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revulsion classicThe Exorcistreceived nearly identical prequels , released a twelvemonth asunder , and the reason behind that happening is rather complex . 1973’sThe Exorcistis undoubtedly one of the most celebrated horror films ever , earning ten Oscar nominations , and winning two . The Exorcistalso became the first horror film to find a Best Picture nomination , start what is today still an exceedingly small nine . The harrowing tale of teenage Regan MacNeil ’s self-control by a dirty - mouthed demon , The Exorcistsits at a floor most horror films could never hope to reach .
Unfortunately , that grade of quality in no way hold true for what would becomeThe Exorcistfranchise . 1977’sExorcist 2 : The Hereticis a puzzling mess that does its upright to try and damage the legacy of the original , and is wide considered one of the bad repulsion sequels ever made . 1990’sThe Exorcist 3has gained quite the cult following over the years , but it ended up not being what it could ’ve been due to studio interference .
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Then we come toThe exorciser ’s duel prequels . one secrete in 2004 , and the other in 2005 . While the two prequels have notable differences , particularly in tone , they both basically tell the same fib . Here ’s why they both exist , despite these similarities .
Exorcist: Why There Are Two Prequels Released A Year Apart
In 2002 , Morgan Creek Productions hired John Frankenheimer ( The Manchurian Candidate ) to place a prequel to the originalExorcistfilm . Liam Neeson was hired to play a youthful Father Merrin , and production was localize to begin that summer . That was until Frankenheimer pass away , leaving the prequel without a director and adept , as Neeson also exited afterward . Taxi Driverwriter andCat Peopledirector Paul Schrader was then hired to take over the project , withStellan Skarsgardcast as Father Merrin .
While Schrader insists he reliably filmed the script provided to him by Morgan Creek , the company end up being dysphoric with the ruined Cartesian product , and got stale feet on discharge it . Renny Harlin ( Die Hard 2,A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 ) was then brought in to do some reshoots , but that ended up coil into a full - on rewrite of the prequel , and full reshoot of the movie , despite Schrader ’s version already being mostly finish . Harlin ’s prequel , released under the titleExorcist : The Beginningin 2004 , went on to be both a critical and commercial-grade failure .
Realizing they may have made a mistake , Morgan Creek decided to allow Schrader to terminate hisExorcistprequel , exhaust that verbatim to video in 2005 asDominion : Prequel to the exorciser . Both prequels tell the story of Merrin ( Skarsgard ) having lose his faith after witnessing atrocities in World War II , only to regain it after a battle with the demon Pazuzu , the same demon that would go on to possess Regan . WhileDominionreceived better follow-up , they still were n’t very good overall , turn out that the entire idea of anExorcistprequel was probably badly - conceive .
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