Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

Calificación de los usuarios:

5.0/10   

Director:

Renny Harlin

Escritores (WGA):

William Peter Blatty (movie The Exorcist)
William Wisher Jr. (story) ...

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

20 agosto 2004 (USA)

Género:

Horror | Suspenso

Frase comercial:

A new chapter of evil

Plot:

Years before Father Lancaster Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith.

Plot Keywords:

Church | Faith | Kenya | Archeologist | Atrocity

Premios:

3 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Not the piece of trash that I was expecting

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 3	8:00 PM	AMC
Mon. July 6	10:30 PM	AMC

Reparto

Stellan Skarsgård	...	Father Merrin
Izabella Scorupco	...	Sarah
James D'Arcy	...	Father Francis
Remy Sweeney	...	Joseph
Julian Wadham	...	Major Granville
Andrew French	...	Chuma
Ralph Brown	...	Sergeant Major
Ben Cross	...	Semelier
David Bradley	...	Father Gionetti
Alan Ford	...	Jefferies
Antonie Kamerling	...	Lieutenant Kessel
Eddie Osei	...	Emekwi
Israel Aduramo	...	Jomo
Patrick O'Kane	...	Bession
James Bellamy	...	James

También conocida como:

Exorcist IV: The Beginning (USA) (working title)
Exorcist Prequel (USA) (working title)
Exorcist: Dominion (USA) (working title)
El exorcista: El comienzo (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Exorcista: El comienzo (Venezuela) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue.

Duración:

114 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Color

Relación de Aspecto:

2.00 : 1

Sonido:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Clasificación:

Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 (video rating) (cut) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 (theatrical release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:18A | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-18 | Hong Kong:IIB (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 (heavily cut) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #41064)

Locaciones de Filmación:

Casablanca, Morocco

Compañía:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivialidades:

Morgan Creek Productions fired Paul Schrader after he had submitted a completed movie, saying that he had given them "footage without any of the bloody violence the backers had wanted". He had already made it clear in interviews that he was making more of a psychological drama than an all-out gore-fest. He was fired and Renny Harlin was hired to re-shoot the movie. Almost 90% of the movie was re-shot and at least two characters have been dropped from Paul Schrader's version of the movie. Following the lackluster reception to Harlin's version, though, Schrader's version was finally released as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005).

Errores:

Errores cometidos por los personajes (posiblemente errores deliberados por los cineastas): When Sarah is giving Joseph a shot, she gives it in the wrong spot. The needle is the size for an adult intramuscular injection which would be given in the muscular part of the arm. She gave it just a little above the elbow, which is not a very muscular region. It is possible that she would have to use the over-sized needle because of a lack of supplies in the area she was in, but she would never have given the injection in that location if she were medically trained.

Citas:

Father Merrin: Everbody died... Who buried them?

Conexiones de Película:

References The Evil Dead (1981)

Banda de Sonido:

Luo Drums

Not the piece of trash that I was expecting

There's no denying that this Exorcist prequel is surplus to requirements in terms of movies that needed to be made; but in spite of that, it's actually not bad at all. The film was never going to be received well, due to the fact that it's a prequel to one of the greatest horror movies ever made, and of course the whole Paul Schrader fiasco; but I'm happy to report that The Exorcist: The Beginning has risen from amidst the chaos and turned out to be a very decent horror movie. The action takes place before the events of the classic 70's movie, but it still follows the same character - Father Merrin, who was played by the great Max Von Sydow in the original, and is brought to life by Stellan Skarsgård in this movie. We follow him as he joins a British expedition in Kenya after an ancient church that has been buried underground for hundreds of years has been uncovered. You know what's coming, and this discovery is a springboard for all kinds of evil to be inflicted on the surrounding village.

The film really falls down on the character side, as we never really get to know any of them and with the possible slight exception of the lead; not a single one has any depth. That's unimportant, however, as this film's main focus is definitely the atmosphere; and it's suitably malevolent throughout, which does the film no end of favours. The action is very slow, especially for the first hour, but it hardly matters as watching the plot bathe in the atmosphere is always entertaining enough, and while it is slow you can always count on something to happen that will get the excitement levels back up. The film features several shocking and disturbing sequences, my personal favourite being the hyena attack; with the stillborn birth coming a close second. The CGI in the film leaves a lot to be desired, especially on the aforementioned hyena attack, but the effects aren't too much of an important element anyway. When the film boils down to it's ending is when it really lets rip, and the final fifteen minutes or so deliver some really great horror. While this film doesn't even nearly touch the original; it's much better than you would think considering all the turmoil surrounding the release and on the whole I give it a thumbs up!