exorcist: the beginning
i forgot to mention on my 2nd entry that last saturday, we went on a horror movie marathon! after watching feng shui, the 4 of us (neridas, gni_baby and aeris37) headed on to the much-awaited prequel of the exorcist. i've been waiting for this movie for quite some time due to the news that billy crawford was supposed to be one of the characters here (hehe jologs ba?) i get nationalistic and supportive when filipinos get their hollywood fame! sadly, the first version of this movie, which also had liam neeson as fr merin and ryan philippe supposedly as his accomplice, was disapproved by the warner bros. executive boards because it wasn't that scary enough. so, they made an entire new version of this movie, but this time, it didn't have billy crawford in it and it was stellan skaarsgard who got the role of fr. merin. anyhoo, i didn't set any high expectations on this movie because i had the feeling that there's nothing special about this horror flick compared to the sixth sense and jeepers creepers (the first one). the first exorcist wasn't scary at all! not even a jumpy moment! this movie, on the other hand, had frightening and unforgettable moments that clinged to my mind after watching. just like feng shui, there were a number of scenes which made me jump then afterwards, i'd get a good laugh at myself.
the story of this movie had no special twists or whatsoever- it only depicts the story of fr. merin before he became the exorcist who got the devil out of the pathetic possesed 12-year-old girl in the first exorcist movie back in the 70's and how he got his faith back before he became an exorcist.after retiring from his traumatic experiences as a priest during the nazi revolution, merin took in a mission of going to africa to find the origins of an archetype of a mythical demon which can be found in a buried church.he was accompanied by an accomplice priest,and he also got the help of a nurse (his love interest in this movie) and other african natives.but as he uncovers his mission, he doesn't know that they were already unleashing the evil behind the buried church. i actually don't have a clue if stellan skaarsgard was the appropiate one to take the role of merin and if the story of the prequel had any connection to the first exorcist.the horror factor of this movie was good enough to give us good scares.
if i were to compare the chill factor between feng shui and the exorcist prequel, i'd say both are scary in different ways. feng shui shows us the ghosts that haunt due to a curse they have encountered, and since the setting of feng shui is set in the philippine urban area and the ghosts here are filipinos, this is scarier to fellow filipinos for all of us can relate to those similar apparations. in the exorcist, it explores the immense power of satan and how it can destroy the lives of people.ghosts may have the power to scare the living daylights out of us, but demons have the power to take our lives and keep us trapped in their hands.
after watching this, i also wanna see the first version with billy crawford in it. it's gonna be released on dvd come halloween season.after that, i also have plans of watching the first exorcist again along with the two exorcist sequels. (exorcist marathon, eh? hehe)despite the awful reviews critics gave this movie,i was still able to appreciate this horror flick.i guess my expectations for this movie just fitted well- nothing really special about this movie, but it didn't fail to give chills and terrors.
for girls: beware of some gorey scenes like the flesh-eating hyenas. (i wonder why americans often use gore in their horror movies...)
for guys: if you're looking for a good horror dating movie (where girls hug or get closer to you when a scary scene approaches), then i guess this one can be considered. :)