Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 American supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader and written by William Wisher, Jr. and Caleb Carr. The film serves as an alternative prequel to The Exorcist (1973) and is the fifth installment in The Exorcist series. The film stars Stellan Skarsgård, Clara Bellar, Gabriel Mann and Billy Crawford.
The official prequel to The Exorcist before being retooled to turn into Exorcist: The Beginning, as Morgan Creek Productions executives feared the already completed film would be unsuccessful, it received a limited release in the United States on May 20, 2005, by Warner Bros. Pictures, after Exorcist: The Beginning became a financial and critical disappointment. The film was not well-received by critics, although it received better reviews than Exorcist: The Beginning.
Plot[]
In 1944, a Nazi SS lieutenant named Kessel forces the parish priest of a small village in occupied Holland, Father Lankester Merrin, to participate in arbitrary executions in retaliation for the murder of a German trooper, in exchange for sparing the village.
In 1947, Merrin, whose faith was shattered by the incident, is an archaeologist in Derati, a remote area in the Turkana region of British Kenya excavating a Byzantine church built around the 5th century—long before Christianity had reached that region of Africa. He meets up with Father Francis, and Major Granville, the British military officer overseeing the dig. Making their way to Derati with Chuma, Merrin's translator and guide, Merrin introduces Francis to Rachel, a doctor and Emekwi, an enthusiastic convert who provides accommodation for the two men. As they tour the dig site, Merrin and Francis notice the church is in perfect condition, as though it had been deliberately buried immediately after its construction was completed.
On the site, Merrin meets a disabled young outcast named Cheche. Although dissuaded by Chuma, Merrin brings the boy to Rachel for medical treatment. Once the door is uncovered, Merrin, Francis, and Chuma go inside the church. A hidden passageway leads them to a crypt containing a demonic idol—an ancient sanctuary where human sacrifice was performed. Merrin deduces that the church was expressly built to seal this underground temple. On their way back, they are confronted by local elders, who demand Merrin stop digging.
Francis contacts Granville to send a detachment to guard the dig against potential robbers, despite Merrin's objections. Two British soldiers attempting to loot some precious stones from the church are then found dead the next day (one without his head; the other crucified to the altar head downward). Despite the Christian symbolism used in the murders and the testimony of local warrior Jomo that the two men were affected by a strange madness, Granville, blaming the Turkana, goes to town in an uncharacteristic fit of rage demanding the purported culprits be given up, shooting a young woman in cold blood when the locals protest. Determined to stop the 'Christian evil' from spreading, Jomo breaks into the mission school and slaughters the students, including one of Emekwi's sons before he is shot on the spot by British soldiers.
Francis has a disturbing realization that Cheche's unusual recovery is not a divinely wrought miracle as he had first thought and considers baptizing him to save his soul; the boy accepts on the condition that it be held at the church. Meanwhile, a shaken and guilt-ridden Granville commits suicide by shooting himself in the mouth. The Turkana elders demand that the church be reburied and Francis—who they hold responsible for the spread of the 'Christian evil' and the arrival of the British troops—and Cheche be handed over to them to be killed but are turned down. Francis, assisted by Rachel, baptizes Cheche at the church, but the demon inside the boy attacks them. Realizing an exorcism is in order, Francis leaves quickly to fetch his copy of the Roman Ritual. An earthquake erupts and seals the entrance to the church.
The next morning, Merrin and the British find Francis tied to a tree naked, shot with arrows. The dying Francis reveals to Merrin that Cheche is possessed and begs him to perform an exorcism. Another earthquake shifts the rocks, unblocking the church entrance just enough to allow Merrin to go inside. At the underground temple, Merrin finds Rachel—who runs away under a trance—and the possessed Cheche. After donning Francis' vestments, Merrin returns to the church to begin the exorcism. The demon offers Merrin a chance to rewrite his past, at which Merrin (in a hallucination) finds himself back in 1944 Holland: when he refuses to cooperate, Kessel instead has Merrin and all the villagers killed for his defiance.
When Merrin comes back to his senses, the demon mocks the futility of his attempt to change what happened. An aurora appears in the sky as the evil spirit's influence causes the entranced Rachel to attempt to kill herself, Emekwi to violently beat his wife, and the Turkana to charge into battle against the British. The exorcism eventually succeeds and the demon leaves Cheche's body, causing him to regress to his former condition.
With the demon exorcised, life in Derati returns to normal and the British detachment leaves. One of the local elders, however, warns that the demon will pursue Merrin. Merrin bids farewell to Rachel and Cheche before leaving for Rome, having now regained his faith.