, and NOT after, as shown in the movie.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kessel: I am Obersturmfuhrer Ralph Kessel from the S.S., and this is one of my men. We found him in a ditch with a kitchen knife in his back, murdered by one of you. You see the German army retreating, and it makes you feel hope. It should not. So, who is responsible for this?

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Crazy Credits

At the extreme end of the end credits, after the last production company logo has faded out and the screen is entirely black, a demon voice grumbles "I am perfection".

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Connections

Follows The Exorcist III (1990)

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Soundtracks

Back to Me
Performed by Devon Loizeaux
Lyrics by Devon Loizeaux

User Reviews

Fearing Evil, Once Again

Most everybody knows by now the story behind directors Paul Schrader and Renny Harlin concerning their Exorcist prequels. Firstly, I have never seen the Renny Harlin version, nor do I care to. I was extremely surprised when Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist turned up at my local video store last Tuesday. With credits such as Taxi Driver and The Last Temptation of Christ, I was excited about watching Paul Schrader's newest film. The 116 minutes of the movie left me speechless from beginning to end, as well as, afraid. Dominion, like The Last Temptation of Christ, is a film that digs deep into the core of Christianiaty, providing a strong spiritual battle between good and evil. Only this time, Dominion shows us a world of evil where all we have to hold on to is faith. Stellan Skarsgård plays Father Merrin, a man who buries his guilt and has lost faith in a God who he believes is absent. He leaves the church to pursue archeology in South Africa, and finds a church that was built for a demon, and still haunts the surrounding area with evil. When it has been determined that a civilian in the colony has become demoniacally possessed, Father Merrin realizes the only hope for the life and eternal soul of the colony is an exorcism. The film did have a low budget for special effects, but it does not distract it's viewer from the deeper message it brings out. Dominion also brings us something few movies have, it puts the fear of evil into us through psychology, rather than subliminally. Dominion also brings us to a more personal level view on evil, if our deepest guilt could be forgotten or our most darkest past could be changed to live a life without regrets, would we do it? William Friedkin's The Exorcist is, without a doubt in my mind, the scariest movie ever made, and if you have never seen it, I highly recommend you do. Paul Schrader's Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist may not be a horror movie to scare us visually, but it successfully puts the greatest fear into us through our thoughts, hell. Overall, Dominion is a near masterpiece, yet no where near the 1973 original. But then again, what is?