Exorcist : The Beginning (2004) 8/10

Starring : Stellan Skargard, Izabella Scorupco, James D’Arcy, Remy Sweeney
Director : Renny Harlin
Running Time : 113 mins

Retired priest turned archaeologist Lankester Merrin (Skarsgard) travels to East Africa to investigate an ancient church which has been found buried in the sand. As he looks further into the mystery, he discovers that the village close to where the church is was once hit by an apparent plague 50 years earlier, and that the church itself has been desecrated by what appears to be satanic worshippers. It’s then that strange things start to happen around the village…

This was a surprisingly good movie, which doesn’t go over the top with the horror from the get go. Instead we are lured into an interesting tale which goes to every length to trick us into making assumptions about what has happened, and climaxes with a surprising conclusion which rivals the original.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Omen