Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist

If ever there was a “cursed” film, this film would be it. For starters, John Frankenheimer was hired to direct, but had to withdraw for health reasons, tragically passing away shortly thereafter. Paul Schrader took his place, stepping into what would be one of his worst studio battles (and he had more than his share). Eventually, they hired yet another director to re-write, re-edit, and largely re-shoot the picture, but the results were so poorly received, Schrader was brought back to reshape his original footage into something salvageable. Eventually, his cut released one day after Star Wars: Revenge of the Stith opened. Cursed, right? However, William Peter Blatty had some nice things to say about Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, which viewers can judge for themselves when it airs Tuesday night on the Movies! digital channel.

Arguably, the cruelty of the National Socialists Father Lankester Merrin witnesses in the prologue might be worse than that of the demon. The young Dutch parish priest was forced to make a horrific “Sophie’s Choice.” Since then, his position in the Church has been iffy and his faith even iffier. While he and they decide his future as a priest, Merrin works on archaeological digs throughout Africa, as a civilian.

His latest excavation in Kenya is a little….weird. Apparently, a pristine 5^th Century Byzantine church was buried under the sand as soon as it was completed. The art and architecture inside are stunning, but uncharacteristically, the statues of the Archangel Michael are pointed downward, in a protective posture.

As we all expect, inexplicable violent incidents start happening after the site is unearthed. The local tribe is particularly restive, so Major Granville arrives with his troops, which only further fans unrest. Father Merrin tries to defuse tempers, with the help of Father Francis, a devout missionary, and Dr. Rachel Lesno, a Holocaust survivor, who also suffers from painful memories of the war.

While the village and tribe descend into hatred, Cheche, the shunned beggar afflicted with woeful birth defects, makes a suspiciously “miraculous” recovery. Of course, horror fans know if something looks too good to be true, it is probably very bad news.

Reportedly, the studio wanted more jump scares, earlier and more consistently. Yet, the thoughtfulness of Schrader’s cut is its greatest strength. Obviously, we know what is coming. Ironically, the more Schrader forestalls the fire and brimstone, the more suspense he builds. The script, originally credited to William Wisher and Caleb Carr explores themes of evil and faith with surprising insight. Again, this adds further fuel to the demonic horrors, when they finally come. Plus, the design work that produced the hidden church is quite amazing.

Stellan Skarsgard and Gabriel Mann are both terrific as the good Fathers. Skarsgard broods quietly as the pre-Exorcist Father Merrin, but there is also deep complexity to his portrayal. Mann’s Father Francis is admirably earnest, but not simplistic. Clara Bellair also tacks a shrewdly understated approach to playing the survivor’s guilt-plagued Dr. Lesno. However, Billy Crawford looks completely out-of-place as Cheche and the way the character’s physical deformities are presented is also questionable.

The Exorcist: Believer

Everyone should know by now Satan never sleeps. That means you can always have one more demonic horror sequel. In this case, we are talking about a franchise built by one of the greatest horror films of all-time and a criminally under-appreciated third installment. The rest are not so fondly remembered (especially #2), so Halloween 2018 rebooter David Gordon Green largely disregards them in the Blumhouse-produced The Exorcist: Believer, which opens tomorrow nationwide.

Thirteen years ago, Victor Fielding and his mega-pregnant wife Sorenne were vacationing in Haiti when the 2010 Sean Penn earthquake hit. She was killed, but doctors managed to save their unborn daughter, Angela. Of course, Fielding still has lingering pain and trauma you-know-who is sure to exploit when he gets a chance.

As a young teen, Angela is increasingly preoccupied with thoughts of the mother she never knew. So much so, she and her friend Katherine try to raise her spirit through a ritual in the forest, which is an exceptionally bad idea. Three days later, Fielding and Katherine’s Evangelical parents finally find them, but they are different. At first, everyone assumes they are just in shock, but their behavior grows nasty, violent, and just plain evil.

Fielding is not a believer, but his neighbor, a former nun, certainly is. When she gives him Chris MacNeill’s book about her daughter Reagan’s demonic possession, Fielding is so struck by the similarities, he seeks out her advice.

You have to wonder what William Peter Blatty (who wrote the original Exorcist novel and screenplay) would think of the way Believer depicts the Catholic Church. Rather insultingly for fans, Blatty’s name never appears in the opening credits, but this film would not exist without him. However, he might begrudgingly admit there is some veracity to its feckless depiction of the Catholic Church, in the Francis era. How can a Church that makes deals with the CCP find the faith to fight demons from Hell? At least, Ann the former nun will try, along with several other clergy, including Katherine’s Evangelical pastor. Ironically, he is portrayed in largely sympathetic terms, as Victor’s neighbor, Stuart, a Pentecostal lay leader, is as well.

Green and co-screenwriters Peter Sattler, Scott Teems, and Danny McBride make a point to emphasize faith, rather than the faith, but evil is still rotten and corrupting to the core. Frankly the “village” trying to conduct the exorcism needs a Father Karras and a Father Merrin—and they would be the first ones to admit it.

The heralding return of Ellen Burstyn as MacNeil is real a coup for Green. Even though she only has fifteen or twenty minutes of screen time, her presence has authority and the apostolic connection to the 1973 film lends Believer massive additional credibility. Despite the limited time, Burstyn is quite poignant and her post-Pazuzu life is well-written and believable.

Sundance ’20: Leap of Faith—William Friedkin on the Exorcist

William Peter Blatty paid extended tribute to the mother who had such a formative influence in Crazy, one of his final novels (which—disclosure—I helped market). It was shared experience William Friedkin could relate to and bond with Blatty over when they collaborated on the celebrated film adaptation of his most famous novel, especially in the scenes depicting Father Karras and his mother. That is the sort of in-depth commentary Firedkin offers throughout Alexandre O. Philippe’s Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

It would be fair to think of Leap as the special Exorcist supplement to Francesco Zippel’s career-survey documentary, Friedkin Uncut, except the director is the only voice heard during Philippe’s film. Arguably, The Exorcist is the only genre film that is sufficiently intriguing and significant to support such a “director’s commentary track” approach, but it is the Exorcist, so it can. Needless to say, Friedkin’s candor and enthusiasm help tremendously.

Friedkin’s deep dive roughly follows the film’s narrative, with quite a bit of time devoted to the prologue in northern Iraq. Even today, some viewers do not get it, but it is what helps make the film so distinctive. During the course of his examination, Friedkin reveals the film almost had two jazz-related associations. Ken Nordine of Word Jazz fame was recruited to create the demon voice, but just couldn’t get it right. Similarly, Friedkin rejected a score composed by Lalo Schifrin, who reportedly was not at all happy about it.