Exorcist: The Beginning

I rented "Exorcist: The Beginning" this weekend. It tells the story of Father Merrin's first fight with the big, bad, pea-soup-spitting, head-spinning, mother-insulting, possessor of little children.

The unusual thing about this prequel is that it was actually written and filmed twice. The first prequel was written and directed by Paul Schrader. However, after the producer saw it, it was prompty discounted as not being "scary" enough. Paul was given the sack, and Renny Harlin was brought in to write and direct an altogether new prequel. Paul's prequel was shoved on a shelf somewhere, never to be released (although I've heard rumors that it will still see the light of day somewhere).

I guess the highest praise I can give "Exorcist: The Beginning" is that it was better than I thought it was going to be. Some decent thrills, and an interesting back-story. Not high cinema, though, that's for sure. But, in a pinch, it can be used to satisfy your scary movie needs. Nowhere near as good as the original "Exorcist", but volumes better than "Exorcist II: The Heretic".