What’s a horror franchise without a prequel? Most of them, actually, but it sure seems like nowadays we have to spend at least an hour and a half explaining shit we either had already deduced through context clues, or were the source of much heated debates in the internet’s smelliest chatrooms. I just don’t see the need for this movie, you know? But here we are, seeing the origin of Father Lankester Merrin and how exorcizing Regan was actually… a… Wait a minute. Yadda yadda yadda, Paranormal Octoberty, what the hell is going on here?!
Okay, so, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist and Exorcist: The Beginning are roughly 15% the same movie. The long story cut short is that director Mr. Paul Schrader filmed a movie that Morgan Creek Productions wasn’t a fan of, and after he resisted making the cuts they wanted, Schrader was fired and Renny Harlin was brought in to make the movie “scarier.” New actors were cast and scenes were reshot, with the final product being Exorcist: The Beginning. After it’s poor reception, Morgan Creek brought back Schrader to create his vision of the film, giving him the filmmaker budget equivalent of a box of string and some tape. He managed to cobble together Dominion, which was marginally better received. And so we have two movies focusing on Father Merrin discovering a buried church in Africa, dealing with a demonic possession and trauma from Nazis. But while the broad strokes are the same, the devil’s in the details. I know that phrase doesn’t work perfectly for this situation, but I just had to use it cause… you know… the devil. I’m explaining the joke. MOVING ON!
So what’s different? Most of the film, really. Sarah is replaced with Rachel (Clara Bellar), Joseph’s presence is drastically cut (and he dies), and while Father Francis is still here and actually is important to the story, James D’Arcy is gone and replaced with Gabriel Mann, AKA Hush from Batwoman. The victim of possession this time around is a young man named Cheche (Billy Crawford) who… wait, what? Billy sang “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” for Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back? That… okay, sure, why not! A little weird to cast a conventionally attractive Filipino singer as a sickly young man with a bad case of caveman teeth, but whatever. Anyway, after the church is uncovered and some looting British soldiers are slaughtered in a vaguely Christian way, tensions rise between the native Africans and the British forces that were called in to protect the church. Primarily from looters, ironically. Amidst this, Cheche’s malformed bones miraculously heal but Father Francis figures out the boy is possessed. He doesn’t make it after being strung up like St. Sebastian, but in the end Merrin reaffirms his faith, exorcises the demon out of Cheche all by himself, and the British and African forces don’t completely slaughter each other.
Daring take, but I think this is actually a pretty good movie. I was prepared to watch it at 1.25 speed and do a quick summary of the minor changes, but this is a completely different movie from Exorcist: The Beginning. Even the theme and tone are changed with Dominion being more of a religious thriller with… I think zero jump scares? It’s tense, but also a bit slow for people looking for a more punchy horror flick. Also the hideous CGI hyenas are here–albeit in a reduced role–so it’s not perfect. Better than The Beginning, but maybe not worth the cost of reshoots.
Anyone else having Zack Snyder’s Justice League flashbacks? Just me? That’s fine.
Previous: Exorcist: The Beginning
Next: The Exorcist: Believer
Follow Me Elsewhere
Chwineka Watches 
Leave a comment