Seen it twice, missed the boat both times

Rating: Null/10 (22 February 1999)

I do apologize. I think this movie stinks to high heaven, and that depresses me because I really like to be scared.
Problems: Linda Blair, spewing obscenities and foul liquids, is a heinous creature. But she's all that's good about this movie. The external characters barely hold my interest. And the whole debate/discussion about good and evil barely scratches the surface of anything called true discussion. Of course no one wants to believe in the existence of evil. Is that supposed to be a shock? The filmmakers seemed to think so, but I felt insulted.
Look--I know what horror is, and I'm the first one to jump on the bandwagon of chastizing people who equate scary with jumpy. I detest so-called horror films that teach the maxim of scariness being how often someone can really get you by jumping out from the closet and saying, "Boo!" Horror is a reaction, it's a mood, it's a feeling. Horror is looking at Raegan and saying, "That's Evil!" Horror is watching Rosemary of "Rosemary's Baby" realize what really has been going on with her neighbors, and just what it is they want of her. But to bring all this back to "The Exorcist", the truly horrific parts of the show are only two seconds long! For the most part, the viewer is stuck watching boring characters who have no flair, no substance, and no interesting qualities. And what of the scenes that end with poor exorcists dodging flying furniture and then never bother to tell you how the priest got out of such a situation? I do apologize, but this film is heinous. It's heinous, dull, and I really am mystified by all the attention people have given it.
Best horror film of all time? Gimme a break. Watch "Rosemary's Baby", "Alien", or "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" circa 1978 and tell me you feel the same way. "The Exorcist" is no more a classic horror film than "Street Trash". Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.