The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen)

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Summary: "You're Gonna Die Up There."
Review: Ellen Burstyn is Chris MacNeil, a successful actress living in a swanky house in Washington, D.C. with her 12 year old daughter Reagan (Linda Blair). They have the perfect mother/daughter relationship, and everything is hunky dory until one evening when Chris throws a party for a group of her friends. At that moment, strange things begin to happen. Reagan makes a disturbing comment at the party. Beds start shaking. Weird noises come from upstairs in the attic. And heads, literally, start turning. In what happens to be a mother's worst nightmare, it is revealed that Reagan is possessed by the demon Pazuzu who can be cast out only through the ritual of an exorcism. I've watched "The Exorcist" at many times during my life, and it never loses its potency as one of the best movies of all time. What made it a hit was not its fright factor or its then-groundbreaking special effects. It became a critical and commercial success because it vividly illustrated the battle between good and evil unlike any other movie before or since. It pressed spiritual buttons and made some people ponder the validity and depth of their own faith. If you've never been scared before in your life, you probably haven't seen this film (or its parodies on "Saturday Night Live" or "Scary Movie"). Director William Friedkin does wonders as he brings to life William Peter Blatty's novel and extracts solid performances from Burstyn, as well as Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as Father Merrin and Father Karras respectively. "The Exorcist" was re-released with additional footage and special effects, and while they don't hurt the movie, they do take away some of its effectiveness and dramatic subtlety. The version to get is the 25th Anniversary edition, which has the movie in its pure and original form, as well as an excellent documentary with interviews from the cast and filmmakers. But regardless of which version you get, one thing is sure: you won't be the same person after you watch "The Exorcist." It's still a hellraiser even after 30 years.

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Summary: Faith or Horror?
Review: It's not gone without notice that my own name is the same as one of this film's and book's lead characters. Whatever, this "new" release with added footage to the original is still as gripping today as it was nearly 30 years ago (Linda Blair's cascade down the staircase is the strongest added punch). Since then, valid differences of opinion have been offered about the film being terror or religious in nature. It's both, splendidly melded in a package of primal fear that also challenges the demons that everyone carries, the challenge being whether our own private faiths can survive the invasion of pure evil. Ellen Burstyn is, as usual, exceptional in projecting her character's sheer desperation in rescuing her daughter from her satanic invader, and the late Jason Miller is perfect as the priest struggling with his own crisis of faith until he meets the devil face to face in this icy little bedroom. Max von Sydow balances the desperation of Chris MacNeil and challenged faith of Father Karras with the dignity and undeniable faith of "The Exorcist." Incredibly, after dozens of viewings, the film still manages to impale its viewer with a fear of the unknown. With all said and done, though, we do at least get the hope that divine goodness can save us.

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Summary: The scariest movie i've ever seen!
Review: I first saw this movie when i was twelve and i realize now I should have never been allowed to see this movie until I was much older. Everything about this movie scares me. From Linda Blair's demonic voice to the priest's dreams. After seeing it when I was twelve I vowed to never watch it again until I was around 21 when they put out the version you've never seen and I figured since I was older I would be OK with seeing it again...WRONG! After seeing some of the new subliminal messages or demonic white faces flash up, I turned it off and can't watch it. It is that scary to me still. I gave it five stars because it is an execellent scary movie. The acting is awesome and the story is downright terrifying but to save myself from nightmares I probably won't watch it again. :) If you want something that is still scarier than anything they've ever put out in my opinion in the scary movie buisness buy this movie. You won't be disappointed.

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Summary: Still the greatest horror film of all time
Review: The newer version has even more scarier scenes then the original. I saw it when it first came out in the 70's and to this day, I cannot watch this movie at night.
The special effects are so scary, they will give you nightmares, no matter how old you are.
If you love horror, you have to have this movie.

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Summary: could be the scariest movie of all time
Review: In 1973 one of the most horrifying films of all time was made--William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, starring Jason Miller, Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, and the wonderful Max von Sydow. All the principal actors, as well as the supporting cast, gave brilliant performances. It won the Oscar for Best Sound and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (it was nominated for 8 other Oscars, including Best Picture). This is a story of a young girl who is possessed and what happens during. It's also a story of faith and redemption. There are some horrifying images throughout the film. And the very premise of the movie sends a chill down your spine--think of your own child possessed by a demon...what could you do? So many things help to add up to create this movie in all it's horrifying glory. This is truly one of the best films ever made.

The dvd is 'The Version You've Never Seen Before' which was rereleased a few years ago in theaters, and includes many scenes originally cut (and it was a shame these scenes were cut, almost all of them enhance the story). You get trailers, tv spots, radio spots, and trivia about the film. Friedkin also has a commentary track, and a very good one. He doesn't go into the technical aspects of making the story (perhaps there should have been a second track that discussed the techniques behind the film), but neither does he ramble on about nothing (as many commentary tracks do) nor does he narrated the story we are watching (which many directors do on their commentary tracks...and that's a waste of a track). He discusses the film, and he does a great job of it. It's a great commentary (though I wish he had added a technical commentary track), one that is valuable for the fan of The Exorcist and even more so for the film student.

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Summary: The definitive version of this landmark horror film
Review: The Exorcist stands in the most hallowed of halls when it comes to horror, having been voted as recently as 1999 the scariest movie of all time by fans. I envy those who find this film so remarkably frightening, as it really doesn't strike me as particularly scary - unsettling at times, but not scary. The addition of twelve minutes of new footage plus a remastering of the soundtrack make The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) the definitive movie adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel of demonic possession. The additional material brings the film much more in line with Blatty's original vision, and I find it a little strange that director William Friedkin seems to get most of the credit for this new version of the film when he was the one who cut the respective scenes in the first place and, in some cases, resisted their inclusion in this special re-release.

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

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Summary: Linda Blair, Where Are You??
Review: I remember when THE EXORCIST became a phenomenon back in '73. There were ambulances waiting out in front of some theatres, due to the shortness of breath, heart palpitations, etc. of certain audience members. I knew this was no ordinary horror movie! Thirty years later, this version is released on DVD with restored footage that makes it all the more terrifying! Ellen Burstyn is perfect as the moviestar mom, exhausting all options to get help for her possessed daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), who grows increasingly dangerous to herself and others. Blair captures both the sweet innocence and vile demonic presence inhabiting her body. She is an astonishing figure once the pea-soup hits the fan! We forget the little girl and focus on what she has become. Jason Miller is great as the priest who thinks he's lost his faith. He has no idea that his faith is about to be brutally challenged and subsequently enlarged. Max Von Sydow IS Father Merrin. He performs the rites of exorcism in a normal / natural way that makes it seem like a totally real event. Lee J. Cobb is the cop on the trail of whoever / whatever broke the neck of Regan's babysitter, and tossed him out the window to his death. Back to Regan herself, she is one scary little kid! Whether cussing her head off, twisting her head around backward, puking that icky green stuff, rising off the bed with those white eyes of hers, or walking down those stairs like a crab / spider, Regan is flawlessly, flesh-crawlingly mesmerizing! I read the book and found the movie to be every bit as jolting. One of THE best horror films ever made. Buy immediately...

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Summary: the scariest film that you will ever see.
Review: Based off of william peter blatty's best selling novel about a girl who becomes possessed by a malevolent entity really packs a punch!

The Exorcist caused all sorts of hype back in 1973 causing people to faint, vomit or go into labor in theatres. This movie comes with alot of baggage: the green vomiting, head spinning and foul language spewed out by an innocent girl who is having major trouble with her bed really makes this film a cut above the rest of other horror movies.

Each actor becomes the characters of the story making the film that more believable. This movie doesn't rely on creative death sequences or high cost special effects but rather it has an emotional impact creating psychological horror for the viewer. There are many disturbing scenes involving the twelve year old girl, most notably one with a crucifix, I was stunned when I saw this scene because it showed that this film didn't hold back on making the viewer believe in the story or that the story really happened.

The movie isn't constant violence every other minute but rather the tone of the movie is set by the music and the surroundings. The music is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. It seems like there is a surprise every time we see Regan (Linda Blair) lying in her bed restrained by straps. She talks in Latin and she projectile vomits. She floats off of her bed and her head turns around three hundred and sixty degress. The words HELP ME are etched into her stomach at one point during her possession. She has a horrible purple tongue that darts in and out of her mouth during the exorcism. She even turns into the dead mother of one of the priests. It is also shocking to see the girl go through many painful tests such as a catscan to diagnose her condition.

The cast includes Ellen Burstyn as the put upon actress mother of twelve year old Regan (Linda Blair). Max Von Sydow plays his role of Father Merrin so well that we actually believe that he is a priest. Jason Miller plays Father Karras who ultimately saves Regan from her demons . If you want to see a good slasher flick go watch Halloween or Scream but if you want to see the scariest movie of all time, get The Exorcist for a roller coaster ride that you will never forget!

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Summary: REEL EVIL
Review: "THE EXORCIST (The Version You've Never Seen)"

When this movie was originally released in 1973, Billy Graham warned it contained "real evil." Perhaps he's right.

This ultimate horror spectacle terrified and fascinated an international audience of many cultures and languages with its truly shocking depiction of innocent, cherubic Linda Blair's transformation into a vile, pathetic vessel of Satanic possession. William Peter Blatty scripted from his best selling novel which was allegedly based on a real case of possession. The original DVD release included a fascinating "making of" documentary that reveals director William Friedkin as an arrogant bully who had no qualms about physically abusing his actors in an attempt to get a desired reaction on camera.

This new version is a cut based in part on author Blatty's restoring of deleted material from Friedkin's first cut and includes about ten minutes of new and extended scenes, the most shocking of which is Blair's infamous "spider walk" down the stairs.

The informative conversation with Blatty and director Friedkin are not included on this version, but there's an exceedingly strange commentary track by Friedkin that's kind of like a description for the blind of what's on the screen. There's hardly a word about the directing process, the subliminal shots, the brilliant sound design, behind the scenes events or even the spectacular effects. One gets the notion that Friedkin pretty much made this film by himself.

Friedkin makes a whopping mistake when, in describing the terrific opening scenes shot in northern Iraq near the ruins of ancient Ninevah, he recalls the Biblical story of Joshua bringing down its fabled walls. Ooops, Joshua battled Jericho! It's Jonah, who is said to be buried in nearby Mosul (where they also shot atmospheric, underground bazaar scenes), who had something to do with Ninevah.

The great underpinnings of this story revolve around the resurrection, as it were, of the actual middle eastern demon idol Pazuzu from a place of renown evil by a priest-archaeologist (Max Von Sydow) who has to eventually confront it again in a final showdown half a world away. There is no why to all this, because that's what makes evil, evil; it's irrational.

That said, this remains the most frightening of all mainstream films and it still delivers the horrors that generate nightmares. Perhaps that's because when it's over, there remains the unsettling feeling that the demon wins the battle. That fear conquers all. Perhaps the devil's greatest lie.

Rating:
Summary: This movie will compel you!
Review: It is amazing that a movie from 1973 can still have the effect it has today. The horror in this film is not horrifying, not a lot of chopped off heads or limbs or frightening scenes. But the overall atmosphere is just freaking frightening, especially helped by the special effects they used on the young Linda Blair and her acting which makes this move as scary as Jaws for example. You don't see a lot but it scares the hell out of you. I would not be surprised if people really got nightmares from this movie, too close to real life it is. One of the best horrors ever made