The Exorcist Horror Movie Review

by Tom Sissons
(Brighton)

The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, opens in Northern Iraq, where a small stone with a striking resemblance to the demon, Pazuzu, is discovered in the sand. The scene moves straight to Georgetown, where the audience is dragged into immediate tension with the iconic soundtrack composed by Mike Oldfield.

This supernatural film was ranked No. 01, the best horror movie throughout history on BHM.com and I can understand why it was chosen considering the film was released in 1973 and many elements of it still horrify and disgust people today.

In my view, it has more to it than just stereotypical horror seen in the Slasher Genre, as this film delves further into dirty matters. Examples of this are when Regan MacNeil interrupts her mother’s party to spit dark words before urinating on the floor, vomits over Father Damian Karras and masturbates with a crucifix.

One of my favorite scenes is when Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) ventures into the attic with only a candle, searching for what she thinks are rats. This scene relates very closely to the style of the traditional gothic films from the Golden Age of Horror (30's/40's).

Another memorable part is where a Priest discovers a statue of the Virgin Mary has been vandalized and given a penis.

The crabwalk scene is delightfully gory and amazingly ghoulish, showing Regan as more of a savage, blood-thirsty animal than a human being, and the 360-degree turn of her head is still skin-crawling today.

Perhaps the scariest thing about The Exorcist is the gradual change in Regan’s voice, appearance and personality as she eventually turns into a completely different person.

Despite a couple of dull scenes, there was a climactic and unexpected ending.

The film boats brilliant effects, especially for 70's technology. Jason Miller showed great talent in his role and Linda Blair was unbelievable as Regan.

RATING: 8/10