The Exorcist franchise has had a rough go since its breakout movie is not only one of the most profitable horror movies but is widely considered the scariest movie ever made. Every sequel since hasn't lived up to the original, critically or financially. After the sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic managed to snake the title of "Worst Film Ever Made," it was clear that a change was needed. Bringing back the writer/novelist of the original Exorcist was thought to give the third entry, The Exorcist III, a bit of gravitas and hopefully return the franchise to its former glory.
The Exorcist III faired better than its laughable sequel but failed to ignite the same fear or passion that the first movie had, with some fans considering it too "talky." It has since gained the respect and dignity it has always deserved, but Morgan Creek was still hoping for a massive hit that failed to materialize. After shelving the IP for over thirteen years, they thought that the best way forward was to go back, back to the early days of Father Merrin, and so an Exorcist prequel was born.
What was meant as a straightforward prequel turned into an on-set nightmare. Director, Paul Schrader, got fired near the end of production, and Morgan Creek hired Renny Harlin of Diehard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea fame for some quick reshoots. The reshoots turned into added scenes, then into rewrites, and eventually, Harlin convinced producers to let him reshoot the entire movie! With two different stories made about Father Merrin's early adventures and both getting a theatrical release, Exorcist: The Beginning (WATCH IT HERE/OWN IT HERE), and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (WATCH IT HERE/OWN IT HERE), stands as one of the weirdest and financially odd decisions ever made by a film studio. Join us in the latest episode of our WTF HAPPENED TO THIS HORROR MOVIE video series, as we dig into both cuts of The Exorcist 4 to find out what the f*ck happened with this horror prequel.
Exorcist: The Beginning tells the following story:
Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist has the following synopsis:
Haunted by terrible acts the Nazis forced him to participate in, the disenchanted Father Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) 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.
This episode was Written by Ben Cantler, Narrated & Edited by Lance Vlcek, Produced by John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
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