Some would say comparing a movie to a child is heartless and exaggerated.  Anyone who’s ever tried to make a movie will find it to be an understatement. While putting his heart and soul into his prequel to “The Exorcist,” Paul Schrader never expected to have it ripped away and remade by another filmmaker. This documentary shows the unexpected path the movie took and helps explain why Hollywood excels at putting out mediocre movies.I always find it amusing how few movie executives understand movies. They think test screening after test screening will make a movie better. They don’t understand how to read the cards, but use the information anyway. They read the screenplay and know the filmmaker’s reputation, but are surprised when the film is a simple combination of these two elements. According to this documentary, the studio was happy during the making of Schrader’s film. It was only afterward that they developed buyer’s remorse.

It’s never easy to get used to being punched in the balls. It takes a special type of person to not only keep coming back, but have a sense of humor about it. It may be due to an unexpected redemption, but Schrader is less bitter than you’d think. He is pained by what has happened, but lets his humor shine through. He knows he made the best film he could, which makes this film powerful and heartbreaking.

Many of the people who make movies are more interesting than the movies they appear in. I have admired Stellan Skarsgård’s acting, but never thought of him as a funny guy. His riff on Hollywood is both hilarious and perceptive. His vision of a “Rambo” film made by Ingmar Bergman is a highlight and illustrates the theme of the film in a few simple sentences.

Most documentaries live or die on who they are able to talk to or what happens on camera. This film would have been improved if we could have heard from someone who dropped Schrader’s film. Much of the action is also recounted after the fact, and the audio is not as crisp as it could be. Despite these flaws, Tim Silano has crafted a simple film that shows how little Hollywood cares about filmmakers, and why Hollywood usually makes such poor product.

Film Threat

What Creek received from Schrader was an esoteric production that used psychological means to instill fear over simple bloodletting. The producers were not pleased.

The fallout from “Dominion” was the stuff of industry headlines back in 2003/04, when Morgan Creek, wanting something more agreeable for marketplace expectations, scrapped Schrader’s film and handed Renny Harlin 40 million bucks to reshoot essentially the same story, only now with broader scares and simplistic demonic themes. It left the cinema landscape with two “Exorcist” prequels, but only one didn’t have a prayer for success.

“Schrader’s Exorcism” is editor Tim Silano’s valentine to Schrader’s ordeal and a semi-realized document on the construction of the moody “Dominion” under impossibly tight budget restrictions. No, the brief documentary (51 minutes) doesn’t break down the fight between Schrader and Morgan Creek, it doesn’t pursue any in-depth discussion of Harlin’s film, and “Exorcism” fails to adequately document the bizarre reshoot circumstances shared by both features. If you’re looking for a blazing scoop on a wildly underreported nugget of Hollywood backstage brawling, “Exorcism” isn’t that movie.

Instead of untangling Morgan Creek’s creative peculiarities, Silano focuses on the rebirth of “Dominion” and Schrader’s purging of creative cancer when offered a chance to complete the film. “Exorcism” interviews production individuals such as cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (who stepped in for Vittorio Storaro when he wasn’t allowed to complete his work), the members of Dog Fashion Disco (a starving band that provided some music to the final cut), and Silano himself, who was involved in the rapid cutting of “Dominion.” Not unexpectedly, the participants are rather disturbed by the actions of Morgan Creek and question why a studio would discard an entire feature film when so much time, money, and effort went into a creation with content agreed upon well in advance of shooting. It’s hard to argue their logic, even if you’re like me and found Harlin and Schrader both chasing a lukewarm “Exorcist” concept that, through two movies, never found ideal screen confidence.

The bulk of “Exorcism” is taken up at the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film in 2005, where the first public screening of “Dominion” was held. Silano captures, through low-grade home video and short media clips, Schrader’s interior brew of excitement, trepidation, and relief to get this movie off his back. Reuniting the cast for interviews, “Exorcism” evokes a feeling of elation that Schrader’s side of the story could finally be told and screened to seemingly great success (a knockout punch of an intro is provided by star of both films, Stellan Skarsgard) , punctuated by a positive review in Variety.

THE DVD

Visual:

A no-budget documentary, the full-frame image on “Schrader’s Exorcism” only goes as far as the video sources. With the film jumping around using footage ranging in quality, it’s best to ignore the limitations and ride out Silano’s frenzied, homemade vision.

Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is working with tinny sound sources and camcorder microphones, making a few sequences in the doc nearly impossible to understand. The sound is an issue throughout the documentary, underlining with extreme severity the fly-on-the-wall atmosphere Silano is attempting to build.

Extras:

“B-side” (49:40) is even more of “Exorcism,” combining on-set footage, full-length interviews, and more from Brussels to take the “Dominion” discussion further.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While the documentary doesn’t provide needed answers to the “Exorcist” prequel debacle, it stays true to the title, observing Paul Schrader getting beyond a professional embarrassment and searching for some perspective that could placate his anger. Heck, the doc even reveals Schrader to be something of a warm, kindly guy; accessibility being a notion that rarely arises during interviews and DVD recollections with the director. “Schrader’s Exorcism” is modest to fault, but it’s a gripping piece of a baffling puzzle, illuminating the trial of a film that never received a true chance to prove itself.

For more information and to purchase a copy of the film, please visit www.schradersx.com

My rating: B

By BrianOrndorf

September 25th, 2008, Film Jerk