The Scariest Movie? No Way!

Rating: Null/10 (11 January 2008)

The reason why I wanted to watch 'The Exorcist' was because I heard so much about it. For me this film is slightly over-hyped. It's painfully slow and at times very boring. It may have been great for its time when films of this genre were quite limited. Personally, I didn't find it scary at all but I don't hold that against the film. There have been numerous 'horror' films that haven't scared me but which I still like because of how the concept was presented, the ideas it raised, technical aspects etc. 'The Exorcist' is not an all bad film. The characters (except that of the devil) are very well written and the acting is very good, especially that of Jason Miller, Ellen Burstyn and Max Von Sydow. The story is not bad either. On the technical side, cinematography and background score are superb. I also liked the use of lighting, darkness that create the gloomy setup. The visuals and imagery are also impressive and the special effects do not look out of date. The scenes I liked more were those between Karras and MacNeil, especially the one where they meet for the first time. The 'horror' scenes did not do much for me (although they were well shot). To sum it up, while liking so many things about it, the pacing is lethargic and I was almost dozing off at some point. Perhaps it was the time of the day and if the plot was a little tighter I may have enjoyed it more. However, all things considered, for me 'The Exorcist' is a decent flick at best. I wouldn't put it among the best films.