Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Movie, 2005, Father Merrin, Set in Kenya, 1949, retold
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is #5 of 7 in release order and #2 of 7 in chronological order in the The Exorcist.
The story
Father Merrin takes a sabbatical from the Church to devote himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist recap
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) is Paul Schrader's first version of Father Merrin's time in Kenya, shelved and reshot as Exorcist: The Beginning. Released after The Beginning flopped, it again stars Stellan Skarsgård as Lankester Merrin, a former priest working as an archaeologist on a buried Byzantine church at Derati in 1947, still carrying his guilt from wartime Holland. He arrives with Father Francis (Gabriel Mann) and meets Rachel Lesno (Clara Bellar), the camp doctor. Merrin brings Cheche (Billy Crawford), a disabled young outcast, to Rachel for care, and the boy heals unusually fast. Beneath the church they find a temple used for human sacrifice. Two British soldiers looting the church are found dead, one crucified upside down; the officer in charge shoots a local woman in a rage, then kills himself, and a local warrior slaughters children at the mission school. It covers the same period as The Beginning and stands as an alternative prequel to The Exorcist.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist ending explained
Dominion ends with Francis dying in the bush and begging Merrin to exorcise Cheche, who is possessed. In the temple the demon offers Merrin the chance to undo the Holland massacre, then mocks him with a vision of it going worse. Merrin completes the exorcism, Cheche returns to his former disabled state, and Merrin leaves for Rome with his faith restored, warned that the demon will follow him.
Post-credits scenes
No. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is streaming on Prime Video, Philo, Kanopy, Hoopla, Fandango at Home Free, and Pluto TV in the US. You can rent or buy it on Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube.
Ratings
IMDb 5.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 29%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Exorcist: The Beginning, before The Exorcist.
- Chronological order: after Exorcist: The Beginning, before The Exorcist.
What to watch before Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
In release order, the essentials before Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) are The Exorcist (1973), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Exorcist III (1990), and Exorcist: The Beginning (2004).
Cast
- Stellan Skarsgård as Father Lankester Merrin
- Gabriel Mann as Father Francis
- Clara Bellar as Rachel Lesno
- Billy Crawford as Cheche
- Ralph Brown as Sergeant Major
- Israel Aduramo as Jomo
- Andrew French as Chuma
- Antonie Kamerling as Lieutenant Kessel
- Julian Wadham as Major Granville
- Eddie Osei as Emekwi
- Ilario Bisi-Pedro as Sebituana
- Niall Refoy as Corporal (Thief)
Directed by Paul Schrader.