Exorcist: The Beginning

REVIEW
Director Renny Harlin gives us a horror thriller with each scare underlined and in capital letters. He uses every trick-or-treat gag in the book in his pursuit to give us the willies — a shower scene, bloody corpses, animals jumping out of dark corners, candlelit walks down shadowy corridors. The creepiness factor is especially boosted by Trevor Rabin’s compelling music and Vittorio Storaro’s brilliant cinematography; practically everyone involved seems to have done their job sufficiently well. So what’s wrong with this movie? The answer lies in what’s right with the original. 1973’s The Exorcist works so well because of the shock of finding ancient supernatural evil settling into a comfortable 20th century American neighborhood, contrasting sedate normality with a peek into Hell. Beginning takes place on Hell’s welcome mat already, and it’s an environment strictly rooted in fantasy/horror territory...and we all know it’s easier to scare someone by convincing them your story might be true than by constantly reminding them it’s fiction.