Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
EXORCIST: THE Beginning may have a little scare potential for the extremely squeamish but it does not have the power to scare the devil out of anyone. Despite the title, it is clearly the end of the series. The light has gone out, and there is no use raging against it.
The movie, directed by Renny Harlin, supposedly takes us back to the beginning of evil on earth, or rather its site. In doing so it takes us to the spot where Lucifer landed after Michael and the other arc angels booted him out of heaven. Apparently, persons who come upon this site of first contact, and are therefore brushed with evil, are either driven crazy or become possessed.
BURIED CHURCH
According to Exorcist: The Beginning, a buried church is discovered in Africa, where no church had the right to be at the time it was built. The archaeological dig starts to go south with mysterious attacks and disappearances, and there is of course, the requirement to find some historical important object.
Lancaster Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) is a priest turned archaeologist who finds himself at the heart of the mystery. Mirren is a priest who after having had too much contact with more earthly demons has lost his faith. Nonetheless, he is drawn to investigate the string of 'strange' incidents which are occurring at an archaeological dig. Additionally, along with solving the mystery, Merrin has to come to terms with his own faith.
Exorcist: The Beginning is filled with the usual horror movie clichs. So, the characters do silly things like dig in a grave yard, or enter a tomb at night. The movie's strongest suite is the sound effect, which squeezes the last drop of possibility from the suspense element. However, the few 'gross out' elements that occur cannot be compared to what has flitted across screens since the first The Exorcist in 1973 and this one. So, in general Exorcist: The Beginning is nothing to write home about, in ink much less blood. The last few minutes of the film are something of a redeeming value. During this major moment of examining the possession, the computer graphics are commendable and the dramatic elements to be found in the classic fight of good versus evil are engaging.
Exorcist: The Beginning tries to play out that all the evil in the world is related to this site. In doing so, it displays the senseless killing that happens in war, taking it even further as soldiers lose their sense of who the enemy is, when touched by this great evil.
HAVOC
While this makes a great, tidy explanation for senseless violence, the hand of humanity in wreaking havoc cannot be ignored.
The result is that Exorcist: The Beginning tries to redeem itself by presenting a half-hearted look into the heart of evil. Unfortunately, this peep hole cannot be compared to that which one can see in real life. So, the movie is nowhere as scary as reality. Its ghosting potential has been exorcised, and there is not much scare left in it. Its tagline refers to it as a new chapter in evil, but someone should have pointed out that the book was already closed.
