The Exorcist needs no introduction. Commonly hailed as the scariest film of all time, it is without a doubt the most renowned and popular horror film I had yet to see. I'm sure everyone can relate to hearing the stories of your parents that saw this film in theaters or on home video during their youth. Nearly everyone who saw The Exorcist in the 70's was horrified beyond belief. These are lofty expectations to live up to.
A priest discovers an ancient artifact linked to an ancient demon in an archeological dig in Iraq. Somehow uncovering this artifact releases the demon and it begins to possess a young girl in Washington DC. The girl's mother attempts several methods by multiple doctors to uncover the reasoning behind her daughters bizarre behavior. As the condition worsens the mother becomes convinced that her daughter is being possessed by a demon. She must turn to a Priest to help save her child.
So is The Exorcist the scariest movie of all time? While that's very subjective, I'd say no. It was perhaps the most shocking mainstream film to be released to date at the time. It has several gruesome effects, multiple gratuitous sex references, and deals with a ton of unholy subject matter. There were several films already released perhaps more shocking but none saw as wide of a release.
The Exorcist looks and is portrayed as a very credible film. The acting is good, the effects are superb, the characters are fleshed out and developed naturally, and the cinematography is also fantastic. The cast and crew clearly took the script very seriously and it shows. Despite its serious tone, The Demon's dialogue is littered with black humor that keeps things from getting too bleak.
It took me forever to finally watch The Exorcist. The wait was definitely worth it and it was great to do it on Halloween. I'm not generally a fan of possession/exorcism films but this one somehow came off as something more. If I had to find one flaw (and there aren't many) I'd say the film may have showed its hand a little early. I felt as though the climax was about on par with some of the events that had already taken place as opposed to going into one final gear. I'd have loved to see Linda Blair escape the bedroom and stalk her mother a bit before being freed. But that's probably just the slasher enthusiast in me. I can't recommend The Exorcist to anybody because I'm literally the last horror fan on earth to watch it. We all know how great it is.
Side Note: Happy Halloween everybody!!! I'm posting my final body count and a surprise review tomorrow. Keep it spooky!
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