Written by William Wisher Jr And Caleb Carr
Directed by Paul Schrader
Father Merrin: "I believe God let us decide between good and evil. I chose good. Evil happened."
Quick question: do you see this version as an alternative or the intended prequel for The Exorcist? Also if you've watched both versions, which do you consider the better take? I have to admit, I can't really decide here.
Basically the beats are mostly the same. Stellan Skarsgard's still the former priest known as Merrin and Julian Wadham also remains as Major Granville. Everyone else on the other hand are played by different actors with varying results.
Gabriel Mann for example gives a decent performance as Father Francis, a follower of Merrin but also weary of the latter's lack of faith. Like the previous iteration of the character, his determination to perform an excorcism on a possessed boy - this time named Cheche (Billy Crawford) would result in his demise. However it's a different death this time around.
Then there's Rachel Lesno (Clara Bellar) who has more or less he same backstory as Sarah did in the other prequel. Except no husband and the romance between her and Merrin was dialled down. Not to mention not really being possessed and surviving the events of this prequel to boot.
Where I do think this prequel does somewhat better is the possession itself. It's still Pazuzu pulling the strings and toying with Merrin's guilt. Billy Crawford also does a solid job as the possessed Cheche and the ending marked a nice enough departure from the other prequel.
As for Merrin, Skarsgard's performance was about the same in both versions with his altercation in Nazi Germany backstory handled only a tiny bit differently. Overall, the studio probably should've just released this version originally instead of making two versions but there's a lesson to be learned here.
- This was originally meant to be a DVD extra before it got a very limited theatrical release.
- The original title for this prequel was meant to be Exorcist: Dominion.
- Standout music: Dog Fashion Do's March of Satan.
- Chronology: Pretty much the same timeline as the other prequel was.
Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist ain't much better or worse than Exorcist: The Beginning. It's more violent in some ways and less in others but overall, it's a serviceable horror flick that doesn't really standout in either a positive or negative way.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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