Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

- written December 2005

Summary: 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.           You can read the history of this film....here.           Overall: I think when compared to the Renny Harlin version, this is the better film. Yeah the Harlin one tried to be scary but this one remembered what the original film was about...fear. This movie tries to slowly scary you…tries to do it subtly. Tries to build suspense as film goes on. The film has a better more concise story and I even think the actors did a better job. Paul Schrader remarked of the film that he was trying to make the possessed person in this movie, the opposite of the 1973 film. Before it was a young girl who gets worse as the possession goes on. This time it’s a young boy who gets better as the possession goes on…but we find out why and that works. But Schrader is up front with this film’s flaws and obvious issues. He knows this film could not live up to the original and as such tried different things to at least avoid a total sell-out. So while fans almost universally enjoy this film better than Harlin’s the studio went the other way. And they blew it.           Comparison: Exorcist II meets The Man Who Would be King

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