Review of Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005) by Brandon C — 02 Nov 2010

An interesting movie that doesn't really work, but at least has a lot to say about the nature of evil (which is more than you can say about Harlin's reshoot).

Despite its slow pace I found this film consistently fascinating. It's not a boo-got-you horror film, but rather a horror film where the "horror" may or may not be real. What is causing the tension in the desert between the British soldiers and the local tribe? Is it a demonic presence capable of spreading hate?

I suppose part of the problem with a film like this is that it's called The Exorcist, so you kind of know demons are involved somehow (even though the movie doesn't explicitly make this connection until well over an hour into its running time). So, for many viewers I imagine the first hour will be tough to get through since the only real "horror" moments involve the aftermath of a double murder and a maggot baby.

But if you can handle the pacing (and a weak performance from Clara Bellar) this does provide some chilling moments (oddly, even though it doesn't try to be scary like Harlin's film there are more scares here).