Exorcist: The Beginning 2004

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: This movie is no Exorcist, but it's no Alien vs. Predator either. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The serious Catholic themes that made the original film genuinely disturbing have been flattened out into a cartoonish backstory pitting Merrin against Nazi storm troopers. Read more

Bob Townsend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: When it was first released, The Exorcist caused nausea, fainting and heart attacks; by comparison, The Beginning elicited waves of giggles and guffaws from a preview screening audience. Read more

AV Club: Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: Nothing in the movie is noteworthy, except for maybe its offensive treatment of children. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: If you're looking for groundbreaking badness, you needn't look much further than the new Exorcist prequel, which is one interminably grisly waste. Read more

Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times: A perfectly mediocre horror film. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: The Beginning surpasses both sequels, yet it still feels like a potboiler that regurgitates reliable jolts as if it were sticking to its own rites. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The original Exorcist verged on being demonic child porn. This Beginning simply feels as if it has no end. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Ignoring the essentially inward story of The Exorcist, [Harlin] has created a sprawling anything-for-a-jolt movie, more in the spirit of a midnight teen-scream flick than a portrayal of a dark night of the soul. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: Mr. Harlin's helming is uninspired enough to remind you that he's the fellow responsible for such tankers as Cutthroat Island and Driven. Read more

Ron Stringer, L.A. Weekly: Blood, flies, maggots, ravenous hyenas, power failures, grave-digging and much ineffectual voodoo ensue. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Although Harlin hasn't directed a full-out horror movie since 1988's A Nightmare on Elm Street IV, he seems to have spent most of the time since memorizing them. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: It's not despicable. It is merely boring. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Despite a high body count, shock cuts and loud noises, this prequel to William Friedkin's 1973 horror film fails to deliver any palpable shivers. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Plenty violent. And bloody. And gory. What it isn't -- not really -- is scary. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: By the time the three or four false endings are finished and the credits roll, moviegoers will be left wondering whether Schrader's version will be released on DVD. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: Never feels like anything other than generic, brain-dead, Dolby-jolt, multiplex hackwork -- I kept expecting Skarsgard's habitually catacomb-prowling Merrin to bump flashlights with Lara Croft. Read more

Time Out: Reams of tedious exposition finally give way to a random jumble of horror movie cliches, rising to a shrill pitch of hysteria that is never remotely frightening. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: This annoyingly disjointed shocker stumbles badly after promising early scenes, and quickly devolves into a chaotic blur of underdeveloped characters, illogical transitions and standard-issue scary-movie tropes. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: As shocking as an Dokken album cover and, finally, as pious as The Passion of the Christ. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: It manages a trifecta of pain: It's dull, it's grim, it's stupid. How's that for a recommendation? Read more