Classic

Rating: 10/10 (2 November 2002)

"For its time" this is one of the best films ever made. In my opinion, how you feel about this movie depends on when you first viewed it. I saw it for the first time when it came out in 1973, I was 13, and it scared the living crap out of me (being raised a Catholic, living 5 miles from Georgetown didn't help). The Exorcist was so UNLIKE any film made up to that point, it astounded people. Throw in the "weak" link to the truth and anyone who wasn't scared by this movie in the mid-70's was either in a comma or dead.
Of course 30 years later, we've been exposed to thousands of similar demonic-type scenes and it's lost much of its impact. A couple of years ago, my teenage daughter and I watched it and she, like many others, thought it was hilarious. I myself wondered why I was so scared. The answer of course was "timing". Great movie appreciated by those who are old enough to have seen it when it first came out.