In the aftermath of World War II, Mr. Merrin finds himself in Kenya. Haunted by the memories of the war, he has left the priesthood and journeyed far from home. He has been employed to lead the archaeological excavation of a mysterious, Byzantine church, buried in pristine condition as if on the day it was completed. Directly underneath the church, Merrin discovers a much more ancient crypt -- and finds himself face-to-face with unspeakable Evil. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village -- atrocities he'd hoped to never see again. He may be the only person to stop all hell from breaking loose, but this man has lost his faith and only faith can stop the evil.
Background: Let me start off with the fact that this is Renny Harlin’s vision for a prequel. If you don’t already know the "history" behind this film, let me give you the abridged version. Back in 2001, John Frankenheimer & Liam Neeson signed on for the film. A few months into planning, Frankenheimer died & Neeson bailed as a result. So the 2nd effort started with Paul Schrader as director with Stellan Skargard as Father Merrin. They spent almost a year shooting and preparing and by 2003, the film was done. The studio hated it, fired Schrader & started over with Harlin. Harlin kept Stellan and this is the result. And it’s already been guaranteed when this film reaches video, Schrader’s version will appear alongside. And why not. With 3 directors, the studio tossed in excess of $90 million. Frankly, I doubt anyone thinks this film can beat $40 million so they’ll do anything to break even at this point.
Overall: Ok, on to the film. This film has received some tremendously awful reviews and frankly, I can’t disagree with them. For much of the movie, outside of the name “Merrin” it seems more like a prequel to “The Prophecy.” I kept expecting people to discuss the “2nd Angel War.” Well, in and of itself, the film isn’t really that bad. It’s got a very slow start and the CGI effects are really bad. I mean the hyenas and the evil possessed lady at the end are obviously fake. The flies too. Almost as bad as the “Amityville Horror” films. And when I say “obvious,” trust me it shows. I think that had they just given this film a new title, new character names and not tried to make it a prequel, it might have been ok. But frankly, fans of “The Exorcist” expect better and this doesn’t live up to it. It’s not scary – it’s predictable. It uses the same tricks as the original film to frighten you and frankly...that stuff worked the first time. It won’t work now. What made the original super-scary was the fact you’ve got this young girl saying and doing things that are just abominable. You are convinced that if you don’t accept God into your life, this could happen to you. When the lady at the end does the same stuff, you come out with an exclamation of “So.” I think the true pain is that the first 3 films at least had significant action between hero and villain throughout the movies and this film leaves everything for the last 15 minutes. I hated the last 2 films but I will say, I think they were more interesting than this film…and part 3 was really bad too!
The film tends to lose the Vatican representative priest for long stretches as well as the slowly deteriorating archeologist with a drinking problem. The kid’s possession is never fully delved into nor did they do enough with the history of the site they are excavating nor why the Vatican priest knows as much as he does. The conspiracy surrounding him was almost anti-climactic. It’s really a film about Merrin and a few people he occasionally interacts with. Not what I call a good follow-up.
Comparison: The Prophecy meets Exorcist II
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