(CNN) -- For those who aren't aware, the fourth film in the successful horror series was shot last year in Italy and Morocco with respected filmmaker Paul Schrader behind the lens and the always solid Stellan Skarsgärd playing the younger incarnation of the priest that Max von Sydow played in the 1973 original.

That's a rather solid one-two punch, especially in a business where most franchises have lost all their creative steam by their second installment. This was to be a very smart and very classical horror film.

Remember, "The Exorcist" was nominated for 10 Academy Awards back in the day. This isn't a series raised upon cheap scares but rather deeply psychological terrors, things that shake people to their very core.

Most horror aficionados would be chomping at the bit to see an "Exorcist" movie from the writer of "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," but because of Hollywood's penchant for all things illogical, we'll never see the film.

Even though the movie was finished and assembled, a new director and a mostly new cast has been brought on board to shoot the film anew. Who is this director brought in to make Schrader's thought-provoking cerebral horror film into a fast-paced and flashy thriller geared toward today's audience? Renny Harlin, the man behind "Cutthroat Island" and "Cliffhanger."

It makes you wonder if the powers that be felt we as an audience weren't able to appreciate a film geared more toward the motives of fear and the concept of faith. Schrader's film may have been truly special, but we may never know.

Instead, we'll see a weird amalgam of a movie, one whose behind the scenes turmoil will probably eclipse whatever terror appears on the screen.

Now, that is horror.

That CNN writer really hit it on the head IMO.

DOUBLE DEMONS FOR EXORCIST PREQUEL
FROM VARIETY: Two versions from two directors, and both on DVD at WHV.
By Claude Brodesser 4/14/2004

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APRIL 14 | Having first made a prequel to the 1973 blockbuster with Paul Schrader and found it lacking in overt frights, Morgan Creek commissioned a second Exorcist prequel with a new cast, a tweaked script and a new director in Renny Harlin; that film will be released in theaters Aug. 20.

Will Schrader's movie be consigned to the scrap heap? No, Morgan Creek topper James Robinson has other plans: He's seeking to have Warner Bros. release both helmers' Exorcist pics on DVD simultaneously. Among other potential confusions, this raises the specter of a complicated credits arbitration with the DGA.

It's an unconventional, and possibly unprecedented move, with sizable implications for both films' bottom lines. Almost $100 million is at stake.

"I'm very proud of my film, and I think it deserves to be seen," Schrader told Daily Variety. "If I get the DVD, I can say. 'God bless you Renny; may your film do well.' "

Schrader said he's agreed in principle to the arrangement with Morgan Creek in order to get his version seen and as a way of settling the contractual issues of his being owed a preview and an official screening. He also said the pact will eliminate the possibility of a Directors Guild of America credit arbitration.

Schrader noted his original marching orders were to make a non-hardcore horror film lacking in the original's more shocking qualities.

"They made it clear--no spinning heads and no pea soup," he said. "So that's what I delivered, but then they changed their mind."

Schrader noted the pact includes a nondisparagement clause for both sides.

"The agreement allows me to say that it's Robinson's money and his decision," he added. "This is kind of a case of buyer's remorse, as you bought a Lexus, and when you got it home, you decided that you really wanted a Hummer, so now you have a Lexus and a Hummer in your garage."

It's unclear whether consumers would pay extra for two prequels. Also unknown is whether Warner Bros. would bundle both films in one DVD or simply make both films available individually. A spokesman for the studio said Morgan Creek hadn't yet discussed the DVD plan with execs there.

Robinson said he's deferring to Warner home video president James Cardwell on the subject of how many discs to package but insists the two Exorcist films are distinct and not one film that has simply been reshot.

"This is going to sound unbelievable," Robinson said of the decision, "but we made a movie--twice. If you see the two movies, you wouldn't believe it's the same d.p."

After Schrader's Exorcist allegedly came up short on scares, scribe Alexi Hawley was hired to change the script in a few areas, and its central characters were recast and, in some cases, renamed.

For example, Gabriel Mann, who played Father Francis in the Schrader version, was replaced by James D'Arcy in that role. In Harlin's movie, the character of Rachel (Clara Bellar) was changed to Sarah and played by Izabella Scorupco. And the part of Che-che, played for Schrader by pop star Billy Crawford, was changed to Joseph, played by Remy Sweeny.

The motivation for the dual DVD release was the substantial cost of shooting Schrader's picture, which Robinson says was roughly $32 million to $35 million. Harlin's version, shot with the same cinematographer, cost between $52 million to $54 million, according to Robinson.

"The situation is in some ways the ultimate film school exercise, though you usually don't give each director $35 million to make their film," added Schrader, best known for penning classics like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver.

Of course, Exorcist had been bedeviled by numerous snafus that predated even the Schrader/Harlin imbroglio. John Frankenheimer was to have helmed the film originally but died before he got the chance. Schrader's intended lead, Liam Neeson, was replaced by Stellan Skarsgard due to Neeson's scheduling conflicts.

The DGA has declined to comment on the matter.

I'd love to see Shrader's version (I can safely say right now that it's probably better than Harlin's).

The title of the thread is deceptive...Warners hasn't agreed to anything yet...this is just the original director pitching the studio to release what he filmed.

If this happens, I'll be upset if Warner Bros. doesn't do the same with Superman II.

So we'll have a suckfest in the theatres and Schrader's superior product at home.

Cant wait to see Shraders movie! Screw Harlin!

Well, this is a first. At least they're not completely shelving Schrader's film.

Hey, maybe they're right and Harlin's will end up being the superior one...

If this happens (I'll believe it when I see it), I wonder which version will be considered canon?

IMO, releasing them both on DVD would be a great way for WB to make some money off of suckers like us, so why not? They obviously want to make money off of both films.

Thanks for getting my hopes up. They never said anything in that article about for sure releasing both versions.

I'm not so sure how awesome the Schrader cut is. If they decided to totally reshoot, there must have been something wrong with it.

Here's hoping the go forward with this. This dual versions thing has me very interested, not in only seeing Schrader's cut, but in seeing both of them and comparing. It's not often you see a studio scrap a finished movie and just redo it.

Hey, maybe it's a mess behind the scenes, but I find this to be exceptionally interesting. Two versions of the same movie!

It's not completely unheard of. Back when they were making the classic Dracula (1931 I believe?), they also used the same sets and script to make a Spanish language version at night after shooting the English during the day. Both are presented on the OOP Universal DVD of Dracula.

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I hope this comes to pass too, I think it will help more stuff see the light of day that ordinarily wouldn't be seen.

I'd love for them to do this. It would set an interesting precedent.

When you combine the public's growing appetite for DVDs, and the low cost of actually producing DVDs, it makes perfect sense to NOT leave something sitting on the shelf.

Just a high profile direct-to-video title, actually....

Wow. That would make this a certain buy from me.

What would be even better is if they had Harlin do commentary on Schrader's film, and Schrader do commentary on Harlin's.

Or they could release the Schrader version as a sequel to the Harlin film. Hey it could happen

Yes it is. Nothing will happen with this. Too many hurdles to jump.

The studio head is looking into it also, not just the Director's dream. I would love to see the same thing happen with CURSED, Wes Craven's werewolf film which was scrapped and reshot from scratch.

Has Harlin's version been screened by the studio yet? Who knows, maybe they'll see it and say "Hmm, maybe Schrader's version wasn't so bad after all" and send Harlin's straight to video instead. Heh.

how very true.

Re: two versions of "Superman II"....was that ever a possibility? I mean, has anyone at Warner Brothers mentioned this anywhere?

Although I mentioned it first, I don't really want to hijack the thread - so here's a recent discussion about that subject:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=351820

Well, I like teh idea, and I think it's a lot more probable than not. The Schrader debacle has been well publicized, and releasing both versions would be a good - and lucrative - conclusion the the incident. A lot of people want to see Schrader's film; Morgan Creek may let them.