I had no expectations one way or the other for this movie, nor any delusions that just because something scared you when you were nine doesn't by definition make it the scariest thing ever and therefor no other version of it could possibly live up to it. I went into it waiting to either be sold or disappointed solely by what I saw. So from that perspective, I'll say that it was better than I might have expected.

The plot meshes in nicely with the original film, revolving around that first exorcism in Africa that the priest mentioned in passing in the original Exorcist. The first part of the movie is an investigative mystery as the characters try to unravel a series of strange events surrounding the archgeological dig of of a fifteen-hundred year old church where no church should be. People start acting strangely then people dying, and finally a disillusioned ex-priest must admit to the reality of a demonic possession. After that they cue up the usual possession stuff with a full-out one-on-one Good and Evil battle that ends with a perfect visual as ,cross meets charging demon.

The only gripe is have is very minor and admittedly nitpicking. A church sealed for so long, buried well below the sands, so naturally the first thing they see is the obligatory bat from out of the shadows... never mind the fact that it couldn't have gotten down there; either that or it's a really old bat.

Not too bad for a matinee' flick. A few almost creepy moments though nothing really scary or unexpected. More of a mystery than a horror film, which is a good way to do it since being a prequel we know going in which way this whole thing is going to go.