this was one of the most memorable, epic movies of all time. the spider walk was the best part in the whole movie.

A few days ago, I had decided to watch The Exorcist due to a sudden interest. Some people thought that the Spiderwalk scene (cut out from the original viewing) was one of the most epic scenes that was in any movie in general. The only thing that...
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A few days ago, I had decided to watch The Exorcist due to a sudden interest. Some people thought that the Spiderwalk scene (cut out from the original viewing) was one of the most epic scenes that was in any movie in general. The only thing that would even be considered remotely scary (but wasn't that scary) was the couple-of-second flashes of Pazuzu's face that was Eileen Dietz after make-up was applied. All in all, this was one of the better horror movies that I have seen and one of the few horror movies that lived up to its genre.

I saw this movie the year it was originally released and yes, it does have the ability to shock and unsettle. Some visuals are striking, not the obvious ones but often lesser ones such as Marrin confronting the ancient evil idol in Iraq or his...
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I saw this movie the year it was originally released and yes, it does have the ability to shock and unsettle. Some visuals are striking, not the obvious ones but often lesser ones such as Marrin confronting the ancient evil idol in Iraq or his outline under the streetlamp in Georgetown. Of course, here was one of the first big budget films to trot out the 70s-80s versions of gore effects.

Still, this movie needs to stand or rise based on the material. The novel suffers from a vague delineation of evil, often mixing it uncomfortably with psychic illness and the then trendy "pseudoscience" of psychokinesis. The film follows this format, but with less exposition, it flubs it even more. Just what a "possession" is needs better clarity if it is going to really terrify.

The problems could have ben solved with a more direct screenplay, but too much signature Blatty prose is highlighted here. I also disliked the characterization of Father Damien, he is much more frightened and reactive on screen than the novel. The interiors are too cramped and allow for less visual interest than they could. A hard movie to rate - while sensational, it could actually be more poignant without losing the horror.

'The Exorcist' is truly one of the greatest, most horrifying, brilliant and most important horror movies in the history of cinema. It is quite easily one of the most relentlessly shocking and powerful horror movies you are ever likely to see, and...
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'The Exorcist' is truly one of the greatest, most horrifying, brilliant and most important horror movies in the history of cinema. It is quite easily one of the most relentlessly shocking and powerful horror movies you are ever likely to see, and one that you definitely must see before any others if you're interested in horror. It broke the barrier between what mainstream horror filmmakers do with horror films and what mainstream horror filmmakers are afraid to do, and if you look through your favorite horror films list, there probably aren't going to be many films there that haven't been influenced by it.

It was released thirty five years ago, yet it has such a timeless feel that it looks like it could have been released in the nineties. If anything it has gotten better with age. And after all these years, it is still more terrifyingly disturbing and shockingly frightening than most modern movies. Linda Blair as the possessed young girl Regan McNeil, gives a positively amazing performance and one that probably would have scarred her for life. Blair received death threats for her role up to sixth months after the film was released and required bodyguards at all times. Ellen Burstein also gives in incredible performance as Regan's grieving mother.