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Overall Rating : 7.5/10
Supplied By : Warner Home Video
Buy This DVD Set Directly : Here
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Oct. 19, 2006
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| SYNOPSIS Here it is. The scream of the crop. The fear is here. And so is the hope. Because at their center are intrepid souls who dare to look evil in the eye and vanquish it. From The Exorcist (presented in its Original Theatrical Version and the 2000 Version You've Never Seen) to the shocks and surprise of Exorcist II: The Heretic and The Exorcist III to the two versions (by two different directors) of Dominion/The Beginning, this DVD set comprises the scariest and most fascinating collection of movies in modern horror. |
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| REVIEWS/SUMMARIES THE EXORCIST (1973) : IMDb THE EXORCIST, has always been a shocking one to it's audience, and even more-so when it was released in 1973. It was a film that touched on several topics that most films would steer clear from, two of the most important being that of religion and then possession in itself, resulting in an exorcism being performed - not to mention on a child no less. This set includes, both the original version and "the Version You've never seen" cut which was released in 2000 boasting added footage for its anniversary theatrical run. Well being the horror fiend that I think I am, I naturally chose to view the original cut. Here presented in a digitally remastered print, the picture looks pristine and bold. As for the movie....does it still hold up, you ask? Sure it does, it has very memorable scenes...my most memorable is when Regan's mother Chris enters her daughter's room only to find her under the control of something not of this earth and Chris later finds herself thrust to the floor in disbelief - with furniture thrown about. The scene is probably one of the most intense scenes I have ever seen in a Horror film. Besides that scene is particular, the entire movie carries a distinct believability through out - and the real credit goes to the acting. Linda Blair with this film really captured the hearts of Horror fans world wide, Regan was such an innocent soul and I think when viewers witnessed the torture she went through, it left them in shock and awe, Yes THE EXORCIST is still a powerful film to this day, but honestly I have never understood why this has been deemed the "Best Horror film of all time", but I believe it all to be a matter of taste and opinion - I mean, yes I love it but it isn't particularly my favorite Horror film to say the least. Rating : 6.5/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (1977) : IMDb | In EXORCIST II : THE HERETIC, we join a now teenage Regan. Regan has been staying at a special center fo troubled/psychically disabled children that is supervised by Dr. Gene Tuskin, while her Mother Chris is on location. There, Tuskin has been keeping a very close eye on the young girl, and when she runs some psychological test, she finds out that the demon, whom we now know is called "Pazuzu" may still be within her. Amidst the testing enters a new priest by the name of Father Philip Lamont, whom is investigating the mysterious death of Father Merrin from the previous film. When he meets Regan, he is so drawn by her case history with Merrin that he joins in on the testing and from then on some how the two are spiritually bonded. When this film originally debuted in 1977, it is my understanding that it wasn't well received by the audience. Perhaps they were expecting the same thrill ride of the original or even a film that exceeded it, but logically that was indeed a tough task to succeed in. To me EXORCIST II, is a completely different film - we find Regan's mother is now out of the picture(she is mentioned but never shown on screen), and with Ellen Burstyn being so critical to the first film, it does feel as if there is a big void to fill. This story actually in the end reminds me a lot of POLTERGEIST III in which the main character goes to live with a relative thus the main characters are replaced with newer ones without explanation. With that said even with the changes made, EXORCIST II is still able to bring a decent story to the table no less. I believe the filmmakers did the right thing here to make a continuation and back bone to the original rather than try and make a virtual remake of the fist film. It offers many answers to questions unanswered in it's predecessor, but also adds some ridiculous angles to the story( I never got the whole locust thing - and why locust anyway. To sum it up, not a lot of people are in favor of this film, but I like it for what it is and I see it as a continuation.... and Linda Blair gets the film some extra credit for being madly attractive in this film - you just have to love her! - The DVD in this set appears to be the standard edition of the DVD, I was really disappointed in the film's overall sound as it appears to only be 1 channel output. As a special feature, it contains the original opening that I believe should have been used in the film as it sets up the film nicely by explaining a few things that would be shown later in the film.. Rating : 5.5/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
THE EXORCIST III (1990) : IMDb | In THE EXORCIST III, the series takes a completely different turn, Based on a book titled 'Legion' by the man whom penned the original film, we have the demonic force seemingly striking again. A serial killer is striking in the town of Georgetown and Lt. Kinderman believes that the killings have to do with the spirit that caused the death of his friend Father Karras from the first film. When another friend of his, Father Dyer is found murdered in a very religious way much like the previous films, investigation leads Kinderman to a mental Hospital where he finds a man that is locked in confinement by the name of James Venamun. Kinderman shares many conversations with the mysterious Venamun, and in the midst of them he confesses to being The Gemini Killer. It turns out that when Karras was thrown through the window some 15 years ago, he did not die like everyone has suspected - it seems as if the executed Gemini killer's spirit had found a new home in the body of Karras. As a whole, the film is about as confusing as it was for me to write my plot summary. This is a true sequel to THE EXORCIST, as it completely ignores, the. what people call "laughable", but I call decent sequel. Originally, William Peter Blatty had titled this, 'Legion', after the novel, in which the film was based and it was in fact, not even an EXORCIST project. When it came down to it, the studio had the final say, and Blatty had to change and re-script a few things to accommodate the new title - even add an exorcism as I believe the project didn't even involve one.. Being fair, a lot, and I mean a lot of people love this movie and I say great, but for me, this film is nothing but an utter mess of confusion - sorry to say. Some of the film appears rushed and uneven at times, not to mention the acting far too uninspiring. The thing that attracted me the most about the other two installments was the character of Regan Macneil and Linda Blair. To me, Regan was the character that drove the concept of THE EXORCIST, the other characters(excluding Father Merrin) were just bland - and when you try to make a movie based on bland uninteresting characters, you're going to get a bland, uninteresting movie.... Rating : 2.5/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
EXORCIST : THE BEGINNING (2004) : IMDb | In this installment, we meet a younger Father Merrin that has seemingly abandoned his faith and has become an archaeologist, all due to some horrific occurrences that happened to him when serving in WWII. While on an expedition in Cairo he and crew discover a buried church.... When they begin to explore further into the church, the release something of pure evil, most importantly the spirit of Pazuzu the evil force that would haunt Regan years later. When the Cairo village is under attack by this unknown evil, Merrin has a dilemma.... can he regain his faith he once lost, in order to cleanse the village? EXORCIST :THE BEGINNING, was a film that seemed doomed from the get-go so to speak. Director John Frankenheimer was originally set to direct before voluntarily stepping down shortly prior to his untimely death. Then entered Director Paul Schrader, who shot the film, completed it but it was rejected by the Production company, because, from what I hear they thought it was too psychologically driven and virtually tame and then Schrader was replaced by Renny Harlin, who reshot basically the entire film, one common actor in particular kept is Stellan Skarsgård as Merrin however. The directing is indeed slick and well polished, but I believe it is a little too polished for an EXORCIST film, whereas the previous films are far more gritty and raw... this one seemed out of place. To add to this, nothing new is really added to the series, if you've seen one effect in an EXORCIST film then more than likely you have seen everything that happens in EXORCIST :THE BEGINNING... To me, EXORCIST :THE BEGINNING, is a film in which it's running time, much like THE EXORCIST III goes against it - it just drags on far too long, the only things interesting are perhaps Skarsgård and the film's ending... Rating : 3.5/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
DOMINION : PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST (2005) : IMDb | With some of the same actors, dialogue and even settings DOMINION : PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST, the original EXORCIST : THE BEGINNING, proves to be far more superior. Well for Morgan Creek, they hire a director, he shoots a movie, they think it's too smart for the younger generation so they can it. Imagine how they felt when they released their reshot version and received virtually no response from their audience.... Well they must've realized they were in trouble pretty quickly, because soon, Paul Schrader's film was out of the trash, retiled and on theater screens in less than a year. Now I don't know the numbers this one pulled at the Box Office but if you ask a fan which version they prefer, it is likely to be this one. When they decided to then release this one, they offered Schrader virtually no financial support for promotion and a mere 2 million for visual effects, so because of this, DOMINION does look cheaper and relies less on glitzy effects. It may have been a bad break for the director, but I see it as a blessing in disguise. To me EXORCIST : THE BEGINNING looked a little too over polished and had way too many effects for it's own good.(the original EXORCIST films were not so polished) In DOMINION, Paul Schrader opens the film and goes straight into the story unlike Renny Harlin's version in which most of the film is spent feeding us exhausting dialogue - a good thing this this film also does aside from THE BEGINNING, is that Father Merrin's troubles are visually and easily explained, I thought the other film had a poor representation of the Holocaust incident that made a man lose his faith.....and when faith is the moral of the story, you have to make sure the audience can understand what is happening. Yes the script is exactly the same in almost every form compared to THE BEGINNING, and yes the FX here are choppy and explainably cheap but as far as overall entertainment goes, DOMINION never slows down, surprisingly, and Paul Schrader's "less is more" approach ends up giving his film a much deeper meaning.... Rating : 5.5/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
SPECIFICATIONS |
6 DVDs Total, included in 4 Slim Slipcases -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
BOXED SET CONTENTS | The Exorcist: Special Edition The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen Before The Exorcist II: The Heretic The Exorcist III The Exorcist: The Beginning Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THIS SET |
This boxed set contains all of the films which make up THE EXORCIST series and if you are looking to purchase the series this is most likely your best bet. The discs appear to all be the standard releases that have already been released, so if you already have them then you won't find anything new here. I am quite happy with this set although I believe EXORCIST II's audio track could have been remastered and maybe some supplemental material could have been exclusive to this boxed set, other than that i'd say that this complete anthology is a great purchase... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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