Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Frightening
Review: This movie is the epitome of horror films. All horror films since it's release have been judged on how it rates with "the Exorcist" and for good reason. The DVD edition of this film captures the original look of the film. It's clarity is far superior to VHS tapes. I personally have been a fan of the Exorcist for many years, and have read countless reviews on the movie. Not one was bad. I have also learned that there may be a new version of the Exorcist soon available with never before seen footage, like Reagan (Linda Blair) Spider Walking on the staircase, as it had been originally depicted. Look for it. In the mean time, we will be horrified with this. If you have never seen the Exorcist, you are in for one HELL of a ride. END
Rating:
Summary: One of the scariest books written pre-Stephen King!
Review: The Exorcist was one of the scariest books I've read in a very long time! I've read all of Stephen King's books and this one even topped Pet Semetary! So if you are a horror fan, like myself, you have to read The Exorcist. I can't wait to see the new version on tape! END
Rating:
Summary: It is the only movie that ever has scared me
Review: That was the most scarry movie i have ever seen. When I saw that movie I couldn't sleep for almost a year END
Rating:
Summary: The Best and Original
Review: This is probably the best horror film to date, still an excellent movies even though the effects are dated. It destroyed (Linda Blair's) the little girl's career as an actress because people were never able to disassociate her with the possesed girl. She was only 15 when she made the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A psychological scarefest!
Review: To call "The Exorcist" a horror film is a drastic understatement, selling it short on the actual purpose of its story about a young girl possessed by a demonic presence. It is a shocking movie in terms of content and certain physical attributes, but the real story that lies within the material is something much stronger than a simple tale of exorcism. It's a mind-opening film experience as much as it is an eye-opening one. In close collaboration with screenwriter William Peter Blatty, the author of the famed novel on which the movie is based, director William Friedkin brings to life the story of the lives of Chris Macneil (Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), who live in Georgetown. Chris is an actress, not completely well-known, but enough to throw expensive parties and afford some help around the house. All seems well until Regan begins acting out of the ordinary, behaving in ways that graduate from simple to outright shocking. Her bed rocks violently in the night; her attitude towards others becomes increasingly temperamental; her skin becomes placid and breaks out into legions, and things ranging from violent convulsions to masturbating with a crucifix push Chris over the top, causing her to enlist the help of Damien Karras, who is haunted by the memories of his mother, with whom we see him interacting in the beginning third of the film. It is at this point that the movie's true horror begins. The realization comes across Karras that in order to cleanse the young girl, an exorcism must be performed. Heading the ritual is Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), who warns Karras of the psychological games played by the devil. The final act is a tour de force of horror at its most involving, as the devil possessing Regan becomes increasingly agitated by the ritual. As I have previously stated, "The Exorcist" is not a horror movie in the traditional sense. I watched the film hoping for something that would cause me to jump out of my seat, but what I found was something much more horrific and, at the same time, completely engrossing. The devil is portrayed as a relentless force of evil, and is everything we've ever been brought up to believe about him. He lies, and most importantly, he plays games of the mind by using Karras's mother as a ploy to make him weak. To watch the way in which Karras must resist these lies is compelling and masterful. And even the physical elements of horror are some of the most shocking cinematic moments ever. The crucifix masturbation scene is very disturbing and graphic, while the slow digression of Regan's appearance from a cheery little girl to a hideously deformed creature is slowly chilling. And those pea soup rumors you've been hearing... they're some of the biggest gross out moments in any movie. The movie is also not without its share of brilliant casting, boasting some stunning performances from Max von Sydow and Ellen Burstyn. Von Sydow gives Merrin's character a stable and forceful demeanor, while Burstyn's Chris Macneil is emotional while never becoming too whiny. she is able to sell us on her character's fear for her daughter's life. Linda Blair, in one of the most challenging roles in history, perfectly segues from cheery to eerie, with help of a little make-up, of course. If you were able to connect more with "The Silence of the Lambs" than "I Know What You Did Last Summer," then this is the movie for you. It is a psychological journey that is religiously truthful and revealing, while also dotting itself with small physical horror elements and twists. You can't really ask for a better scare or shock than this.
Rating:
Summary: The best horror movie ever made!
Review: The Exorcist is one of those rare finds. It is a superbly crafted film with a great story and top-notch acting and it also manages to scare the "you know what" right out of you. The thought of the demonic posession of a pre-teen girl is too much for most people to ponder rationally. Yet somehow, William Friedkin (making the movie from the gripping page-turner written by William Peter Blatty) presents this tale in a straight forward manner that doesn't flinch in it's ability to deal with this horrifying subject matter. Contrary to what some people have mentioned the special effects are NOT dated. They are still some of the best effects created in Hollywood. (Perhaps minimalist by todays standards which make them even more incredible).
Highlights of the DVD are the soundtrack, which you'll be scrambling to turn down if you have a home theater system, and the documentary about the making of the film which highlights the many challenges the crew encountered and some of the eerie things that took place during the filming. Look for the infamous "Spider Walk" scene which was left cut on the editor's floor.
Some people I know still refuse to watch this film on its reputation alone. Don't be one of them. You'll be missing one of the best films made in the 70's and without a doubt the greatest horror movie of all time.
Rating:
Summary: The Exorcist so hot you will buy the DVD !!!!!!
Review: I think this movie was really good. It starts out really slow, but in the end I think it is worth waiting through. Also, a lot of movies get tagged with the horror label. When in reality, they really aren't scary at all. This is one such movie. I didn't find this movie scary one bit. I think it's a movie that just freaks you out more than scares you. Obviously people get scared too easily. This movie is more of a suspense, thriller type deal.
Rating:
Summary: Justification of the external
Review: In retrospect, this has to be considered one of the top 25 American films of the second half of the 20th century. The reason I am citing here in particular is the overt and powerful emphasis on the external. Let's see what that means.
American culture has always had a practical, "can do" orientation--a perspective that has consistently (at least since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, if not before) emphasized the accomplishment of goals through work. That is, there's been a sledgehammer-like insistence, decade after decade, on the Protestant work ethic (also called Judeo-Christian work ethic). The corollary of this emphasis is that any problems that arise do so based on external circumstances. While there have been great American works of art pointing in the opposite direction (Miller's Death of a Salesman is a terrific example), these have not detracted from the still present today work ethic that informs how we live, work, and relate to each other.
The Exorcist is much more than a horror film. It's a potent drama that slams the viewer in the face with just how embedded we are in this Protestant/Judeo-Christian ethic by positing one of the worst problems ever (loss of control over one's actions) solely on the basis of an external influence--i.e., demonic possession.
The reason this film works so incredibly well is that the writer, William Peter Blatty, and the director, William Friedkin, were both smart enough to know that shock for shock's sake and all the grotesque tricks that little Regan pulls as a demon (the spider walk, the 360 degree head turn, etc.) don't add up to a hill of beans unless the demonically possessed little girl is contrasted with her opponents who are themselves riddled with problems. Thus, the source of the extreme problem--a blatantly external influence (demon)--meets other external influences (this time on the side of good) whose own internal lives are in chaos.
What this does, interestingly enough, is to emphasize even more how obvious the American perspective on the external really is. Why? Because in spite of their doubts and fears, these two priests are committed to fighting this external influence, this demon, until, come Hell or high water, they win. And in this film, yes, Hell does come. It's really pretty amazing how strong a drama this is, after more than 30 years, and how weak and pathetic many other copycat films are in comparison.
The Exorcist succeeds both in scaring us because of its relentless insistence on the external vs. the internal, and in providing a cinematic work that does not rely primarily on jolts (though it certainly does have its share of those), but on the emotional depths to which those affected by this extreme of external influence can sink. Regan's mother, played by Ellen Burstyn--who gives a powerhouse performance--is, in fact, the real star of the show, running the gamut of eomtions from exuberance to complete despair.
Max von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests are also great, and in an uncharacteristic role--i.e., not as a heavy--Lee J. Cobb comes off well, though he doesn't have much to do, as a detective who's baffled by the goings on.
A remarkable piece of work that is still fresh in 2005, The Exorcist is a film to add to any collection of best American cinema in the last 50 years.
Rating: 
Summary: crazy movie one of the worst
Review: Horror movies have many purpopes the directer of this film must of thought it is just to gross and disturb you it actually is sopposed to scare entertain excite you and let you have fun i really do not like movies that disturb you. this movie is not a classic at all the specail effects are out dated the whole movie was basicly a cheezy but disturbing movie that is not a horror movie.
Rating:
Summary: a great horror film
Review: The Exorcist has a long-standing legend as one of the best horror films ever made. The movie is one of the best adaptations of a novel that I've seen. The items left out of the movie didn't really add to the story, but were effective in providing suspense and scary mental imagery without the benefit of film effects. If you liked the original exorcist, I would recommend Exorcist: The beginning. Although not quite as scary as the first and uses CGI effects to achieve scares, it is a better attempt at the original than Exorcist II.
|
