Dominion - Prequel To The Exorcist [DVD]

 

 

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At one point, while walking around at night time, the character of Father Merrin knocks his head on a sign. He doesn't curse, complain, nurse his head or hit the offending object. Instead he turns, and holds the sign, stopping it from swinging. Instantly we know a little more about the character of Father Merrin and how he interacts with his world.
This version of the Prequel to the Exorcist cares about its characters to such an extent that the film feels like a throw back to the cinema of 1970s. All the characters are superbly drawn and wonderfully acted. Nobody has a moment when they are not in character.
What might jar you out of the story are the special effects. The CGI in this film is ropey as hell with some key scenes lacking polish.
There are some great images in this film and it also has some interesting themes that are explored in a mature way. Though it does have scary moments, it doesn't fit into the horror genre the way it is at the moment; this isn't Saw or Wolf Creek. Like I said before it feels like this film has come out of different era.
If you go in with an open mind you will be enriched by this mature and unfashionable movie.

The Schrader v. Harlin debate will probably run and run, because frankly neither movie (this or Harlin's "Exorcist: The Beginning") is good enough to win out finally. The odd thing about the whole story is that -- as another reviewer has mentioned -- while you can see why the studio wasn't happy with "Dominion", it hardly warranted a total reshoot on the strength (or weakness) of the director's work alone. I think there's more to it than that...

"Dominion" is a sober, well-scripted movie with some strong performances (Stellan Skarsgaad as Father Merrin (the character played by Max Von Sydow in ther original movie) and Ralph Brown's British sergeant stand out), mostly understated. It's creepy rather than outright scary, and while Schrader handles most things well he isn't up to building the crescendo the finale requires. As others have pointed out, the effects and the score are still unfinished, which isn't really the director's fault. (I have a feeling the studio may even squeeze a "Dominion: Special Edition" out of this if there's enough interest.) There are even a couple of fluffed dialogue lines left in. All of this unfinished business does somewhat deflate whatever tension the director has built.

But did the film's flaws demand a total reshoot? Plenty of movies have been more or less successfully salvaged by a second director shooting action sequences, and Harlin's remake isn't so great as to remove all doubt that it was the right way to go. I think the trouble was actually with the script, which in this version can be read as thinly-veiled attack on Christianity -- not what you'd expect from an Exorcist movie and certainly not what William Peter Blatty, who still presumably owns the intellectual copyright to the overall concept, would approve. The demon's temptation here is to offer Merrin "Freedom ... to walk the earth your own man".

The revisited flashback sequence shows that Merrin's original actions were the right ones under the circumstances. That utilitarian conclusion (the 'pick ten to die or we'll kill them all' set-up is a variation on a well-known philosophical thought experiment to test utilitarians) would have fatal consequences for the absolute morality that Christianity demands. The implications of this are that the 'demon' is actually a free spirit encouraging humans to think and decide for themselves, which is why his temple was buried under a Christian church. Watch the movie carefully and you'll see no act of violence unequivocally performed by the 'demon' other than in self-defence.

It's strong stuff for a bit of popcorn, and would have been more likely to make the studio balk than any shortcomings in Schrader's directorial style. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work, firstly because Merrin's (re)conversion from skeptic back to crucifix-wielding holy warrior is too abrupt and too little explained (or maybe that's the point -- there couldn't be a good explanation for something so dumb), secondly because even on the anti-Christian reading we're left with a supernatural force of some sort -- it's still no materialist/existentialist parable.

Well, that's my take on why "Dominion" was deemed unredeemable. The fact that the great Vittorio Storaro photographed (beautifully) both prequel versions only highlights how unnecessary the complete reshoot was, as footage from "Dominion" wouldn't have jarred visually in "Exorcist: The Beginning". At least we have Schrader's version now, and although it will never be perfect, I wouldn't mind seeing it tidied up a little.

Dominion is a genuinely interesting and ambitious film that doesn't quite make it despite being superior to Harlin's enjoyably unambitious schlocky remake. More a drama about faith than a horror film, it's not even remotely chilling and in the hands of the director of the awful Cat People remake it's attempts to throw in a few shocks (or "trying to make the cow look like a horse" as he puts it on his heavily vetted audio commentary) simply don't work any more than the crude dream imagery straight out of a 40s noir - he's just not interested in that sort of thing. He's much better at more human acts of violence: the suicide scene is a vast improvement on the terrible version in Harlin's film without the unnecessary supernatural trappings, while a pair of apparently arbitrary murders are all the more jolting for their human origin and the rationale behind them. For all its failings, the film is far from unsalvageable, and the decision to junk it and completely reshoot it with a new script, director and, in many cases, supporting cast seems a major over-reaction.

It's also surprising just how little crossover there is between the two films - not just the respective scripts and the themes, but how little footage was pressed into service on the remake (barely two minutes, most of it establishing shots and a brief deleted scene). It's also clear that the film is still uncompleted. The cgi is terrible and all too obviously unfinished and the score suffers from being performed on synths rather than by an orchestra, which gives it a demo/temp track effect that doesn't always help the film, but the biggest problem remains the direction. While co-writer Caleb Carr's complaints about Schrader having no visual sense are frankly bizarre - it's by far his best looking movie and certainly his most cinematic - he's unable to rack up much tension, particularly in the finale. Much of this seems to be due to his inability to inspire his cast: with much of the film played in long takes, many of the supporting players aren't up to the script and clearly aren't getting enough help (the wildly inadequate Clara Bellar suffering more than most in the role taken by Isabella Scorupco in the remake). While there isn't a performance as bad as Alan Ford's in the Harlin version, and a couple - particularly Julian Wadham and a superb Ralph Brown - are actually considerably better than the remake, the moral escalation of the very well-written prologue loses much of its power due to a flat performance from Antonie Kamerling's German officer. In Schrader's hands, it doesn't matter because we don't care because the performances don't convince us that it's real. Curiously, the sequence is much better handled in the Harlin version, where it's both better staged and more effectively utilized as a recurring flashback.

On the plus side, he has a much better sense of time and place than Harlin. Whereas the remake looked like a glossy modern studio picture, this does have an old National Geographic visual quality that makes it look like it was actually shot in post-war Africa. The British troops, so cartoonish second time round, are much more convincingly of their time here, adding a surprising note of authenticity.

The script is fairly intelligent and ambitious on the big themes but does drop the ball on the clumsily sketched relationship between Merrin and Rachel, with the audience having to take too much on faith with no real grounds: at times it feels like the actors are still waiting for another emotional scene to be written but are completely in the dark about its content. Similarly, it doesn't always deal with the issues it raises and, as with all the Exorcist follow-ups, it falls badly in the "we need an exorcism" finale. For once the film really does need to end with an exorcism, but when it strays outside the temple the shoddy cgi Northern Lights and Bellar's looney face just render the footage laughable. However, the substance of the Satanic threat is more interesting than conjuring tricks here, emphasising the great deceiver's nature as the father of lies, tempting not by offering future riches but by erasing the mistakes of the past that cause such torment.

The catalyst is once again a possessed youth, in this case a crippled albino outcast who finds himself being cured by the demon. Naturally, the young missionary immediately mistakes it for a miracle and the boy as proof of God's love, before painfully learning the error of his ways, leaving Stellan Skarsgard's disillusioned Father Merrin to exorcise the boy and confront his own personal demons. Schrader makes less of the battleground - an elaborate ancient church deliberately buried in Africa thousands of years ago - without ever making it enough of an intimate story to compensate. But when it works, it works well, and it constantly holds your interest. Not quite a failure, not quite a success but certainly worth digging up.

Even if you feel like giving up on it, make sure you watch the ending, where Schrader takes his obsession with The Searchers to new heights, lifting its final shot for a wonderfully outrageous homage as Skarsgard walks out of the door in a perfect imitation of Wayne's body motion to wander forever between the winds...

The DVD is not much to write home about - a commentary by Schrader that conspicuously ignores both his run-in with Morgan Creek and Harlin's version, 6 deleted scenes and a stills gallery - but considering the fact that even a few years ago we'd never have got to see the film at all it's nothing to complain about either. It's worth noting, however, that despite being listed as being in a 2.4:1 ratio, it's actually nearer to being 2:1.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good film if you get the right price + better than alternate version
I bought this DVD used from Amazon at a very good price and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I would have preferred an 18 rated version but this was enjoyable and still had enough tension... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Stressed_Eric72

2.0 out of 5 stars Studio bosses were right; It is bad.
Apparently, the studio bosses thought this film was so bad they didn't want to release it, and preferred to spend another $50 million rewriting and reshooting it with Renny Harlin... Read more

Published 15 months ago by NoWireHangers

3.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent film from an erudite director
This film,prequel to The Exorcist,is a character-driven vehicle with philosophical intentions rather than a schlock-horror(no character development/much CGI!). Read more

Published 17 months ago by technoguy

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthy, respectful effort, well worth seeing
This was a pleasant surprise for me - a film I never expected to see (being of the belief that another Exorcist movie was neither necessary nor desirable) but which I stumbled on... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Now Zoltan

3.0 out of 5 stars "God is not here today."
Dominion is a genuinely interesting and ambitious film that doesn't quite make it despite being superior to Harlin's enjoyably unambitious schlocky remake. Read more

Published on 22 Dec 2007 by Trevor Willsmer

1.0 out of 5 stars I can see why the studio didn't want to release this
It feels like a competently staged school play without any meaning or weight behind anything anyone says or does. Read more

Published on 6 Sep 2006 by BS on parade

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent film, a real surprise
Picked up The Exorcist Anthology and was not expecting much - THIS IS THE BEST FILM IN THE SET!

The photography is stunning - the opening scenes in wartime Holland... Read more

Published on 12 May 2006 by Mick L

1.0 out of 5 stars The worst.
Believe me when I say that this film will easily be one of the worst movies that you will ever see. The giveaway is that following the end of filming; even the studio withdrew it... Read more

Published on 8 April 2006 by G. Morris

4.0 out of 5 stars The first and - I think - definitive version of the prequel
It's not often that you get the chance to watch two different versions of the same film, especially one associated with a landmark motion picture such as The Exorcist. Read more

Published on 28 Dec 2005 by Daniel Jolley

1.0 out of 5 stars as flat as a communion waffer
This is without doubt one of the dullest films I have ever had to endure. It was flat, lacking any chills, sophistication or drama. Read more

Published on 25 Nov 2005 by P. Fox

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