Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005, Paul Schrader)
2.5/5
I'm guessing you all know the story of the gestation of this movie:
Dominion was shelved after Morgan Creek balked at the lack of action and 'horror' and reshot with Renny Harlin at the helm, resulting in the dreadful
Exorcist: The Beginning. The remix tanked at the box office so the production company, in a desperate attempt to save face, handed Schrader some cash to complete his vision.
Schrader's film is better than Harlin's, though that's a bit like saying Keanu Reeves is a better actor than a toadstool (hang on, that's actually a close one to call, but you know what I'm getting at).
Dominion's main problem is that it looks like what it is - a hastily finished compromise. Interesting themes, shoddy execution.
The effects resemble an episode of
Doctor Who and 70s
Doctor Who at that, while Merrin's makeup during the finale gives one the feeling that Stellan Skarsgård has fallen asleep face down on a triple cheese pizza.
Better than the original release then but, as they say: the world's tallest dwarf is still, in fact, a dwarf.
Added Ralph Brown in this one though, which is always a bonus...