Let me start this review by stating: I am in no way a fan of the horror genre. I’m a huge wuss when it comes to psychological thrillers and I plain just don’t like blood and gore films. So when I do watch a horror film, it usually has to have something in it that intrigues me enough to look past my prejudices. One of such films was The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The court house drama part of the film was enough to pull me in, but the parts where Emily Rose was seeing her classmates turn into demons freaked me the hell out. Nevertheless, this article isn’t about The Exorcism of Emily Rose, but something that made me reflect back on that movie (which is now almost ten years old). This weekend I got to see the leaked pilot of the upcoming NBC series Constantine, and while not as dark as a traditional horror film, it still had its freaky moments. 
If you’ve never read or heard of the DC/Vertigo comic series “Hellblazer”, or missed the 2005 Keanu Reeves film Constantine, then what you should know is John Constantine is an exorcist. What you’re probably imagining is a priest in clerical clothing, holding a bible or a cross, but John is not that kind of exorcist. He is a master of the dark arts, mind control and evocation. He’s also kind of a con man. The Keanu Reeves movie wasn’t very faithful to the titular character, but in NBC’s new series Constantine, they’ve almost got him right. NBC is being a prude about the smoking John does in the show and has apparently cut it all out. John’s smoking is a huge part of his character and integral to the future of his story, so he has a lighter and you see him putting out a cigarette to convey he smokes. Other than that, he has blonde hair, wears his famous brown trench coat and has the snarky attitude from the books. The Constantine pilot opens with John having checked himself into a mental institution called Ravenscar. He does so because he sees demons and wants that to stop due to a horrible event that happened pre-pilot that we find out about later. He stays for six months but when a demon visits him in Ravenscar, it delivers a warning that causes John to pack up and head to Atlanta, Georgia, in search for his dead ex-partner’s daughter. It just so happens that his old partner had some special ability to see dead people and demons, and so does his daughter. The demons we find out, have some nefarious evil to unleash on the world, and they need to take out anyone 
who can stop them (which includes this clueless girl Liv). John finds Liv and brings her up to speed about her father and what the world is really like. This is where creepy stuff starts to happen. Demons come after her, she sees her dead “Nana” (queue black ooze coming from Nana’s eyes and mouth) and almost gets ran over by a ghost train. The whole episode is character introductions and getting us into the world John Constantine lives in. We see supernatural beings of good, like immortals and angels, as well as Satan-like demons who can control electricity and technology. We see what haunts John and why he does what he does, and where the series will be heading after this initial episode. Liv realizes she can save people from dark forces, and needs John to teach her his ways. So the show will most likely be an episode-by-episode basis of them trying to figure out what is going to occur and then trying to stop whatever it is from occurring. Kind of like Person of Interest episodes but with angels and demons. The special effects are creepy, the mood is dark and freaky at times, but John Constantine’s flippant attitude brightens the mood quite enough for non-horror lovers like me to feel okay about watching it. 
All in all I’d say that everyone should give this show a try. The pilot really gives you an overall view of what to expect and how the show will proceed from then on. If you have a strong belief in angels and demons, take caution because this show doesn’t go easy on you just because it’s based on a comic book. It’s graphic and creepy and can make people like me compare it to horror films. Just like in The Flash pilot, there are Easter eggs in this episode as well. You see Dr. Fate’s golden helmet, hints at Zatara/Zatanna, Green Arrow references as well as several other fun hints I’ll let you find yourself. I’d love to see NBC and CW team up and do some Constantine/Arrow/Flash/Gotham cross-overs but I seriously doubt they will. CW and NBC are competitors same as Fox and Sony, and we sure haven’t seen Spider-Man in the X-Men films. Sadly, the DCU has probably been split in two, but if you’re like me, you’ll think they’re in the same universe anyways. Constantine is a great anti-hero character and I can’t wait to see how the story develops when the show premiere’s October 24th. Link to Constantine NBC Official Trailer – YouTube
Review of the Leaked Constantine Pilot!
