The Event Movie (Marketing Over Content)

Rating: 1/10 (4 December 1998)

Purists may enthuse about the lack of modern day special effects but what they fail to mention is that without these, The Exorcist captures all the excitement of an insurance seminar without an interlude. To dispute with the purists, not all supernatural movies are spoilt with the dabbling of special effects. With a premise not entirely different from The Exorcist, Poltergeist succeeded in enthralling an audience with the discerning use of "garish" effects and yet still managed to work up searing tension in the quieter moments.
Not that any amount of editing would have brought this decaying carcass to life but the movie would have been better served missing the entire prologue, where we were treated to Max Von Sydow ambling along dusty passageways whilst looking horrified at finding some cheap bauble from a Christmas cracker.
Without doubt, this so called masterpiece has surpassed all others in exploiting the "event movie". It seems that by succeeding in getting a film withdrawn on it's initial release, in time it can become regarded as a classic - however underwhelming it may be. Simply by throwing in a few blasphemous expletives by a minor, this movie has been hailed as an icon of the horror genre. Classic status should only be awarded to pictures which have stood the test of time. Judging by the laughter from the audience at my screening, The Exorcist has not been able to sustain any fear factor 25 years later - if it ever did at all! For those salivating over their first screening of this horror behemoth, prepare yourself for the fact that it plays about as frightening as an episode of Scooby Doo. In the case of The Exorcist (re-issue), the event is undoubtedly bigger than the movie.
Please don't consider these views solely a ranting from an upstart of the MTV generation. There are many horror movies made in the pre-Wes Craven era which have maintained classic status through the test of time and are still capable of terrifying today's audience - not just those who saw it way-back-then and still harbour fond memories. With that in mind, special message to Gus van Sant: You didn't need to waste your talents on a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. If you really wanted to challenge yourself, you could have concentrated on creating something resembling an effective chiller from this overhyped pap.