Exorcist: The Beginning

Saw this the other night and I'll give it a thumbs up. It is really creepy and freaky and will have the ladies shrieking and digging fingernails into people (I should know, ouch...) The violence is extremely brutal in parts to point of where even I was thinking "Maybe they've gone too far..." and there are a lot of sick, gross out moments. It is really the appropriate behavior for the being responsible though. The story revolves around Father Merrin dealing with the horrible events that occur around an archaeological dig that unearths a church with a dark past. This is all before the first movie (as in made first, this is a prequel after all.)

One question for those who have seen it though...

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So, this isn't the same site we see in the very beginning of the original, correct? I haven't seen the original in years and just assumed it was, but since this one is set in Africa and every site I've read says that the dig in the first movie is in Iraq, I'm thinking now that I'm wrong. So that would mean that the demonic force isn't Pazuzu, but instead actually is Lucifer, yes? But then again, the demon in the original is the one he supposedly exorcised from someone before. Continuity error, or has Father Merrin exorcised three demons?

Never saw the original (or maybe I have...I forget).

I heard it...was basically a bunch of people standing around in african bars, swilling absinthe for two hours. (Though...that can make for a quality movie. Hell, a similar formula worked well enough in Hemingway's novels. )

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Originally posted by Sharpshooter005 Never saw the original (or maybe I have...I forget). I heard it...was basically a bunch of people standing around in african bars, swilling absinthe for two hours. (Though...that can make for a quality movie. Hell, a similar formula worked well enough in Hemingway's novels. )

Well, whoever told you that got the Africa part right, but that's about it...

I just got back from the theater, and i have to say......that.....was.....awsome!!!

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Especially the part where merrin is fighting the possesed chick. . . .

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Originally posted by Sharpshooter005 Never saw the original (or maybe I have...I forget). I heard it...was basically a bunch of people standing around in african bars, swilling absinthe for two hours. (Though...that can make for a quality movie. Hell, a similar formula worked well enough in Hemingway's novels. )

Me Neither.

Have seen the original, and it was pretty damn freaky; I don't know about the scariest movie of all time, but it's definitely up there. It's one of those hopeless movies where the evil, in this case the devil, wins, and I don't really like films like that. I heard this new one sucked though. I mean, how can they ever top the horror of the original. Going by most past experiences, sequels and prequels tend to suck, badly, and their idea's start to get stale and recycled after a while. Just because they upped the gore factor in this new film, doesn't make it any scarier. It's kinda like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre vs. the remake. No comparison at all. One was very original, gritty, and terrifying. The other is too slick, modernized, and instead of putting a good terrifying story in, they chose to up the violence, thinking that would do it. Well, what we were left with was a very un-scary violent mess, with a few thrilling standout scenes, but that's about it.

This was not the TCM. this was a good movie, it had a decent plot, and i am impressed with hollywood for the first time in years, and tose plot twists, gotta love em

Neat-o!! I will have to look into this!! ^_~"" Awsome find!!

I'll probably watch it once it gets to DVD.

I saw the first one, and I must say I was laughing through the whole thing. I just found it humerous.

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Especially the last part, where the priest is just beating the crap out of the girl. "Take me instead!" PUNCH! "Take me!" PUNCH!

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Originally posted by animefan22 It's one of those hopeless movies where the evil, in this case the devil, wins, and I don't really like films like that.

A lot of people mistake the demon as Satan himself, but it's actually not him. The demon goes by the name of Pazazu, and he's mentioned several times in each of the movies, though not enough that people would notice.

I fell in love with the original becuase it was one of those movies where the audience couldn't really tell what was going on. The audience could either believe in their faith or not. And yes, The Exorcist has been named many times as the scariest movie of all time, and I'm in no way going to argue with that. Grown men were walking out of the theatres and fainting when the movie was released back in '73, and to this day, it's still no different.

I caught this movie last week and thought they did a pretty good job with it. While the whole burried church thing was the downside becuase it made the movie disbelievable, they did a pretty good job with the movie overall. I was pretty disappointed that the movie relied more on gore than psychological terror, which was what made the original so great. Overall, The Beginning was sure hell of a lot better than II: Heretic and III.

There have also been some controversy over the fact that the movie had two directors; the first one got fired because it relied more on psychological terror but didn't bring in the scares, so they hired the new one to complete what the previous one had left undone. Both versions of the movie are expected to come out on DVD in the future, and I can't wait to see that.

I noticed a small descrepancy, sorry for pointing it out! but.

Father Merrin is the same Priest as in the original..(by name i mean, not actor) and In the original, it says in the movieography..(sorry for lack of term lol) he was born in 1929, making him 20 in the new movie, which was set in 1949. But he appears to be a middle aged man!...

I don't know why i notice things like that. but im correct..or am i?

the movieology? whats that supposed to be?

the thing that tells you the actors, their characters, their fictitious backgrounds...that thing

To answer your question, Nyarlathotep...

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Although The Beginning happened to have taken place in a different place from where the original's beginning was that, there is no doubt the demon Father Merrin fought was in fact Pazuzu. I myself haven't seen the original in a long time, but I do remember in the original that the Pazuzu remembers Father Merrin.

the begining was really a great movie that didnt get the ratings it deserved. It was a really great movie! the story itself was on par to that of the first exorsist as well as the third(but exorcist two sucked....). true pherhaps it didnt have the same spine tingling effect as it did in the other exorsist movies but it was still damn scary stuff. overall...I would give exorcist the begining a 9/10