Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist 2005 123movies

Watch: Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist 2005 123movies, Full Movie Online – Lankester Merrin is a archaeologist by profession but an ordained Roman Catholic priest who has lost his faith and abandoned his vocation. He is haunted by what he was forced to do in his native Holland during World War II. The church he’s excavated in Northern Kenyan dates to the Byzantine period but this puts its construction hundreds of years before Christianity was introduced to the area. the church was buried to the rooftop in sand and as its structure is exposed, a madness slowly descends on the camp. the local tribesmen are prepared to go to war and demand that the church be buried. Soon, two British soldiers are found dead and their commanding officer, Major Granville, shoots a innocent civilian in cold blood. As fear descends upon everyone in the camp, it becomes apparent that a young disabled boy, Cheche, is possessed by the devil forcing Merrin to re-examine his own beliefs..
Plot: Haunted by terrible acts the Nazis forced him to participate in, the disenchanted Father Lankester Merrin focuses his energies on helping with an archaeological dig in the northern part of Kenya. There, the crew uncovers a church that predates Christian missions into the area, but the discovery also causes strange events to start occurring — including physical changes to a young, disabled boy, whom Merrin grows to suspect has been possessed by a demon.
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Ratings:

	5.2/10 Votes: 11,884
	29% | RottenTomatoes
	55/100 | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 271 Popularity: 17.766 | TMDB

Reviews:

Unequal to the Oiriginal, but Much Closer in Spirit Than ‘Beginning’
Much has been made of the peculiarly Kafka-esquire journey of ‘Dominion’: originally in the hands of the late John Frankenheimer, the ‘Exorcist’ prequel project was turned over to Paul Schrader, director/screenwriter best known for dark, gritty, existential dramas such as ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Hardcore,’ and ‘Auto-Focus.’ Schrader delivered a film allegedly close in spirit to the original, but the suits were unsatisfied, feeling that the film they’d been given lacked the necessary frights to please the current audience for horror films. As has been amply explained, the original ‘Exorcist’ was itself much less a horror film than a psychological drama, spare of excessive fun-house shock value, but the audience has changed–younger, dumber, and trained to expect cheap thrills–and the decision was handed down to re-tool the film to add more special effects and gore. Schrader refused, was fired and replaced by Renny Harlin, who re-shot the film almost entirely with a significantly revised story, several new actors and characters, and a decidedly less cerebral approach. But Schrader’s film was already in the can, and horror purists and Exorcist junkies were left to wonder what might have been–if, for once, there might be a sequel/prequel that made genuine efforts to add to a story’s mythic tradition rather than merely to exploit its notoriety to sell tickets and popcorn.

At last, we are able to weigh in on ‘Exorcist prequel: take 1,’ and while it certainly doesn’t capture the original’s aura of terror and dread, ‘Dominion’ reminds us that the most frightening terrors are in the subconscious and the imagination, and offers a more patient and believable glimpse into how Father Merrin first encountered the demon that would later find its way into a particular corner townhouse in Georgetown.

Schrader’s direction–aided by the camera of legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storraro–is patient but not without scope. They frame the African hill country beautifully, and while things at times seem a bit too clean and tidy, I didn’t consider the film ‘slow.’ Skarsgard’s Merrin is essentially the same character as in ‘Beginning,’ and while he isn’t inadequate, his performance may be a bit too restrained. As in the Renny Harlin cut, we are told that Merrin has left the priesthood out of guilt and anger at God over a particularly horrific confrontation with man’s inhumanity to man in Nazi-occupied Holland near the end of WW II. More is made of this back-story in ‘Dominion,’ but Merrin’s crisis of faith seems less palpable and torturous than that of Damien Karras in ‘The Exorcist,’ so that his re-conversion to belief doesn’t register the expected intensity. Gabriel Mann appears as Father Francis (due to schedule conflicts with the re-shoot, he was replaced by James D’Arcy in ‘The Beginning’), and his tender, almost androgynous demeanor makes him an endearing and appealing character. Clara Bellar appears as Rachel, a character entirely written out of ‘The Beginning’ and replaced with a sexier version of the same, played by Bond girl Isabella Scurupco. Bellar is more believable as a nurse in East Africa, and her back-story creates a connection with Merrin, but she still seems a bit out of place (though certainly far more appropriate to the story than her counterpart in ‘The Beginning’). Julian Wadham reprises his role as a tormented British Major, to strong and believable effect. The climactic confrontation with Pazuzu is entirely different in this film, and far more believable (and chilling).

Nevertheless, there are some inconsistencies, and the framing of the exorcism scene lacks the intensity of the first film’s, largely because the audience is never adequately introduced to the victim. A big part of what made ‘The Exorcist’ terrifying is that the audience is given the opportunity to watch the full transformation of a sweet, affectionate child into a bile-spitting, profane shell for a malevolent spirit. ‘Dominion’s victim is never fully introduced, and thus, the audience has less of an investment in his exorcism.

In the end, however, this film far exceeds the quality of the amusement-park silliness of ‘The Beginning,’ and while it’s not likely to break the bank, it is certainly the most respectable of the films based on Blatty and Friedkin’s original.

A strong story concentrating on Merrin. Rich characterisation and a more subtle story than the Harlin action adventure.
Having seen the second made but first to release Exorcist – The Beginning, the Renny Harlin version of the movie, I was very keen to see the original movie which the Studio saw and then scrapped, the Paul Schrader version.

This I managed to do during the Edinburgh Film Festival 2005, and actually with paid tickets I managed to even get to hear a Q&A with the Director, which in itself was extremely interesting. For now though, let’s look at the movie.

It’s really hard to watch this and not do any comparisons with the Harlin remake, and with so many similar scenes, the same actors and a very similar story I found it almost impossible not to. In doing so you realise how weak and one dimensional Harlin’s version is, the and depth of character and their development just adds so many layers to each of the characters, giving them a much more human feel and making you connect with them rather than just watch them as you did with the Harlin movie.

Subtlety, dialogue and development are the keys here, things which were drastically missing from the Harlin version, and instantly you see the differences. The opening scene with Father Merrin and the Nazi’s is the first strong example of the difference in style and Schrader handles this wonderfully. The single scene builds the Nazi character much thicker with some uncertainty of the Priest, whereas the Harlin is shown as a stock Nazi character. You also understand the root of the crisis in faith that Merrin has come to, and through this single scene it hits you just as hard as it did he.

It’s this that I felt was the strongest part of the movie throughout, the characters richness and depth, and the fact that you could see them as real individuals and connect with some part of them. Merrin in particular is the real focus of the movie, and the analysis of his crisis, his faith and who he really is.

The following of the second, younger Priest in Father Francis, played well by Gabriel Mann, mirrors for Merrin the faith and hunger that he had as a young Priest, and watching his own slight crisis in faith provides an interesting viewpoint for the audience. Not only to understand what Merrin went through, but to watch Merrin witness this himself.

Stellan Skarsgård plays the character superbly as well. There’s so much more restraint in the performance with inward pain and anger, he’s superb to watch and really does make you feel as though he carries a tortured soul. The slow climb out of the crisis to the fight back against the Demon is played slowly and with a lot of passion. It’s the moment when Merrin relives the Nazi slaughter and his second choice that shows us who he really is as a person, not just as a Priest. Comparing the two performances of Skarsgård together is, as Schrader said, an example of a masterclass in acting. In fact the whole two movies are a film students dream.

Another excellent character was Major Granville, very well played by Julian Wadham. He was far stronger, richer and deeper than the Harlin version, and his scenes were a lot more believable and striking than the Harlin version which had him going mad over his butterfly collection. Here he really plays a man getting out of his depth and letting events overtake him, and he has a superb scene in the village which provides with a strong connection to Merrins past.

A couple of things that stuck out in the movie but were then understandable during Schraders Q&A, were in the CGI and the famous flash of the Demon face. The face flash, which was so subtly done in the original Exorcist movies, was hugely prominent and did not hold with the subtlety in the rest of the movie. Some of the CGI was also poorly done, and during a sweeping camera shot across the front of the buried chapel the CGI rocks moved together as they tried to hold with the camera shot, the first appearance of the hyenas was also poor, showing as pure CGI and not looking in the least bit real.

The script for this movie is very good, and in stark contrast to the Harlin version. This has less blood, more story and characterisation, and much more concentration on the personal battle between Merrin and the Demon. It provides a much more intelligent and subtle story building characters and the plot to a much more satisfying climax.

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime 1 hr 57 min (117 min)
Budget 30000000
Revenue 251495
Status Released
Rated R
Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
Director Paul Schrader
Writer William Wisher, Caleb Carr, William Peter Blatty
Actors Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar
Country United States
Awards 3 nominations
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS
Aspect Ratio 1.78 : 1 (DVD & Blu-Ray), 2.00 : 1 (intended ratio)
Camera Cooke S4 Lenses
Laboratory N/A
Film Length N/A
Negative Format 35 mm
Cinematographic Process Univisium (3-perf)
Printed Film Format 35 mm (anamorphic)