Still the greatest horror film of all time; still unmatched in its power

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2007)

This film traumatized me like no other! I first saw it at age seven(!) and I've never been that scared in a movie since. I thought for a long time afterward that the scares came from not just the film, but my age at the time. However, even in my middle age, I watch it and the hairs on the back of my neck still stand up! Conclusion: it still works.
Amazing how all the imitators failed to heed the reasons WHY it works so well. EXORCIST is not filmed like a horror film; it's shot like a drama. The characters aren't pretty teens running from Jason. They're the upper middle-class people who live in the nice neighborhood uptown. Half of the actors (particularly those in the mental hospital scene) look like they wandered off of a documentary. Which makes the horrific scenes of possession and poltergeist phenomena that much more believable. The actors are all very natural. Ellen Burstyn as harrowed mother/actress, Chris MacNeill is the agnostic, audience-surrogate non-believer who is forced into a spiritual showdown of good vs. evil when her 12 yr. old daughter seems to be possessed by a demon.
The signs are so subtle at first (bed-shakes, etc.), it's easy for the audience to get lulled in. After MacNeill's daughter Regan seemingly pushes film director Burke Dennings from her window, "with his head turned completely around" as Detective Kinderman (played by the wonderful Lee J. Cobb) puts it, Chris soon turns to a priest for help (on the advise of her stumped doctors). Enter Jason Miller as Father Karras; a young priest haunted by the recent death of his mother (which weakens his already shaky faith). After "interviewing" the demon within Regan, Karras seeks approval to perform an exorcism. At this point, Max von Sydow as Father Merrin arrives (bookending the film; he is in the opening prologue sequence on an Iraqi archaeological dig). Together, Karras and Merrin do battle with the demon for the last 20 or so minutes of the film and (literally) all hell breaks loose.
You've no doubt seen the parodies and the rip-offs, but the exorcism scene is still one of the most powerful sequences in all of horror. Mercedes MacCambridge (as the demon 'voice') gives a heart-stopping vocal performance. But that's only part of the what this film has to offer. The build-up, the crises of faith among the leads, the potent dialogue ("I tell you that thing upstairs is not my daughter!"). All of these pieces fit together; adhered by a near documentary look that makes this movie feel like it could happen to anyone, anywhere. That's the true horror. It's NOT an abandoned carnival, or a dark castle, or a cemetery at night; it's a nice upscale home in Georgetown! The heroes are not shotgun-toting, bare-chested guys but two Jesuit priests! Whichever version you see (the original or the re-issue extended cut) be warned. Watch it alone, at night with the lights down, and you WILL be scared.
I've seen MANY horror films in my life. Many good, many not-so-good. But EXORCIST is still the gold standard. Because at it's heart, it's a solid, well-acted drama first. That element of true drama (often missing in most horror films lately) helps you invest more emotion with the characters when the film abruptly jumps into its horror scenes! After all these years, it's still the greatest horror film EVER made. And (until someone gets it right again someday) will probably remain so for a long time.