A film of extraordinary depth and power

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2003)

As popular as THE EXORCIST is, in my opinion it's *underrated*.
THE EXORCIST is not just a "great horror movie"; it is one of the most morally and intellectually serious films to come out of Hollywood in the 1970s. This is why it doesn't compare to such things as NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or THE OMEN. Whatever you think of those movies, they are in the end just horror flicks, while THE EXORCIST is far more.
Unlike THE OMEN, THE EXORCIST does not take a couple of lines from the Bible and use them as the basis for goofy pseudo-theological speculations. Underlying THE EXORCIST is 3500 years of Judeo-Christian theological tradition, which the film not only respects, but treats as the Truth, without a hint of irony. This unabashed acceptance of Christianity gives THE EXORCIST a philosophical depth and coherence that few films, and even fewer horror films, can match. This is the source of the film's power, even for those who see it as merely a great horror film.
Most supernatural horror films try to make the audience believe in fairy-tale monsters: vampires, witches, zombies. THE EXORCIST makes the audience believe in the Biblical Satan, but that's not the terrifying part.
The terrifying part is God.
Satan, after all, says, `Do as thou wilt.' God says, `Take up thy cross.'
Now *that's* scary.