Paul Schrader (“Auto Focus”) was given the task of making a prequel to “The Exorcist”. When the studio saw it, they hated it and commissioned Renny Harlin (“Deep Blue Sea”) to make a new version that was likely to be more commercially viable and have stronger ties to the older films in the franchise. Harlin’s film, “Exorcist: The Beginning”, flopped at the box-office and so the studio then released Schrader’s “Dominion”. It’s not exactly a director’s cut but it is interesting.

Merrin (Stellan Skarsgård “Thor”) leaves the priesthood and his faith after he’s forced to select people to be executed by the Nazis during WWII. Years later, he is working as an archaeologist in British East Africa. He helps to uncover a mysterious church. He may have helped unearth an ancient evil and now he will need God on his side if he is to defeat it.

Skarsgård is pretty forgettable as Merrin. This is the same role Max von Sydow (“The Seventh Seal”) played in the original film. Gabriel Mann is good as Father Francis. I also like the British military chaps. I like the possessed being that Merrin battles. It seems far more biblically accurate than the possessed girls in “The Exorcist” and “Exorcist: The Beginning”. However, some of the special effects are not so great and in one brief shot, the demon looks like Jim Carrey in “The Mask”.

“Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist” is not the most exciting film with large sections where not much happens. That being said, parts of it reminded me of some of the old “Mummy” movies with all the archaeology going on. I also will praise this film for its more subtle depiction of evil. The demon in this feels about as close to Christian theology on demonic possession as I’ve seen in any Hollywood movie. It’s certainly a more intellectually ambitious picture than Harlin’s version. While I can’t quite recommend “Dominion”, I acknowledge its strengths.