The Best Movies and TV Shows Like Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist

Set in 1947, Father Lankester Merrin is a haunted man who has temporarily abandoned his faith following the horrors he witnessed during World War II in a Nazi-occupied Dutch village. Working as an archaeologist in the remote Turkana region of British East Africa, Merrin is approached by a wealthy collector named Karras, who tasks him with finding a mysterious, forbidden Byzantine church buried deep beneath the earth before British authorities take control of the archaeological site.Merrin joins the excavation alongside a young, idealistic priest, Father Francis, and Dr. Sarah Davies, a dedicated medical doctor running a nearby village clinic. Upon unearthing the ancient temple, the team discovers something deeply disturbing: the church was deliberately built not to worship God, but to cage an unimaginable evil. Unlike typical Christian architecture, the church is inverted, featuring blasphemous iconography and statues of demonic entities that suggest it was sealed off immediately upon completion to trap a malevolent force.As the excavation progresses, a series of dark and inexplicable events plague the local Turkana people and the archaeological camp. A young local boy named Cheche, who previously suffered a severe leg injury, miraculously heals, but his personality rapidly and violently changes, mirroring the creeping madness overtaking the camp. Merrin realizes that the unearthing of the sanctuary has accidentally released a powerful demon, Pazuzu. Tension escalates as villagers become gripped by mass hysteria, leading to tragic violence and suspicion. Father Francis struggles to maintain order, while Dr. Sarah battles a typhus outbreak that threatens both the villagers and the excavation team.Merrin is forced to confront his deeply buried psychological trauma and his lost relationship with God. He realizes that the demon is feeding on the guilt and despair he carries from the war. Cheche becomes fully possessed by Pazuzu, committing horrific acts and terrorizing the remaining survivors. Driven by a renewed sense of purpose and reclaiming his priestly identity, Merrin prepares to perform an exorcism.During the harrowing confrontation, Father Francis is brutally murdered by the possessed boy, sacrificing himself in the name of his faith. Grief-stricken yet resolute, Merrin embraces his restored belief and successfully casts the demon out of Cheche, banishing it back into the spiritual ether. With the ancient church resealed and the nightmare finally ended, Merrin buries Father Francis and departs Africa a changed man. Having fully reconciled his past and rediscovered his lost spirituality, he returns to the path of the priesthood, fully aware that the eternal battle between good and evil will inevitably test him again in the future.