One Of The Scariest Movies Ever Made

Rating: 9/10 (8 August 2009)

A Catholic priest/archaeologist (Max Von Sydow) unearths a medal in Iraq which seems to summon his spiritual armor to the forefront. An actress (Ellen Burstyn) rents a huge Georgetown house while filming on location only to find it's housing a demon about to inhabit her 12 year old daughter (Linda Blair). Meanwhile, a Jesuit priest (Jason Miller) battles the ambivalence he has about his faith while accepting the sudden decline of his mother's health. The two priests eventually team up to battle the force within the girl before winding down to the shocking conclusion.
When The Exorcist was first released in December 1973, the audience wasn't prepared for what it was about to see. Patrons fainted, entire towns banned the film, and some couldn't believe it was only given an R rating, instead of an X. Although countless imitations and the passage of time have lessened its effect, it's still one of the most frightening, stomach-churning horror films of all time. That being said, director William Friedkin refers to it more as a spiritual battle within all of us; in that, we all have fear of the unknown, but we all want to identify with what is good and not evil.
Prior to The Exorcist's release, Rosemary's Baby was perhaps the most recent example of a film that scared us by blind-siding us in a way. In Rosemary's Baby, it was ordinary adults who were frightening as minions for the dark side. In The Exorcist, it's the make-up and special effects which transform a sweet-faced young girl into a demon child. Seeing this years later, some of the effects are still effective, but there are others that are phonier than a three dollar bill, like the "help me" message on the child's abdomen. The abdomen is hopelessly phony, and this detracts somewhat from the scene.
Still, one can not debate each effect as if the film stands or falls based on each one's genuineness. The film builds slowly, something which horror films are not apt to doing these days. Very little happens in the first forty minutes in the way of shocks. The story is set up with suggestions planted for what's about to happen. The family is absent a male figure, the girl may long for attention she's not receiving, and the mother may be ambivalent toward religion herself. What the film never explains is how or why the demon chooses the young girl to inhabit when its origins are in Iraq. Otherwise, there would be no film I guess.
At this point, there are two versions of the film and arguments on both sides endorsing each version. The original version is about 10 minutes shorter and does not contain some key early scenes, but most importantly it leaves the viewer without an uplifting ending. The extended version includes the famous, hair-raising spider-walk scene which really doesn't have a place in the film except to add another unexpected shock. The ending is what many viewers are perturbed by because it seems like a trite attempt at leaving the viewers with an upbeat ending that otherwise does not fit the tone of the film. Viewers will have to decide for themselves, as both versions are available.
The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards: best picture, director, cinematography, editing, art/set decoration, supporting actor, supporting actress, actress, and it won for best sound and William Peter Blatty's screenplay based on his previously published novel, which spent a long time on the New York Time's best sellers' list. Incredibly, the novel was based on real life events. Reportedly nine individuals surrounding the making of the film died during its production including Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros. Mercedes McCambridge provided the voice(s) of the demon and had to sue to obtain official credit for the film. Director William Friedkin failed to mention this in his pedestrian commentary. ***1/2 of 4 stars.