Continuity mistake: As the priest descends down the rope ladder into the church for the first time he is handed a lantern by his friend. In the next shot the camera is looking down and you can see that the friend is holding the lantern. Then the next person goes down the same rope ladder and the friend is not holding the lantern, where did the lantern go?
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy, Remy Sweeney
Continuity mistake: In the original film, several priests discuss who should do the exorcism. Merrin was chosen because he had experience (supposedly this film), and that the exorcism lasted a month and it nearly killed him. In this film, the exorcism appeared to have lasted only a few hours and, although I'm sure he was in very real danger, he didn't seem the worse for wear after it was over.
Factual error: In the very beginning of the film, the priest is walking through a battlefield that contains the bodies of Roman soldiers (they are wearing distinctive Roman uniforms and armor), which dates the battle no later than 6th century AD. He is holding a rosary in his hand, but the rosary wasn't introduced into the Catholic Church until the 13th century.
Trivia: This film is actually the second version of "Exorcist: The Beginning" to be filmed and completed. But upon seeing the first version, the studio protested the film was based too much on the characters and wasn't the gore-fest they wanted, so they hired a new director and reshot the entire movie with a different script. The original version of the movie was recently released on video as "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist."
Trivia: Stellan Skarsgard, at age 53 when filming this movie, is nearly a decade older than Max von Sydow was at the time of filming the original movie (age 44), but is playing a younger version of the character.
Sarah: Sometimes I think the best view of God is from Hell.
Father Francis: You asked the question, now you listen to the answer.
Father Merrin: Everbody died... Who buried them?
Question: Is there anyone who knows the English translation for the latin that Merrin speaks to Sara right after she dies in the end?
Question: Near the end of the film, when Sarah dies, where did all the blood come from? Did she hit her head when she fell after the demon was driven out? If so, why did it take so long to start gushing?
Chosen answer: Yes. It may have taken so long because the blood was probably pooling at the back of her head, which caused her to pass out, then finally built up enough pressure to gush out of the cut or fracture at the back of her head.
Question: When first entering the church, Father Francis wonders about the weapons depicted pointing down. What is the significance of where the weapons are pointing?
Answer: Weapons on statues in conventional churches point upwards in veneration. The weapons here are pointing downwards in an offensive gesture.
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Answer: I do. It's just the Latin form of the Ritual Absolution in the Initial Rites from the Mass, applied to the second singular person (it is said with "us", instead of "you"), though it should not be used there with Sarah. In those situations, the proper absolution is the one that belongs to the Sacrament of Reconciliation or, instead, a simple blessing. The translation is: May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive your sins and lead you to eternal life.