CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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I like the hair regeneration, but prefer the original version. Excellent work, though, it just is more distracting than the original version, which is more dream-like and supernatural — “Paul Schrader” if you will. It’s surreal and demonstrates that things are returning to normal, the demon has been exorcised, etc.
Your new version, no offense, makes me think the character has died, and that’s his soul “going up to Heaven.”
A great compromise, though, would be to have Cheche not disappearing, but remaining there on the ground. Freezing the shot of of him there on the ground would make it appear like it was Paul Schrader’s doing, in fact. Schrader uses still shots in a number of his films. 🙂
So, waiting till Cheche’s hair regenerates, then: we freeze the frame of him lying on the ground, still. Then, after a few moments of letting the audience catch it’s breath, we cut to the very next scene the official version of Dominion features.
M.I.K.E.
Eye colors… here’s what I think:
Hyenas keep the RED (yellow makes ’em look silly). Cheche/humans (like in the other films) get the YELLOW.
Cheche’s body… Wasn’t his leg left normal in Schrader’s version? If so, might be hard to change it in the final scene (with Rachel and Merrin), as well.
And to answer your question, I was just trying to suggest that you leave the film as is — that is, cutting right from the end of the exorcism (if you decide against the fading-away of his body OR the “light burst”) to the rest of the film, keeping everything the Schrader version has post-exorcism.
M.I.K.E.
Thanks, Ghetto. Yeah, Dietz surely had to be wearing something silly like that. Thank goodness the non-behind-the-scenes parts were effective in being scary. For that matter, BRIEF. Y’know…? If they lasted more than seconds, there goes a lot of the creep-factor, eh?
M.I.K.E.
Hatter, glad you liked the pic. Thanks.
Your fan art is great as well, man. I like the linework and energy it’s got. Also cool is the serpent elements, tying the Pazuzu figure closer to Satan — “the serpent” of the Bible.
By the way, since you mention “the boy” changing, you MUST read the original William Wisher draft of EXORCIST: DOMINION — in it, FASSI (the boy, later renamed Cheche), doesn’t become perfected through the posession, but rather gradually changes into a LIZARD-typle creature. It’s unreal, yet still a magical story, and good-read. 🙂 Get it here: http://www.scripthouse.com (under “HORROR”).
M.I.K.E.
(Thanks, Fletch.)
Anybody know if the films in this “anthology” will keep their respective covers (art), or will they simply be “discs in a box”…? The covers to each of the films — even the stinkers — are classic and should be retained with each new re-release; of course, I won’t lose sleep if the “evens” ever get phased out. :p
Ironically that could be the main reason why I pick this up or not. Yes, I NEED HELP…!
M.I.K.E.
I imagine any demon (fallen angel) or the Devil Himself to be “in the image of God”, just as Man (humanity) was created to be. The “image of God” line can be interpreted different ways, but I feel this is the most likely scenario. I do feel also, however, such unholy creatures (they were created), like their holy counterparts, angels, are more or less immortal and can manifest themselves in different ways. Demons can appear on this “plane” thanks to the possession of human beings’ bodies, or as a ghostly apparition or spirit if it chose. Same for angels, though Biblically it’s recorded in the Gospels that they were just perceived as human beings; they were in disguise — it was an illusion, not an actual possession; posessions are unholy acts, causing harm to humanity out of hatred of God. I wish I could specify a verse(s), but I’m very rusty on the Bible. 😐
Anyway, one last thought: Pazuzu, in my opinion wouldn’t have a humanoid head and facial features if he didn’t also have a humanoid body (unpictured in the films). To think of him as a floating head seems incomplete in theory. 🙂 I think Paz can take on other forms, but the “face” we’re all familiar with I believe is in fact the primary, original demonic essence/manifestation. The (fallen) angel.
Thanks for listening to my opinionating, and look out for that pic very, very soon. 🙂
M.I.K.E.
Got that pic ready for y’all in the THE EXORCIST section of the forum.
Be kind. 😐 It was a rush-job. 😮
M.I.K.E.
By the way, guys, I’m working on a full-body drawing of Paz (“Captain Howdy”) himself. I hope it lives up to my high expectations. 🙂
Look for it… in time. SOON! 🙂
M.I.K.E.
WOW, so I just saw the US Amazon description… and it looks like both TVYNS *AND* the “original” version will be present.
Anyone know if they mean the one from the 1997 DVD (minus the computer-aided possessed-Karras face morph)… that would be cool — having both “definitive” versions… A-GAIN! HAHA. 🙂
M.I.K.E.
Greg, thank you for a great, sensible opinion; we’re on the same page re: this prequel. 🙂
Let me just sum up it up in my own words, though:
There will never be another film close to the Friedkin/Blatty original. So Schrader says, “Don’t bother trying.” Well, Harlin did.
And we have one film (see if you can guess which while you read this!) with distracting shot-for-shot “tributes” to the original, which coupled with a story full of plotholes and inane “scares” is ultimately only a glimmer of the film it imposes itself as being a prequel to.
And we have the other film which dares to show that the devil is capable of possessing male human beings; the other film, though, ultimately reveals that the devil is unimaginative and/or incapable (scared?) of possessing a male — the other film’s devil possesses a female and turns her into a hag, in a vain attempt to make people say, “Oh, Regan McNeil’s back!” But Paul Schrader’s Dominion presents a devil, a demon, who is in every way the opposite of Regan McNeil. See…? The devil is taken seriously — Satan hates ALL of humanity. Not just white metropolitan East Coast American girls.
Last point I’d like to make: Dominion is a prequel. In it Lankester Merrin defeats the Devil. Then you have the 1973 film Dominion prequels — THE EXORCIST. It in Lankester Merrin is pulled back into the exorcism game, when the Devil wants revenge. The Devil is not happy. Thus, the possessed to gradually ravaged. It’s personal for Pazuzu, the demon, the Devil, what have you — LEGION. THEREFORE, Schrader was right in proclaiming Caleb Carr’s idea (of making the possessed Cheche gradually PERFECTED by the possession) an INGENIUS IDEA.
Why an INGENIUS IDEA…? It was THE sure-fire way to not rehash the Friedkin film, and to present a prequel — a preceeding story — a story not simply having Merrin fight the devil (that’s all Harlin and co. effectively achieved). But instead, Schrader successfully made the story about Merrin AND his enemy. THE Enemy. And, the motivation the Enemy would need to years later possess and ravage Regan MacNeil in effort, ultimately, to exact revenge.
Bla, bla, bla, I see that I’m going in circles.
Anyway, Harlin’s film had some genuinely interesting ideas, but they were so few and far between that I prefer the braver, more imaginitive Dominion, even if people seem to want to demand a carbon copy of the Friedkin film. If only the knew how worthless such would be.
A prequel, as long as it’s a good, solid story, could be any kind of story; prequels, when set years prior to the “original”, generally will by default be opened up to tell a VERY different story. GOOD, I say!
If people want a Friedkin-Exorcist for their Exorcist prequel, I imagine they truly, honestly DON’T want a prequel. Not a true prequel. And if not a true prequel, yeah… WHY BOTHER?
M.I.K.E.
Merrin, I appreciate your views, but let me just offer…
That Dominion does not in fact fail as a piece of visual entertainment. How can one NOT be entertained by it…? Whether it was in fact an EXORCIST-series film or not, it’s interesting from the get-go, and maintains, transcending its flaws. At the minimum, it’s a good piece of historical fiction (1940s Kenya and Holland) with “fantasy” elements (A Byzantine church is found in Kenya, in Africa; a myth. A good one, too. And demons, exorcists, possession, and exorcism… always worth checking out. And if it offers something new, a new spin on established concepts, even better. Maybe from an American/Hollywood POV it fails, I can buy that; Morgan Creek changed their mind and remade the film to suit… American Hollywood-fixated audiences.
I respect your opinion that the message is lost in a “poorly executed project”, but I completely disagree — not everyone will agree with you, nor with me. I also think it’s easy to like Dominion, whether from a fan’s POV, or from a non-fan’s… IF the individual has an open mind, as cliche as that sounds. At the minimum, it’s got some (not necessarily all, but ENOUGH to make my point) good acting — an opinion of many who’ve seen it. All in all, we’re satisfied.
“I personally do not want either movie or any follow up , its stinks of money making.”
Look, I agree with you to an extent. But I would say: The Harlin film should be your primary target here, given your opinion; the two aren’t equels on so many levels. Remember that Hollywood studios make movies to make money. They made Dominion, but, wanting to make more money, they made the film that would be cheap shock and thrill after cheap shock and thrill. Anything less of a film (Dominion) would by default become less of a money-vacuuming whore, so to speak. Morgan Creek orignially wanted to make Dominion. They believed in it. Then they thought, “We could dumb it down and make a brand new movie instead.” It’s fine to hate both prequels, given they are in fact to differnt degrees cash-ins. But I really think it’s innaccurate to consider the two virtually the same level of filmmaking, prequel, and specifically Exorcist prequel. Apples and oranges. You watch one for one reason, and the other for another.
And Dominion’s got style all over the place. Creep factor would have been a better thing to wish for; I agree, it COULD HAVE benefited from more creepiness and such; a few frames here and a few there, at least. BUT: That’s NOT the script they shot, it wasn’t the one written. They should’ve thought about all that from the get-go. They didn’t, and all in all, I think Dominion still succeeds as a film, prequel, and Exorcist prequel.
“…
omewhere in between is a worthy prequel.”I think that is both true and false. Dominion, as it is, works as a prequel. Things get SCARY later on, in the 1970s of the original film. Until then, Merrin was still an inexperienced exorcist, and very different person than who he became; plus, we’re talking a different time and place. Thus, the Devil has treated the various human beings differently, almost playfully. But when he’s defeated by Merrin, revenge goes on the drawing board, things get uglier, scarier, LATER ON. A good analogy might be: “When he was a young man, he went through all kinds of trials, making his way and finding his career. Times were OK. But years later, in old age and around retirement, his town was over-run by a bunch of gun-toting street gangs, and nightly gunshots could be heard resulting in murder headlines each following day. And he died in a gunfight of his own, when he decided to take matters into his own hands.” Look, it’s a loose analogy. It just goes to show us, though that certain types of events needn’t be present nor occur regularly in a person’s life — a fictional character’s life. A fictional character based in reality. (BTW: I don’t mean to sound too preachy or whatever… just enjoying this friendly discussion. Lots of good ideas from all of us here. And back to work I go…). 🙂
By the way, Dominion didn’t “forget” to “give us a chill” — again. It’s a different premise, script, etc. I mean, back to my analogy — before somebody goes through some dark, scary times much later in life, do they really need to experience even one “chill”? Only if the chills are paramount to the story, and are huge, life-changing events in themselves. One or two chills just wouldn’t fit with the rest of the film; they’d have been cut. It’s a different story, worlds apart from the Harlin version, and the original film. I guess, to put it simply, it is E:TB that “owes” us chill after chill. That’s the kind of film Morgan Creek made when they changed their mind. The events of Dominion, Father Merrin’s journey, it’s just a lighter chapter than the 1970s. The Devil wasn’t playing with a full deck until Georgetown; when it came to revenge, Satan meant business.
“But anyway your arguments have convinced me i missed something so im gonna purchase Dominion and have a look again.”
COOL! And I hope these new ones in response to yours might resonate afterward, if not before your next viewing of the film. 🙂
“As i said between the 2 i think there is a very decent movie one which perhaps a fan edit would bring out?”
I’m looking forward to THAT. It’s coming, you know, courtesy of Hatter! He lurks here. 🙂
M.I.K.E.
