This supernatural horror film based on William Petter Blatty's play of the same name was
released to international acclaim the day after Christmas in 1973.
The $12-million dollar production by director William Friedkin was a massive box office
hit, grossing over $440 million, making it the ninth-most successful film in American
history when adjusted for inflation.
Inspired by an alleged real-life exorcism in the 1940's, the 122-minute narrative takes
its sweet time setting up the disturbing story: An innocent teenage girl in a Washington DC
suburb becomes increasingly violent and unresponsive after being inhabited by an evil demon.
Ellen Burstyn plays the dutiful mother in an Oscar-nominated turn, showcasing a fantastic
emotional range, as she is overcome with fear and anger at her daughter's worsening condition.
With the aid of some overly colorful language, Linda Blair figuratively disappears into the
role of the frighteningly demonic child, truly convincing the audience she has transformed
into another personality.
With the help of some expert make-up, Max von Sydow is featured as the title character,
somehow appearing older then than he does today, over 40 years later.
When visiting priest Jason Miller shares his reluctance to perform any sort of religious
ritual, Burstyn furiously quips, "Nothing you could do could make it any worse."
This singular line, perhaps more so than the terrifying make-up, gruesome sound effects,
or atmospheric lighting is the scariest aspect of the "The Exorcist".
Her overwhelming sense of helplessness as a loved on is entirely consumed by The Devil
himself.
That being said, the aforementioned costumes, cinematography, and effects are all impeccable:
especially the award-winning sound design which is positively chill-inducing.
Speaking of awards, the impressive 10 Academy Award nominations included one for "Best Picture",
making this R-rated classic the first horror film to receive such honors.
Some genuine moments of shock from the actors were reportedly obtained by Friedkin's abrasive
techniques, which included physically harming his talent to achieve true anguish.
The now iconic theme, "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield is heard only once during the movie
proper, but is a cold and unsettling backdrop during the closing credits.
Despite the magnificent acting, and scarier scenes, the film is markedly less interesting
whenever Blair is absence from the 16:9 frame... which unfortunately is a great deal of the
time.
Indeed, the first forty five minutes of this picture honestly should have been exorcised
from the runtime, as this slow development offers no memorable sequences or critical
exposition.
One of these earlier scenes sees two men at a dinner party fighting over accusations of
Nazi-involvement...
an entirely superfluous and irrelevant aside that is as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
Impressively though, the behavior surrounding the demonic events are handled with expert
believability... especially during a final sequence that is irresistibly unnerving.
There's never any true explanation or curiosity surrounding this... no real examination of
"why".
Perhaps most importantly, the movie is never really scary... a little girl is possessed,
and it's generally unpleasant, but that's all there is to it.
This is however, an undisputed horror movie legend, and a worthy experience for all fans
of the genre.
"The Exorcist" may exhibit brief glimpses of terror, but is pointlessly drawn out, and
often boring.
Well, at least I thought so - here's some of your opinions.
You commended this picture on being scary even today, scoring it an AWESOME.
Sadly, I can't agree... in fact, I was rarely scared by anything, so I have to rate it an
ALRIGHT.