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Exorcist – Dominion
Exorcist – The Beginning

Rating – 3 out of 5, but if you watch them together 4 out of 5

Who can forget the Exorcist? A movie that can still scare us decades later. But how did it all start? Here we have not one, but two ways to try and explain that. And honestly each movie has flaws and well as its good part and while the plot between the two movies is similar they do go in separate directions.

Quite frankly, had they combined these two movies together and removed the overlapping scenes it would have made for a pretty good movie. So even though each movie is somewhat weak on its own, watching both of them back to back makes for a pretty good story.

Father Merrin goes to Africa on an archaeological dig after a church has been uncovered. We get the sense the church has a sinister past which may be caught up in voodoo or tribal legend. There is trouble in the land of the dig and a mass burial and cover-up seems to going on. And the more of the church that is discovered and uncovered the more mysterious happenings begin to take shape.

If nothing else we learn a lot of Father Merrin and his dealings with the Nazis. We learn of the horrors he has had to witness and the sacrifices he has made to survive. We learn how his faith has been tested and his somewhat shaky relationship to the church.

As stand alone movies they are somewhat hit and miss, as both movies have their flaws, plot holes and different story lines, but as a background pieces they work quite well. As I mentioned, it’s best to see both of them to get the real story of this movie. One movie is too Hollywood, while the other has an under whelmed horror theme. Pick and choose the best pieces as you watch and it makes for a good story.

But look at this way, they are both on sale at Amazon and you get both for less than the cost of the Exorcist.

Dominion – Prequel to the Exorcist
Exorcist – The Beginning

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Other Articles of Interest:

• The Exorcist
• Saw III
• Exorcist III – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Exorcist II – Heretic – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Best Halloween Movies?
• Saw
• An American Haunting – Rating 2 out of 5
• Rob Zombie’s Take on Halloween and Halloween II
• The Dead Matter
• Imprint – Masters of Horror – Rating 2 out of 5

The Omen – Remake – Rating 3 out of 5

What makes this movie a good one is the same thing that makes it bad. It’s literally a repeat of the original movie. Very little has been changed as far as the story goes, while the sets and locations have all been updated. Although one scene of note is the decapitation scene is fully intact in this rendition even though it was cut from the original DVD release of the original Omen.

We all know the story – a set of parents lose their child during birth while another child loses its mother during birth. So what to do? Switch the babies and act like nothing ever happened. Good plan.

Except for the baby you take home is the spawn of evil. Damien has become synonymous with evil and this movie once again shows us why. Maids hang themselves, mom almost falls and kills herself at the top of the stairs and all sorts of other “accidents” occur.

If you’ve never seen The Omen then this is a fine version to get. It’s updated, more stylized, and faithfully follows the original story. All the original elements are there – the photographer who can see the impending death of others in the negative of the pictures he takes, the whole slew of “accidents” (including the decapitation), the journey to uncover the truth, etc. However, if you seen the original then this really adds nothing to the mix. The story is the same and it has been expanded or changed at all.

The acting is a little stiffer, but the scenes are nicely done. If you’re one for completing sets (like me) then go ahead and get it (plus its dirt cheap on Amazon). If you are looking for something new in this version you’ll be disappointed.

Overall, it’s worth watching just to see the updated wardrobe and scenery, but you won’t gain any new insight by watching this one. Still a worthwhile movie to watch.

Buy your copy for $6.98

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Other Articles of Interest:

• Count Dracula – BBC Mini-Series – Rating 3.5 out of 5
• Van Helsing – Rating 1 out of 5
• The Exorcist
• Saw III
• Saw
• The Possession
• Dead Silence – Rating 3 out of 5
• Dark Ride – After Dark Horror Fest – 8 Films To Die For
• Exorcist – Dominion/Exorcist – The Beginning
• The Dead Matter