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Average User Score: 8 (88 sources)

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ninja422

-1

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

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Posted jun 6, 2009 4:22 am pt

XiaolinPrincess

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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...
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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.

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Posted may 25, 2009 4:07 am pt

Mac-Ale

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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...
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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.

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Posted nov 6, 2008 3:30 am pt

Anthropophagus

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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...
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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.

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Posted sep 14, 2008 1:28 pm pt

wawaweewa16

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This is a pretty scary movie. However personally I think that the original book was more scary than the movie

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Posted oct 19, 2007 8:17 am pt

NeonMatrix

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When I was a teen this movie scared me because I was online with the lights off! Linda Blair's(possessed girl) career did not take off after this movie, but the movie did give her some quick fame. I am sure there are people who have seen the...
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When I was a teen this movie scared me because I was online with the lights off! Linda Blair's(possessed girl) career did not take off after this movie, but the movie did give her some quick fame. I am sure there are people who have seen the movie a couple of times, but it is a great movie to watch with ALL the lights off. I put this movie at the top of my list because of the well done film making quality. Being that it was made in the early 1970's makes this one a keeper, because other movies in that time period made me spit green pea soup!

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Posted jun 2, 2007 1:58 am pt

NoOneIsAlone

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Many people say that this is one of the best scary movies ever! I think it was good, but I do not think is the scariest ever. Only that the whole "possessed" and the aspect of the girl makes the movie not scary, but grotesque in some...
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Many people say that this is one of the best scary movies ever! I think it was good, but I do not think is the scariest ever. Only that the whole "possessed" and the aspect of the girl makes the movie not scary, but grotesque in some sort of new way. I still think that this movie was good, and the storyline, well, was great. I think that this movie is a classic.

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Posted jan 30, 2007 7:50 am pt

• [+] Portland Oregonian
  
  100
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• [+] Charlotte Observer
  
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• [+] Entertainment Weekly
  
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• [+] Film.com
  
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• [+] Variety
  
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• [+] Dallas Observer
  
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• [+] Mr. Showbiz
  
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• [+] USA Today
  
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