Little Tony DeFranco
08-21-2004, 05:26 AM
Exorcist: The Beginning
http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php
"The Exorcist" is a mainstream pop culture phenomenon of a motion picture. I never saw anything like it before (not the first possession movie) and has produced now another film in the series of 4, a prequel. "Exorcist: The Beginning" has a dark history, John Frankenheimer passed away in pre-prod and Paul Schrader made his own version only to be fired and replaced by a whole new film by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2). Expect a DVD version of both films on the same disc.
The producers must have seen "The Passion of the Christ" and had it in mind when they set the tone of this film. Dust, Dirt and Blood (and a lot of close-up shots). The story takes place after WW2 in Kenya and Lankaster Merrin (Swedish Stellen Skarsgard is a good younger Max von Sydow) has lost his faith during the Nazi holocaust.Now, an archeologist sent by the Vatican to look at the remains of a buried church in a remote village. There are spooky things afoot that lead to an uprising of natives and the British Guard are ready to kill the townsfolk (Merrin sees the fate as another holocaust). Interesting story by William Wisher and Caleb Carr has it's political moments but it's the horror elements that sell the movie.
This is by no means a good flick but it delivers the goods in a few moments of demented bliss (a pack of hyenas eat a small boy, maggots on a newborn fetus, a menstrual cycle gone wrong). The premise is something like "The Ghost and The Darkness" (lions on the loose movie with Val Kilmer) but it sticks to the roots of WP Blatty's idea of new found faith to fight the Devil ("The Power Of Christ Compels You"). The end showdown with Merrin and Pazzuzu is as hokey as it wants to be, and the silly sequence with a butterfly and the gun is just stupid (in a funny way). Skarsgard makes the picture better because he can carry a starring role well. Wait for the DVD version to compare Harlin and Schrader's work (same star and different cast and plot). Passable gory mess.
is it any good? (http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php)
Heartbeat is a Love Beat
http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php
"The Exorcist" is a mainstream pop culture phenomenon of a motion picture. I never saw anything like it before (not the first possession movie) and has produced now another film in the series of 4, a prequel. "Exorcist: The Beginning" has a dark history, John Frankenheimer passed away in pre-prod and Paul Schrader made his own version only to be fired and replaced by a whole new film by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2). Expect a DVD version of both films on the same disc.
The producers must have seen "The Passion of the Christ" and had it in mind when they set the tone of this film. Dust, Dirt and Blood (and a lot of close-up shots). The story takes place after WW2 in Kenya and Lankaster Merrin (Swedish Stellen Skarsgard is a good younger Max von Sydow) has lost his faith during the Nazi holocaust.Now, an archeologist sent by the Vatican to look at the remains of a buried church in a remote village. There are spooky things afoot that lead to an uprising of natives and the British Guard are ready to kill the townsfolk (Merrin sees the fate as another holocaust). Interesting story by William Wisher and Caleb Carr has it's political moments but it's the horror elements that sell the movie.
This is by no means a good flick but it delivers the goods in a few moments of demented bliss (a pack of hyenas eat a small boy, maggots on a newborn fetus, a menstrual cycle gone wrong). The premise is something like "The Ghost and The Darkness" (lions on the loose movie with Val Kilmer) but it sticks to the roots of WP Blatty's idea of new found faith to fight the Devil ("The Power Of Christ Compels You"). The end showdown with Merrin and Pazzuzu is as hokey as it wants to be, and the silly sequence with a butterfly and the gun is just stupid (in a funny way). Skarsgard makes the picture better because he can carry a starring role well. Wait for the DVD version to compare Harlin and Schrader's work (same star and different cast and plot). Passable gory mess.
is it any good? (http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php)
Heartbeat is a Love Beat