Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

The second attempt at an Exorcist prequel, confusingly released first, fails to excite. It’s a shame because the cast, particularly Skarsgård, are excellent. It paints a very believable back-story for Father Merrin, which is handled well and enriches the character. Vittorio Storaro's cinematography is great, as always, although the post-prod team went a little crazy with the colour correction. Hollywood really need to stop doing that. Alas, the last third plummets into a mess of lazy CGI action and audience-pleasing predictability.

2½ fake hyenas and a genuine Zippo lighter out of 5