Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)

recommended

Expected more

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Years after a traumatic event, a scarred priest joins an archaeological dig in Africa where the workers start experiencing strange traumas from a church buried in the sand and when it continues leads him to believe that evil has been unleashed and all of his faith is needed to fight it off.For the most part, there really wasn't a whole lot to like about this one. Among the few enjoyable aspects here is that the film does present evil in a very dignified manner, which is a stark contrast to the other types of films on the subject. It presents the manner in a manner that would actually be accustomed to, and it is relatable to most people. The devil manifesting itself in a human guise is an issue that must be dealt with on an individual basis, and the struggles provided are more realistic and human than in most of the other films. It's a great method of involving the viewer into the film that is greatly appreciated as this goes for such overt references to this situation and it's quite appealing. That is enhanced by the other outside forces keeping this one somewhat interesting as the forms of possession shown throughout here generate quite a strong first half which sets up the finale. That is the other good part about this as the film also has some great moments towards the end in the church from the attempted baptism and the eventual confrontation with the indigenous tribe which carries on into the final exorcism attempt at the end. Aside from these, though, there really wasn't a whole lot as there's a couple of things wrong. The biggest criticism is it's far too slow here as the story is intense, but nothing else is. This is a drama-centered story if there ever was one, and what makes it even worse is that it's a dull drama to begin with. Had this been made in the vein of being entertaining, then it could've worked but the overall presentation is boring and very slow to get going. This is an intense crime right there that severely and quite heavily knocks it down. Also not helping it is its storyline makes little sense. There is an attempt to explain everything, but it's buried behind so much incomprehensible psycho-babble that trying to get it out is almost impossible with the whole connection between the different forces. It had some rare moments of potential but quickly left that as if unable to think that it can carry it along and reverts back to the spiritual side of things that doesn't offer anything. and wasn't all that special to begin with. The other flaw is that the CGI in here is another disappointment, as it looks incredibly fake considering the rest of the film looks so good. It was told the creatures were supposed to be a threat, but there wasn't that much to them in order to be afraid of. These here are what hold this one down.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, children-in-danger and intense religious themes.

This is a truly risible movie. A cross somewhere between a Hammer Horror and a Carry On movie, Schrader has crafted a truly awful piece of cinema. My first thoughts after about three quarters of an hour were that it looked like a cheap made-for-TV movie, and the dreadful CGI effects merely compound this. The art direction is woeful, everything looks brand-spanking new, and the sets are so clichéd. Schrader's direction is clunky and uninspired, but worst of all is the acting from Skarsgard and Mann. Skarsgard chews the scenery for two hours whilst Mann seems to think he's in some Merchant Ivory epic.Two hours of my life wasted. This film should not be thought of as anything to do with Friedkin's masterpiece. It is a travesty that quite rightly the studio attempted to shelve. If people think this is better than Exorcist: The Beginning I'm just glad I haven't seen it.

The story isn't really exciting. You just sit there and watch. There are some slightly interesting scenes, some supposedly shocking ones (uh, a dead newborn full of worms - how terrifying...), a few funny lines (even though I doubt that they were meant to be this way)... but nothing special. All plain and ordinary stuff. Not even the effects are well made. Especially the hyenas looked really cheap.In the beginning, we see a scene from Father Merrins' past. Even though it helps understand, why he lost his belief, it doesn't seem to play such an important role. It's not like you ever wonder yourself, why Father Merrin acts the way he does. Then comes for a long while pretty much nothing important. At the last third of the movie, a young man (Cheche) gets possessed by an evil spirit. It doesn't act very evil, though. It even warns an unexperienced priest (Father Francis), not to touch it with anything holy. The second time he tries it, that evil spirit throws the priest onto the statue of an angel with such force, that you hear every bone in the priests body (and probably his spine, too), break. Nevertheless the young priest stands up and walks away to find some book, in order to drive away the evil spirit. They must have messed something up. It's Cheche, who got possessed and thus gained supernatural powers, not the priest. A few scenes later we see that hard to kill Father Francis again. This time, he is spiked with arrows like a hedgehog. But no big deal, of course. Seriously, that priest must be the incarnation of Archangel Michael himself. Gimme a break...What started out like an average movie, evolved to a disappointing waste of time. Dominion is hardly worth being watched.

I am not going to go into any detail other than what is needed to be said. Many have slated this for poorer special effects than were meant to be available at the time. Many people slate it for taking place in only a very few places. These would be fine complaints to a large budget film - but the studio was more interested in funding the Renny Harlin version of schlock horror "exorcist" than helping Paul Schrader to achieve his own superior idea here. Left largely out the dry, he did its best.A film must be rated against its circumstances. And for a low budget film that defied it's original studio to be made and come out such a well written and well acted piece, is enough to be forgiven for minimal sets and dated effects. If anything, the fact they pushed on and their dedication is clear in every shot, makes me appreciate their efforts even more.Not just a film about faith and good battling evil, but about faith and an independent director battling the studio. See it.