Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist

• Horror

Before the infamous confrontation, *Dominion* presents a contemplative descent into the fractured faith of Father Merrin, charting his archaeological expedition in wartime Africa as a desperate attempt to reconcile with a world steeped in inexplicable evil. This isn’t a horror of jump scares, but a slow-burn psychological thriller exploring the haunting weight of premonition and the erosion of belief amidst tangible historical atrocities. The film distinguishes itself by grounding the supernatural within the brutal realities of colonial conflict and the enduring trauma of witnessing unimaginable loss, offering a visceral portrayal of a man haunted not by demons directly, but by the potential for inhumanity within humanity itself—a darkness that mirrors the demonic forces he will later confront. It’s a story of a crisis of faith born not from theological debate, but from firsthand encounter with profound suffering and the unsettling sense that some evils predate religion entirely.