THERE may be some confusion about this review so something needs to be explained.

Yes, there was a review in the Advertiser of the Exorcist prequel many months ago.

This version was actually made before that one but producers deemed this version not scary enough and cancelled its release. The film was rewritten and that version was released last year.

To cut a long explanation short, that version bombed at the box office so the producers decided to give the original prequel another shot and put it out on general release.

The producers were spot-on with one thing - this version is simply not scary. Satan, when he turns up, is actually quite sweet. He's like a little Buddha-type character who wouldn't frighten a really timid three-year-old.

However, this version's saving grace is the actual plot. It is far better written and a stark contrast to last year's shallow effort, which was laughable.

Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) is so haunted by the brutal murders he witnessed by German soldiers during the Second World War, he decides to take a sabbatical and lead a huge archaeological excavation in East Africa.

A church is discovered which Merrin soon realises was built on top of a series of underground caves where evidence of human sacrifices is found.

A series of strange events starts taking place in the African village, which leads to barbaric acts committed by both the natives and the British army members who have come to supervise the excavation.

The acting is excellent and Skarsgard proved more than an equal to Max Von Sydow who took the role of Merrin in the 1973 original.

HC