THEE Classic Modern Horror Movie

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 2003)

"The Exorcist" is a film that goes full-circle from modern Twentieth Century medicine to the church exorcism of the middle ages, all within the two hours that it's on the screen. The movie revolves around three characters in it: Father Merrin, Max Von Sydow, Father Karras, Jason Miller, and Regan MacNeil, Linda Blair.
Father Merrin unsuspectingly releases the devil from an ancient archaeological dig that he's in charge of in northern Iraq which ends up possessing little Regan MacNeil in Georgetown USA. Father Karras is the priest who suggested that an exorcism was warranted after examining Regan, with Karras being a trained psychiatrist, and seeing that she's beyond all known psychiatric and medical help.
Father Merrin seems guilt-stricken in the beginning of the movie when he realized that he released a demonic spirit into the world by unearthing it from the ruins of his expedition. When he's contacted by the church later in the movie to preform an exorcism Father Marrin sees his chance to correct what he unwitting did by driving the evil spirit out of little Regan's body that he feels that he was responsible for.
Father Karras, who is losing his faith in his religion, who's also guilt-ridden over his mothers death sees in saving Regan from her demonic possession, which he became convinced of after examining her, as a restoration of his faith. Karras also feels that the exorcism will make up for him not being more attentive to his mother who died and wasn't found in her NYC apartment until days later. Regan MacNeil, who by being the innocent victim of demonic possession, brought both priests together in a common case to exorcise the devil out of her body and in that way redeem themselves of their guilty consciences. The final half hour of the film "The Exorcist" is one of the most memorable as well as heart stopping chapters in movie history. Both Fathers Merrin and Karras heroically succeed is casting the devil out of Regan but at a frightful price to themselves.
"The Exorcist" is truly one of the greatest horror movies of all time even with some awful drawbacks. The dubbing of Regan's voice as that of the devil comes across like the very bad dubbing of English dialog in a Japanese monster movie. Regan's head-turning scenes in the movie are more comical then scary. The ending of the movie leaves you up in the air to who won the battle, in Regans bedroom, between good and evil?the priest or the devil?. Still if imitation is a form of success then "The Exorcist" which had hundreds of imitators over the last thirty years is undeniably one of the great, as well as influential, films of all times.