Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (movie The Exorcist)
William Wisher Jr. (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 August 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Years before Father Lancaster Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu leads to the rediscovery of his faith.

Plot Keywords:

Obsessive | Nazi | Psychological Drama | Stillborn Child | Maggot

Cast

Stellan Skarsgård	...	Father Lankester Merrin
Gabriel Mann	...	Father Francis
Clara Bellar	...	Rachel Lesno
Billy Crawford	...	Cheche
Ralph Brown	...	Sergeant Major
Israel Aduramo	...	Jomo
Andrew French	...	Chuma
Antonie Kamerling	...	Kessel
Julian Wadham	...	Major Granville
Eddie Osei	...	Emekwi
Ilario Bisi-Pedro	...	Sebituana
Niall Refoy	...	Corporal (Thief)
Lorenzo Camporese	...	Private (Thief)
Burt Caesar	...	Dr. Lamu
Marcello Santoni	...	Dutch Farmer

Also Known As:

Exorcist: The Original Prequel (USA) (pre-release title)
Paul Schrader's Exorcist: The Beginning (USA) (pre-release title)
Paul Schrader's Exorcist: The Original Prequel (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Ireland:18 | Germany:16 | USA:R (certificate #41536) | Spain:18 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Morgan Creek International

Trivia:

Liam Neeson was initially cast as Father Merrin.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene where the flag is being taken down and folded, you hear "Taps" playing in the background. "Taps" is an American military song, and is not played by the British Army. "Last Post" would have been the appropriate music to be played.

Quotes:

Kessel: God isn't here today.

Movie Connections:

References The Searchers (1956)

Soundtrack:

Stardust Room

The critics love it... so do I.

A metaphysical treatment of the story. Thoughtful and intense. Horror is implied in this film... you don't get beaten over the head with it as did the Harlin film. Schrader has always been a master at atmosphere and story over shocks and thrill rides. This is a thinking man's horror flick. You don't find many of those anymore. Remember the original "Haunting". The horror is left to the imagination. That always makes it much more scary. Remy Harlin's film was over the top, which is what the suits at Morgan Creek wanted. When monetary considerations come before artistic considerations, you usually get schlock. Paul Schrader made no such compromise... which is why he was canned.