Although it is a prequel to The Exorcist, few were convinced by this horror film
On April 5, 2023, it was released in theaters. The Pope’s Exorcista film starring Russell Crowe which could be the reason why The Exorcist: The Beginning slipped into the top 10 most-watched films of netflix this week. Promoted as the official prequel to The Exorcist (1973), this episode was very far from the excellence of that one, in particular because of the capacity for zero surprise and an acceptable scenario only in its first half. Want to know more about The Exorcist: The Beginning?
Trailer, synopsis and cast of The Exorcist: The Beginning
The story of The Exorcist: The Beginning functions as a prequel to the 1973 classic and focuses on the father’s first encounter Lankester Marin (Stellan Skarsard) with the devil, in Africa, during the Second World War.
Its distribution includes names such as Stellan Skarsgard, James D’Arcy, Izabella Scorupco there Julien Wadham, in an unattractive cast for the time. On these lines you will find the The Exorcist: The Beginning trailer.
What have critics said about The Exorcist: The Beginning?
- The country: “Unfortunately, it will still feel like the movie it could have been and not the movie it is. (…) an acceptable first half (Schrader’s work), and a torrent of blood, manual scares, juggling tricks and easy nods to Friedkin’s film in the rest of the footage“.
- The world: “Chaotic narration and grotesque spectacle which is limited to imitating the transfigurations of its distant model. (…) The best: Izabella Scorupco, who brings charm as an NGO doctor overwhelmed by her possessed patients“.
- SFGATE: “After two well-paced first acts, it ends up collapsing under its enormous weight. The inevitable exorcism is not enough“.
Is it worth watching The Exorcist: The Beginning on Netflix?
In this case, I can only agree with the reviews, adding that The biggest handicap of The Exorcist: The Beginning is having the 1973 classic as a reference. Also, since more than 30 years passed between one episode and another, many of the tricks used by that one were already overused in 2004. Only the atmosphere created by Renny Harlin can be saved (the director) in its first half, as the rest of the footage is expendable, boring, and generic.
if you ask me The Exorcist: the classicI don’t think it’s a movie worth watching beyond the curiosity that comes from knowing how the story of Father Lankester Marin develops. And it’s not that it’s a telling argument, because sometimes it looks more like fanfiction than a carefully crafted script. Of course, if you have two hours and get carried away with the exorcisms, you have this movie available on Netflix and it can fill the void.
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