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This supernatural horror film based on William Petter Blatty's play of the same name was
released to international acclaim the day after Christmas in 1973. The $12-million dollar
production by director William Friedkin was a massive box office hit, grossing over $440
million, making it the ninth-most successful film in American history when adjusted for
inflation. Inspired by an alleged real-life exorcism in the 1940's, the 122-minute narrative
takes its sweet time setting up the disturbing story: An innocent teenage girl in a Washington
DC suburb becomes increasingly violent and unresponsive after being inhabited by an evil
demon. Ellen Burstyn plays the dutiful mother in an Oscar-nominated turn, showcasing a fantastic
emotional range, as she is overcome with fear and anger at her daughter's worsening condition.
With the aid of some overly colorful language, Linda Blair figuratively disappears into the
role of the frighteningly demonic child, truly convincing the audience she has transformed
into another personality. With the help of some expert make-up, Max von Sydow is featured
as the title character, somehow appearing older then than he does today, over 40 years
later. When visiting priest Jason Miller shares his reluctance to perform any sort of religious
ritual, Burstyn furiously quips, "Nothing you could do could make it any worse." This
singular line, perhaps more so than the terrifying make-up, gruesome sound effects, or atmospheric
lighting is the scariest aspect of the "The Exorcist". Her overwhelming sense of helplessness
as a loved on is entirely consumed by The Devil himself. That being said, the aforementioned
costumes, cinematography, and effects are all impeccable: especially the award-winning
sound design which is positively chill-inducing. Speaking of awards, the impressive 10 Academy
Award nominations included one for "Best Picture", making this R-rated classic the first horror
film to receive such honors. Some genuine moments of shock from the actors were reportedly
obtained by Friedkin's abrasive techniques, which included physically harming his talent
to achieve true anguish. The now iconic theme, "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield is heard
only once during the movie proper, but is a cold and unsettling backdrop during the
closing credits. Despite the magnificent acting, and scarier scenes, the film is markedly less
interesting whenever Blair is absence from the 16:9 frame... which unfortunately is a
great deal of the time. Indeed, the first forty five minutes of this picture honestly
should have been exorcised from the runtime, as this slow development offers no memorable
sequences or critical exposition. One of these earlier scenes sees two men at a dinner party
fighting over accusations of Nazi-involvement... an entirely superfluous and irrelevant aside
that is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Impressively though, the behavior surrounding
the demonic events are handled with expert believability... especially during a final
sequence that is irresistibly unnerving. There's never any true explanation or curiosity surrounding
this... no real examination of "why". Perhaps most importantly, the movie is never really
scary... a little girl is possessed, and it's generally unpleasant, but that's all there
is to it. This is however, an undisputed horror movie legend, and a worthy experience for
all fans of the genre. "The Exorcist" may exhibit brief glimpses of terror, but is pointlessly
drawn out, and often boring. Well, at least I thought so - here's some of your opinions.
You commended this picture on being scary even today, scoring it an AWESOME. Sadly,
I can't agree... in fact, I was rarely scared by anything, so I have to rate it an ALRIGHT.