Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Exorcist: The Beginning’

Written by Scott Edwards

​If you were ready for the prequel for The Exorcist to come out in the early 2000’s, you were not the only one. I remember watching everything that was happening surrounding the movie, hoping it would not be shelved another ten years after the final chapter made it to the screen. I do not remember everything that happened, but what I do remember is that there was a problem at the studio, and they had to rewrite the script several times and reshoot several scenes to make it right. This was the mass released version of the film, while the first version, Dominion, was put on the back burner since it was not violent enough for the backers.
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Lancaster Merrin has been forced by himself to take a leave from the church after the war. Devoting himself to history, he has become an archeologist and is pretty good at his job thus far. Being approached by Semelier, a collector to find an artifact for him in the most recent dig in Africa, Merrin has a hard time turning the job down. Meeting with Major Granville, the British’s head of the dig, Merrin is shipped down to investigate a Byzantine church that predates the Christian influence in the region by many years. Being paired up with Father Francis on his research, the two are sent down to the Derati valley to open up the old church and unlock its secrets.

When driving through the valley, Merrin sees all of the graves surrounding the dig site and is given the answer that everyone died many years ago when ravaged by the plague. When arriving at the dig site, Merrin sees that the top of the church has been unearthed and wants to enter as soon as possible. With the diggers refusing to enter the church, since the area has been cursed, he will meet no opposition. Getting into the church and seeing that it has been desecrated, Merrin tries to talk to the lead archeologist on the site, but Bession has been sent away suffering from a mental breakdown. Seeing the young digger kill himself right in front of his very eyes, Merrin knows that the church possesses some kind of power and he must unlock its secrets before running out of time.

Getting back into the church and finding a secret staircase under the upside down cross, Merrin explores the depths of the building and finds that it is a temple erected for Satan, not God. Arriving back at the camp, Merrin sees that a young boy is about to be sacrificed by the locals for being possessed by the devil. Stopping the ritual, Merrin has questions about what is really happening in the village. Digging up the graves he passed on his way in and finding them empty, Merrin demands that Father Francis tell him what is really happening and what the church knows about the church. Getting the truth hurts, but Merrin now understands why the villagers want nothing to do with the church that they are uncovering, but when the new lead archeologist goes missing, the military is called back in to take control of the dig and its importance. Seeing that both the military and villagers are about to battle, Merrin makes sure that the innocent are protected, but the only place do to so is in the church devoted to evil.

This felt more like an Indiana Jones movie devoted to proving that the devil is real than anything else, but that is not a bad thing. Watching as Merrin has to battle with his inner demons that forced him away from the church and the having to fight the demons that roam the earth, well it is a great transformation for him. I could have done with less Father Francis in this movie as he did not really serve a purpose to the overall story with the exception of being there, but I can see why he was included in the story, you needed a priest that carried his goodies. I think Sarah should have been more of the star of this movie since she has been at the dig site from day one trying to help the sick and when she discovered that modern medicine cannot help, she tries to turn to religion. I guess that is why she was the prefect vessel for Pazuzu to take over while Merrin was more concerned about making a discovery in the beginning. Not a bad movie and I need to check out the first version, Dominion, to see how the characters and the story change. Stay Scared.

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