Exorcist: The Beginning

"Go back to where the horror began."

2004 1h 54m EN

😐

5.4

MID

🥫

10%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.1

IMDB

★5.4TMDB · 931🥫10%Rotten Tomatoes●30Metacritic★5.1IMDB · 41,249

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Years before Father Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil’s soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa.

“Go back to where the horror began.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Stellan Skarsgård
Father Lankester Merrin
Izabella Scorupco
Sarah Lesno
James D'Arcy
Father Francis
Julian Wadham
Major Granville
Remy Sweeney
Joseph
Andrew French
Chuma
Antonie Kamerling
Lieutenant Kessel
Ben Cross
Semelier

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Renny Harlin
Writers: Alexi Hawley, William Wisher, Caleb Carr
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 98% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Exorcist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Renny Harlin, shot by Vittorio Storaro. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Trevor Rabin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Todd E. Miller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stellan Skarsgård and Izabella Scorupco and James D'Arcy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Renny Harlin directs. Vittorio Storaro behind the camera. Trevor Rabin scores. Todd E. Miller cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 98% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 22 years ago.
4Part of the "The Exorcist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Renny Harlin, shot by Vittorio Storaro. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Trevor Rabin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Todd E. Miller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Stellan Skarsgård and Izabella Scorupco and James D'Arcy carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Go back to where the horror began.".
10IMDB entry: tt0204313 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 30 themes, including "based on novel or book", "nazi", "africa", "vatican (holy see)".
12Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro
Original score: Trevor Rabin
Editing: Todd E. Miller
Production design: Stefano Maria Ortolani
Costume design: Luke Reichle
Makeup / hair: Fabrizio Sforza
VFX supervisor: Brian Jennings
Sound: Ann Scibelli
Stunt coordinator: David Ambrosi
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $80,000,000
Box office: $78,000,586
Return: 98% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 10% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 30/100
IMDB rating: 5.1/10 · 41,249 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

6 nominations total

Part of

The Exorcist Collection

A horror anthology series focused on fictional accounts of demonic possession, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter it with various acts of faith. Inspired by the literary works of William Peter Blatty.

Also by

Renny Harlin

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Narate2025-01-01
★ 4/10
"Sometimes I think the best view of God is from Hell." This stopped being art and is more of a Hollywood prequel for the numbers. There is a good twist that you see coming and while it was cool to see, it still is not a great movie.

Production companies