Haunted by his memories of World War II, Lankester Merrin takes a sabbatical from the priesthood to lead an archaeological excavation of a mysterious Byzantine church in a remote region of Kenya, unaware that an ancient crypt beneath the church contains an unspeakable evil that is about to be unleashed on the world. Original. (A Warner Bros. film, written by Caleb Carr & William Wisher, directed by Paul Schrader, releasing Winter 2003, starring Stellan Skarsgard & Gabriel Mann) (Horror)