The Exorcist (1973)

Best Version of Exorcist

OK, you've all seen this classic unless you've been living on Mars since 1973. And don't bother even watching, much less purchasing any of the sequels. But this slightly extended version attempts to add a few more minutes to elaborate on Linda Blair's central Regan teenage character before she "involuntarily spirals down" into complete possession. After all, the primary viewer empathy should have always been on Regan and viewer association with the Chris MacNeil character. But instead, the director spent too much footage on incidentals, like Lt. Kinderman, Burke and both Father Karras & Dyer characters. (Nobody actually blamed Karras for sending his mom to an ole-folks home, since she was obviously a whiner anyway.) Concentrating on Regan's own and her mother's ordeal would have been more than sufficient, allowing for a shorter 100 min. story. However, the Exorcist is a classic due to its real-life pace and "audio-mix" (i.e., medical center thumping equip.): Pay attention to the silent scenes that make you lean forward in your chair, instantly followed by [wham!] screaming scenes, loud machine noises and the inverse. And no fair in adjusting your tuner's volume control. Just keep it at the same level as the theatre viewing experience, to appreciate those numerous & genius scene transitions. December 2, 2008

An absolute classic! Still holds up strikingly well.

It's difficult to look back on a film "classic" and try to review it through today's eyes...35 years later. It's always tempting to say, "Those effects were great...for 1973" or "imagine how that affected an audience...three decades ago." You almost feel like you have to make excuses for the film.

But I am happy to report that in a very recent, pre-Halloween viewing, THE EXORCIST has withstood the test of time nearly unscathed. Yes, some of the effects (there are actually fewer than you would expect) are not up to the standards of today. The clothing is often hilariously tacky. Technology is primitive.

Yet William Friedkin's classically styled direction of William Peter Blatty's effectively unsettling novel still has the uncanny ability to give us the creeps today. Often (VERY often) imitated, but not yet equaled, THE EXORCIST is simply brilliant.

If you don't know the story: young Regan (Linda Blair, before she was the punchline to a lot of cheap jokes) lives in a lovely Washington DC home with her recently divorced movie-actress mother (Ellen Burstyn). They are a well-to-do little family, with a housekeeper, cook & nanny. But they are presented as a loving pair.

Soon, though, Regan begins to exhibit strange behavior, including rather vivid tales of her talks with "imaginary" friends she clearly believes are real. Her mother begins taking her to doctors and specialists, who at first assume it's just adolescence. Then Regan's behavior starts getting worse, and frankly, a bit hard to explain. It's when she starts talking in strange voices and levitating from her bed that all rational explanations begin to go out the window.

I describe this, I admit, in a fairly flippant way. But it does NOT come across as cheesy or ironic or with a wink. It's played dead straight, and is presented almost like a medical procedural story. Something you'd see on a much calmer episode of HOUSE. Rational people, trying to come up with reasonable explanations, until, chillingly, they are all forced to throw up their hands in despair. And no one is despairing more than Burstyn, who has seen her daughter cursing in a deep voice, levitating herself and her bed, thrashing in violent seizures, with cuts developing on her face. Regan also, quite disturbingly, abuses herself with a cross. Yes, that scene has been made fun of MANY times over the years...but seeing it proves that the original has lost none of its impact. It is a queasy and startling moment.

Meanwhile, some strange things have been doing on in the local Catholic Churches, and priest/psychologist Father Karras (Jason Miller) is trying explain these happenings, while also dealing with guilt over his elderly (soon to be dead) mother AND his loss of faith. These scenes also have a matter-of-fact, non-exploitative feeling...as though we're watching a "normal" drama about a religious man floundering in his duties.

Eventually, mother Burstyn turns to Father Karras for help. She's convinced her daughter needs an exorcism. Karras, who not only personally doesn't believe in exorcism but also knows the church is HIGHLY skeptical of them too, agrees reluctantly to visit Regan. He is horrified by what he sees, but for awhile, he searches for rational explanations too. Yet, eventually, he must turn to "legendary" Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), a priest who has actually performed such a ritual.

ALSO, there has been a mysterious death of a friend of Burstyn's and Detective Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) is investigating, giving the movie the feel of an old-fashioned detective story.

I've rehashed a lot of the plot, first to remind you of its intricacies (but hopefully not spoiling much) but also to emphasize how much this movie is NOT presented as a horror film. It is shown as anything but, frankly, for much of its running time. This serves only to make the horror more effective because it seems so incredibly PLAUSIBLE. When it's all done, we can look back and realize that the basic sketch of the horrible things that happen isn't too original. It's the CONTEXT in which they play out that works so well.

In many ways, we come to "believe" Regan is possessed just as Father Karras does. He's a doubter who is FORCED to believe, because no other explanation will serve. The movie is a "horror-procedural" or a "demonic detective story." It is creepy as hell, too!

By the time this stately paced film reaches its final 20 minute or so, we are pretty much wrung out. Regan's room has become an ice-cold bastion of evil. The fear and the chill are palpable to the viewer. And even though I knew the outcome, I was riveted to the film...stunned that I was still able to be creeped out even on my 4th viewing. The film is constructed so well and with no hint of irony. It is dead serious. Friedkin took, frankly, the exactly correct approach to the material, and it paid off. The script is first-rate, as well.

Best of all, we've got a cast of fantastic actors playing their juicy roles completely seriously. Ellen Burstyn occasionally drifts to the hammy side towards the end (as she so often does) but only slightly. Linda Blair is fearsome effective...even with the help of makeup and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge, she is a striking figure. Lee J. Cobb was a fantastic actor (the original Willy Loman) and has been sadly missed for many years. His Det. Kinderman is a small role, but he brings a touch to it that gives the film a whiff of humor. Max Von Sydow is an imposing figure...he's done many, many great performances since...but his work here is what he'll be most remembered for (at least by American audiences). Finally, Jason Miller is dead perfect as Father Karras, who to me is the true heart-and-soul of this film. It is HIS personal journey that most gives this film gravitas. Miller was a very talented actor and writer. His performance ranks right up there with other greats of that era of the `70s when Method actors like Pacino and deNiro were making their big marks. I suspect that had he not been so reluctant to do film work, he could have been one of the greats as well.

By all means, see THE EXORCIST again. I believe you'll be as pleasantly surprised as me. And if by some chance you have NOT seen it...do yourself a favor. There's a reason this film is deemed a classic...and it is not a "stuffy old" film that doesn't hold up today.

I saw the DVD that comes with some restored scenes. Most of the scenes were not needed (a lot more stuff with Father Merrin wandering around the middle east)...but there were a few brief moments with Von Sydow and Burstyn near the end that were quite good...plus a VERY brief but unforgettable shot of Regan coming down some stairs in a very unconventional way.
November 11, 2008

Loving it!

I always liked this movie. Before I saw it I was told that it was really scary. I watched it and was laughing my but off!! The old graphics and plot put together made it kind of funny. But the make-up done in certain scenes was scary. November 7, 2008

Over-blown classic.

The Exorcist starring Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair is considered the best horror film of all-time, I have to disagree. The Exorcist is scary but the language and bodily fluids are a bit much, it's like enough already! The acting is excellent but overall this movie doesn't live up to the hype, sorry. November 3, 2008

You're going to feel a little stick here, Regan....

One of the scariest scenes for most people in this movie is the so-called "spinal tap" scene, however the procedure in which Regan has a needle inserted in her throat, and blood rhythmically pumps out is an arteriogram. A spinal tap involves inserting a needle into the lower back, and extracting spinal fluid. It does not involve x-rays.

The doctors refer to "doing another spinal" in a following scene, a thought that is repulsive to Chris and with good reason: spinals are very painful, as is the arteriogram. Both procedures are usually performed with local anesthesia, but also occasionally light sedation or general anesthesia. The doctors were looking for a lesion in the temporal lobe, and an arteriogram would be the preferred diagnostic technique for this condition. Nowadays, a CT scan or MRI would also be performed. A spinal tap is also used to diagnose neurological disorders, and would have been employed in a case like Regan's. However, no spinal tap procedure appears in the movie!

This is a well crafted horror flick, and like most horror flicks, its premise is b.s. A suspension of disbelief is required for the rational person to enjoy this movie. The problem is that a lot of people actually believe in demonic possession. The reality is brought forth from Father Karras himself when he says "it just doesn't happen anymore" and that all the old stories of possession were merely mental illness, most commonly schizophrenia. Lacking modern science, the people from the aptly named Dark Ages came up with their own explanations. How many innocents were burned at the stake because of the nonsense in books like the Malleus Maleficarum? We can count ourselves lucky we do not live in a era dominated by such error.

So, if you want a really, really scary story about evil in Iraq obsessing someone in Washington, D.C., you need only consider the Bush Administration. Maybe Dick Cheney is the devil! November 3, 2008

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