A chronic manipulator dies.
I didn't mean to turn this into a video, but Tumblr doesn't recognize the song as a transformative "Whiter Shade of Pale" and the audio uploader kept spitting it out.
Before we dig into Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, a bit of history. In 2005, the film was largely finished but Morgan Creek Productions didn't think it would be commercially viable. They brought in Renny Harlin to reshoot some scenes and make it more of a conventional horror film. The results were Exorcist: The Beginning. When that effort was a critical failure and failed to bring home the dollars, someone higher up had an idea. So much of this film had been reshot for The Beginning that it wouldn't take too much to complete this movie and maybe - just maybe - get lucky on a re-roll.
It’s hard to say if Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is better, or worse than its half-brother. It’s certainly classier, with less cheap horror elements, but all the promise is shows initially evaporates by the time we get to the climax, and the special effects are some of the worst I’ve seen in a theatrically-released film.
Former priest turned archaeologist Father Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgård) is excavating a strange church in the Kenynan desert. It looks as though the ornate place of worship - which predates Christianity in Africa - was buried immediately after completion. When the doors are breached and the people on the site begin acting strangely, Merrin's colleague, Father Francis (Gabriel Mann), believes a demonic force is responsible.
You can tell both prequels came from the same branch. They share several plot points. Some characters – although tweaked – are recognizable. A few actors – notably Skarsgård - play the same role. Each picture is also easily distinguishable when placed side-by-side. If one were good and the other bad that might mean something but they're both as appealing as a bucket of green vomit.
The most noticeable blemish on Paul Schrader's film are the special effects. Usually, I'm pretty lenient on CGI, costumes, compositing, etc. I’ll take a film that's rough around the edges but is inspired over something slick but without brains. Even that attitude has limits. Watching this unfrightening spookfest, you can’t help think “is everyone being possessed by the demonic spirit of a Playstation 1”?
As soon as you see that first CGI hyena, you're doomed. While you may remain interested in seeing what's next, nothing this film has to offer is memorable, not even the ludicrous climax. I want to give the film credit for reigning in the gore and lame jump scares, for avoiding obvious references to William Friedkin’s iconic picture, but what we get instead? It’s no good. Lame dream sequences, questionable actions by multiple people, missing scenes, obvious twists… Dominion wants to treat the idea of evil seriously, but it goes about it the wrong way. I dare you not to laugh when the film’s titular exorcism is performed. This film must feature the most non-threatening devil I’ve seen since Glen or Glenda.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist looks and feels cheap. Paul Schrader wasn't given the necessary funds to color-correct the footage. The result is one scene after another that looks like a made-for-TV movie. Not helping is the dreadful score and sockpuppet-level special effects but even if the time and money had been available, this picture wouldn't have been successful. Like the other Exorcist prequel - also released in 2005, this one's got no reason to exist. Exorcist: The Beginning was conceived from greed. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist was released out of desperation. What’s worse? Does it matter? (On DVD, October 27, 2017)