Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist followed later that year by a DVD release. While William Peter Blatty, the author and screenwriter of "The Exorcist", described "Dominion" as "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work", critical reaction to the film has nonetheless been mixed to negative. Many critics stated that it is only slightly better than Harlin's version, holding a rating of 30% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 55 out of 100 on Metacritic, whereas "Exorcist: The Beginning" holds a rating of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 30 out of 100 on Metacritic. Nonetheless, the good reviews "Dominion" did get were
Exorcist II: The Heretic turkey." Steven Scheuer wrote, "This may be the worst sequel in the history of film." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film zero stars out of four and declared it "the worst major motion picture I've seen in almost eight years on the job." Danny Peary dismissed "Exorcist II" as "absurd." In his 1984 book "The Hollywood Hall of Shame", Michael Medved called the film "a thoroughly wretched piece of work," and added, "Richard Burton is a laugh a minute." Edward Margulies called the film a "calamitious, head-scratching, sequel..a rollicking mess" and wondered "whatever possessed them?" "The Blockbuster