5 & 6. Dominion: The Exorcist Prequel (2005)
The story of The Exorcist prequel is one of the strangest in recent Hollywood history. There were no deaths on the set, no mysterious injuries, no supernatural intervention, no curse. (Actually, one of the films three directors did die, but not on set.) The story of The Exorcist prequel is marked primarily by two visions by two directors of the same material. The success of The Exorcist franchise prompted Morgan Creek Productions, who held the rights to the franchise, to green-light a fourth Exorcist film, this time a prequel. It was at this point that things got complicated. The story goes like this: Director John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin) was hired to direct the prequel and had begun to cast the film during pre-production. Sadly, Frankenheimer was forced to drop out of the production and died shortly thereafter. Paul Schrader stepped in to helm the script by William Wisher and Caleb Carr. Schrader, known for writing four films for Martin Scorsese (including Taxi Driver), had directed several films including Cat People, Affliction and Auto Focus. He was a smart, competent filmmaker and Morgan Creek expected great things from him. After shooting wrapped, Morgan Creek executives took one look at the rough-cut film and decided it wasnt at all what they wanted. Schraders prequel was a character-driven story about the loss of faith and redemption; the character development just happened to take place as a result of an exorcism. It was a psychological thriller, not a horror film. Enter director number three. Director Renny Harlin (Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Deep Blue Sea) was brought on board to make changes. Morgan Creek wanted a horror movie. But Harlin did more than make changes. The script was rewritten and Harlin re-shot most of the film, with more scares and more blood and with most of the same cast. The resulting Exorcist: The Beginning underperformed at the box office and barely rated an 11% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. William Peter Blatty, author of the original Exorcist novel and the director of Exorcist III saw the movie with the ousted Paul Schrader. After a slam-bang opening sequence, Harlin's prequel deteriorated into what was surely the most humiliating professional experience of my life. (Source: New York Times) With disappointing reception, Morgan Creek toyed with the idea of releasing the Paul Schrader version of the film. Enter Schrader once again. Schraders film was released on the art house circuit as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. It received better reviews that the Harlin version, but not by much. Both films tell the same story of Father Lankester Merrin, played by Stellan Skarsgard (and Max Von Sydow in 1973s The Exorcist), who leaves the clergy after members of his parish are murdered by a German officer during World War II. Now an archeologist, Merrin participates in an archaeological dig in Iraq of a Byzantine era church which, as it turns out, was built atop a pagan temple in which an evil has been imprisoned. Its a fascinating study in style and structure to watch these films back to back, as both feature the same actor in the lead role and both tell what is essentially the same story. But the failure of both films to capture a large audience might well put the franchise in its grave.