Entertainment

(AP) They say the devil is in the details, and that's especially true when comparing the new "Exorcist" prequel to the one that came out last summer.

"Dominion Prequel to the Exorcist" and 2004's "Exorcist: The Beginning" both follow Father Merrin's first showdown with Satan, decades before he would battle him again for the soul of Linda Blair's young Regan MacNeil.

They share the same star (Stellan Skarsgard in the role fellow Swede Max von Sydow played in the original "Exorcist"), same screenwriters (William Wisher and Caleb Carr), same cinematographer (Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro) and several of the same supporting players.

Both take place during an archaeological dig in Africa, where evil is unleashed as a hidden Byzantine church is unearthed. Both give Merrin a chance to regain the faith he lost years earlier when Nazi soldiers forced him to decide which of his parishioners would live and which would take a bullet to the head.

But each has a different director, and that's the key.

Paul Schrader originally directed what would become known as "Dominion," but he was fired and it was yanked from his hands because producers deemed it insufficiently scary.

It was then turned over for almost a complete re-shoot to Renny Harlin, whose filmography is all mindless flash and bombast ("Cliffhanger," "Driven"). Afterward, though, Morgan Creek productions decided to go ahead and release Schrader's version anyway.

So the female doctor character in Harlin's version, for example, is a sexy, hard-drinking blonde (former model and Bond girl Izabella Scorupco) who likes to shower late at night. As played by Clara Bellar in Schrader's movie, Dr. Rachel Lesno is far more modest and subdued.

The person who's possessed by Satan in the Harlin version is revealed in an arbitrary twist at the end that jerks you in a totally different direction and makes absolutely no sense. In Schrader's film, though, we know all along that the devil has taken over the body of an injured village boy named Cheche (Billy Crawford). In a reversal of tradition, Cheche's physical condition improves as the satanic forces within him gain strength, until he's shiny and smooth, floating cross-legged and carrying himself in a slightly effeminate fashion.

(Other special effects are just as woefully unspecial this time; the ravenous hyenas in both are so jarringly fake-looking, they call to mind those animatronic puppets at Chuck E. Cheese's.)

But really, it's a wonder that either prequel has seen the light of day -- or was even made in the first place. Both seem needless. We've wrung every scare and drop of split pea soup from the two anemic sequels to the 1973 horror classic, which is still one of the most deeply disturbing films ever made.

You have to give Schrader credit, though, for being more interested in Merrin's interior journey than in loud, cheap gimmicks. His interpretation of the disillusioned priest very much falls in line with the other tormented men Schrader has brought to the screen either as a writer ("Taxi Driver," "The Last Temptation of Christ") or as writer-director ("Affliction," "Auto Focus").

His film is darker and slower, to the point of being almost devoid of narrative drive. It's also serious enough to delve deeply into the nature of religious faith -- more so than "Exorcist: The Beginning," and certainly more so than the recent Crusades epic "Kingdom of Heaven."

After this, all movies with the word "Exorcist" anywhere in the title hopefully will be vanquished from the multiplexes. But these prequels, viewed side by side, should keep film school classes busy for decades to come.

"Dominion Prequel to the Exorcist," a Warner Bros. Pictures release, is rated R for strong violence and disturbing images. Running time: 116 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

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Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G -- General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG -- Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 -- Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R -- Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 -- No one under 17 admitted.

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