rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1973
Directed by William Friedkin; produced by William Peter Blatty; screenplay by William Peter Blatty
Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Linda Blair
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
Having seen the original 1973 release and the 'Director's Cut' I can say the
only reason to see the new version is the famous "spider walk". Not that it
adds anything to the movie, it is just suddenly there, but at least you know
what people are talking about. There are more reasons to see the original.
It does not contain the flashes of "scary" demon faces, which is pretty
pointless in a movie that is already chosen as the scariest movie ever made,
it is shorter and therefore keeps your attention better, and its ending is a
lot better.
Talking about the original movie, there is a good chance this truly is the
scariest movie ever made (the new version is not less scary, just a weaker
movie). The original 'Psycho' and 'The Silence of the Lambs' could be other
contenders, but those are thrillers instead of horror movies. Since 'The
Exorcist' is a movie about things we can not explain I think this movie has
frightening moments on multiple levels and therefore is scarier. You know
that a killer kills, but what exactly does a demon do inside the body of a
young girl? I am not sure since I have never seen a real demon. That the
victim is a young girl here makes the movie even more scary, and very
shocking at times.
The young girl is Regan (Linda Blair), her mother is Chris (Ellen Burstyn).
One day Chris hears something on the attic, thinking it is a rat. No rat is
found although the sound is still there. Not much later strange things start
happening to Regan. She seems to be possessed by something. Chris brings in
Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) who thinks a demon is inside Regan.
Karras on his turn brings in Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) to do an
exorcism. In very short this is the story of 'The Exorcist', although it is
much scarier and more intelligent as it sounds.
The movie is brilliant in how it introduces the characters, hinting at great
evil, especially in the early scenes involving Von Sydow. Slowly things get
worse and suspense is build in every scene from the point Chris discovers
the "rats". The longer the movie takes the scarier an approach to Regan's
bedroom door gets. Blair as the young girl gives the performance of a
lifetime although my guess is half the time she has no idea what exactly she
is doing. For the movie that does not matter much, her creepy performance
adds a lot to the suspense. Burstyn and especially Von Sydow are perfectly
cast. His arrival at the house belongs to the most famous shots from horror
movies. His tall and dark figure is perfectly captured in some mysterious
light. It is not strange that this image is chosen for the movie poster.
'The Exorcist', one of the greatest horror movies ever made, is perfect for
genre fans, but terrific for people who normally do not like the genre very
much. Director William Friedkin gives us an example of great movie making.