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An Analysis of Exorcist: The Beginning
"I believe this film offers a really good message: 'No matter what problems you are surrounded with, you shouldn’t lose your faith in God.' "
By Janee Wafer and Denise Tejada
In Renny Harlin's latest film, Exorcist: The Beginning, we revisit the tale of Father Lancaster Merrin, pre-Reagan MacNeil- the twelve year-old girl, who is possessed in the original film, Exorcist (1973). Exorcist: The Beginning is the prequel to the original film, with many scenes in this prequel relating to the original, such as the necklace that Reagan has, a statue of the devil and most importantly the cross.
In this tale, Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgård) has lost his faith in God, drunkenly wandering through Cairo, Egypt. He left his native Holland and the cloth because he was faced with a predicament during World War II that left the lives of others in his hands. Seeing that there was no positive solution, regardless of his prayers to God, Merrin faced the predicament as best he could and decided to renounce his faith after the ordeal.
During his travels in Cairo, Merrin is approached by a collector of rare antiquities. This man is interested in finding an ancient relic hidden beneath a historical Christian Byzantine Church in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. And Merrin’s job, if he chooses to accept it, would be to find the relic before the British discover it. Merrin, having graduated from Oxford with a degree in Archeology, is instantly hooked to the man’s offer to
join the British archeological excavation.
From Cairo, Merrin instantly travels to Kenya where he meets Father Francis (James D'Arcy), a younger priest who knows of Merrin's past as a talented and strong priest. Although Father Francis sees that Merrin is no longer religious, he chooses not to believe it. He joins forces with Merrin to uncover the hidden truths of the Byzantine Church, and together they find themselves facing the challenging, clever and mischievous ways of evil.
Janee: Obviously everyone knows there will be special effects, especially if you saw the original movie (but I don't want to give the anything away, so I’ll keep the details out). I thought the special effects were really good. It did not look like it was computer animated, although we all know it is. They’re very realistic, taking into consideration that you have to create the unthinkable things that the Devil could do.
Denise: Yeah I agree. The effects looked good. I really thought the sandstorm was real and that thing that was climbing…oops, we weren’t supposed to give details. Well, even though the effects were quite good, they weren’t enough to save the movie. I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be.
This movie is a combination of horror and mystery, where the director tricks you at the end. In the original movie, Exorcist, the film got right to the point, and you are able to experience the Devil throughout the movie. In Exorcist the Beginning you spend almost an hour and a half trying to figure out who is who; and the last half hour you were finally able to see the Devil manifest, which made it less scary.
Janee: One thing that caught my attention is that the Devil never possesses men- he goes after children and women. Most people would say it is because they’re weaker, but I don’t think it’s just that. I feel that the Devil goes after children because they are not old enough to comprehend what is going on.
Also, men tend to take the easy way out, by killing themselves and/or giving up. They wouldn’t continue with the torturing and suffering; they’re just not built like that. So they’d take the easy way out, and the Devil would no longer have a victim.
Denise: I think the Devil doesn’t possess men because they are stronger and they would try to fight the possession. I think children are a lot easier to take advantage of because, even though they know they’re being possessed, they don’t know what to do since they’re not old enough to understand what’s going on. Therefore, children would not fight off the Devil, and he can easily use their body to accomplish his goals.
In addition, the Devil knew that Father Merrin’s weakest point is children. Since Merrin can’t stand to see innocent children hurt, the Devil uses the child as bate because he knows Merrin would come to his rescue regardless of the obstacles. The Devil uses Merrin's weakness to his advantage because he knows that this is the perfect time to kill Father Merrin, since he is at a weak place with God. Deep down inside, he is afraid of Merrin- he knows what he is capable of doing with God on his side. So, the Devil takes his chance by trying to destroy Merrin before he regained his beliefs in God.
Janee: Although this movie is not real, there has always been this myth about God and the Devil. The Bible does not say where Lucifer fell; it just says that he was thrown out of Heaven onto the earth, and his angels were thrown out with him. In this film, however, it says that the Devil fell in Kenya, which is in Africa.
To me this is ironic because, if you notice from the past to the present, Africa has not had good karma. Most of the countries in Africa were colonized, slavery went into high demand, and the biggest problem there now is HIV. This country is suffering tremendously; do you think that has anything to do with the Devil’s fall?
It’s like they’re saying Africa has faced these problems because the Devil graced Africa with his presence, therefore it has seen many bad things come its way. But it is not clear where the Devil fell, so what does that say about the African people and why they are treated so badly?
Denise: I completely disagree. I don’t think this film has anything to do with Africa, past or present. Nor is it trying to say that since the Devil fell in Africa, the people are bad and therefore we have to colonize them, give them diseases and shun them.
There isn’t a human being that is perfect, so there wouldn’t be a perfect place where problems didn’t exist. The Devil didn’t fall in Brazil, and Brazil is suffering with HIV also. Every country has their own problem- many are suffering from either poverty or illness, and in some cases, they’re suffering from both. Regardless of where the Devil fell, everything would have been the same.
In addition, I believe this film offers a really good message: “No matter what problems you are surrounded with, you shouldn’t lose your faith in God.” This movie has shown me how to have faith, unlike its predecessor, which is based more on horror.
Janee: Yeah, it’s amazing how one thing can completely change your beliefs in life. Father Merrin was a man of God until a terrible incident left him wondering where his Savior was and why he did not show mercy on such innocent lives.
This movie sends a good message because, even though Merrin gave up on God on the outside, he never gave up on him on the inside. And God surely didn’t give up on Merrin, even though he renounced his faith. God forgave Merrin, which states how loving and forgiving God is, even to those who think poorly of him- he will still come through in the end.
I also think that it is funny how this movie is premiering while the elections are in session. With the war in Iraq and all these people dying, it’s like the writers and producers are trying to tell us something. People are criticizing President Bush about the war and many are questioning God’s ways. This movie puts those things into perspective and it may play a role in how people decide to vote in the fall.
Denise: I agree with that. The war in Iraq is a perfect example of how people are losing faith - many people are asking themselves, “Where’s God? We need him.” But I know deep down inside they believe there is a God that will save us from the “evil”.
Like they say, “God works in mysterious ways,” and it’s hard for people to understand that, especially when their loved ones are dying for a cause we still aren’t even clear of. But this movie offers the message that in the end, everything will work out and you should not lose hope for whatever reason.
And I think you bring up a very good point with the elections. It will be interesting to see how Exorcist: The Beginning may sway public opinion, just like how many predicted Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Passion of the Christ would change the way people view politics.
Janee: To be honest, the movie is decent. I liked it because it had a lot of mystery to it- it’s like a puzzle, you have to try to figure
everything out. And the fact that it takes place in a time where technology was not at its peak made the movie a lot more realistic and unpredictable. The characters were also very believable, and the underlying messages definitely gave it a boost. Overall on a scale from 1 to 10, I give this movie a 7. But, I still recommend for people to go see it.
Denise: Even though this movie has its jumpy moments, overall, I give it a 6, because it is not that scary; but it does send out a positive message on God and having faith in life.
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