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BY PEG ALOI
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You may have heard that Paul Schrader was slated to direct this one. And he did — but studio honchos dissed the rough cut and hired Renny Harlin to reshoot it. The resultant mess has the skeleton of a good story but is clothed in the tattered cerements of ham-fisted editing and cyber-porn special effects. Set in 1949, this prequel explores the crisis of faith of Father Lancaster Merrin (the part originated by Max von Sydow) as he journeys from former-priest-turned-archæologist to consummate exorcist. Stellan Skarsgård as Merrin is what Richard Burton was to John Boorman’s similarly mishandled Exorcist 2: The Heretic — a world-class actor wondering how to rescue this clusterfuck. Merrin learns to exorcise demons as he presides over the excavation of an ancient temple in Nairobi. (Yes, the original story has the demon originating in Iraq, but who besides me is paying attention anymore?) Muddying the waters further are the traumatic visions of Nazi atrocities endured by Merrin and the comely village doctor. So far, the first and third versions of this franchise (directed by William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty, respectively) have been excellent. A subsequent incarnation certainly couldn’t be worse than this. At the Apple Valley, Entertainment, Flagship, Holiday, Providence Place 16, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas. (114 minutes)
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