Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

adonis98-743-186503 Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith. Exorcist: The Beginning is another really good and quite creepy Prequel/Sequel to the Exorcist (1973) although not as good as the original. Skarsgard does once again a terrific job as Merrin and the opening scene was creepy to say the least and the exorcism sequence in the end as well although the CGI were a bit lackluster at times. (8/10)

GL84 Asked to investigate a strange Kenyan church, a former priest finds the strange incidents happening to the villagers around the site are connected to the true reason for the church's placement at the site as a great evil sweeps through camp and forces him to rely on his faith to save them.Of the two versions of the film, this one is the slightly better effort. What really helps this one is the more overt and explicit showings that demonstrate something here, which this one wisely manages throughout. There's plenty of chilling work around the village of the natives and their superstitions tied into the different stories about the others running away terrified of the events around them for getting the first half going, but it's the action scenes here that start this off even better. From the utterly savage hyena attack in the village, the continuous efforts to protect the possessed son from the demonic targets against him and the crazed ambushes by the drunken guide there's plenty of rather fun action within here that all give this one the idea that something's brewing. Even better here is the intriguing suspense scenes that not only play up the action but also get the biggest points possible for the film's ploy about the building evil around the site. There's the creepy walk-through of the church where they discover the desecrated religious artifacts still preserved in immaculate condition, a later scene of him exploring the underground caves where the sacrifices thousands of years earlier were held which is quite tense for the way this one goes about showing the underground tunnels littered with strange statues and the rather chilling scene where the villagers appear to the possessed child in full tribal gear to perform their own exorcism which fails spectacularly that really gives this one a decent enough feel here. As well, the finale is a lot of fun with the big battle between the natives and soldiers which forces the sanctuary in the church where the final exorcism attempts occur throughout the crypts and underground caverns that comes of with tons of action, thrilling suspense and great demon makeup that makes this a fantastic sequence. There's enough good here that this holds off the few small flaws within this. The main issue here is the absolutely dreary pacing here in the first half which is building up the storyline but places them so far apart it's hard to really get any suspense from the proceedings. It's all implications in here, as nothing is really explained as a matter-of-fact statement and is quite aggravating when things get out of control and nobody tells why. Its other big issue is the lame CGI throughout here which really don't look impressive at all as the comical nature of the sequences undercuts the tension drastically. Otherwise, there's not much to dislike here.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, Language and intense demonic themes.

earsie1977 In the same way that Columbus discovered "America"--a giant place that was there for millions of years; Marrin discovered churches in east Africa. The problem is that Christianity factually entered that area during the 3-4th centuries. The first church in that region--Debre Damo--was built in the late 500's A.C.E. It is worth noting that Christianity actually started in the east and then spread to Rome.. not the other way around. Aside from that, as an atheist, I don't take much of the movie seriously. I do like the horror genre so I try my best to appreciate a good story line either way.I was drawn to the side-story that "bad things" were happening during the filming of this movie back in 2003. I am not certain as to whether they were trying to use the same "supernatural appeal" that Blair Witch had a few years earlier.

BA_Harrison Hollywood sure chews 'em up and spits 'em out: one minute, director Paul Schrader is working on a long-awaited prequel to The Exorcist; the next, he's been replaced by Renny Harlin, one-time director of mega-budget action films starring the likes of Stallone and Willis, now reduced to the task of salvaging other people's failed projects (the result of having had one too many expensive box office disasters of his own).However, despite the film's troubled history, Harlin has managed to turn out a fairly reasonable time-waster. The story is pretty unremarkable, detailing Father Merrin's struggle with his faith and his first encounter with the demon Pazazu in Africa—but the stylish direction, wonderful cinematography, decent gore (gotta love those snapping limbs!), and a strong central performance from Stellan Skarsgård as the emotionally scarred Merrin give viewers plenty to appreciate.Some of the CGI could have been better—I wasn't very convinced by the hyenas or the insects—and Isabella Scorupco's shower scene is woefully short, but these are minor quibbles for a film that had the potential to be absolutely horrendous.