One of the few movies to genuinely unsettle me

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2011)

The horror genre is a genre that has been growing on me overtime, and I genuinely believe The Exorcist is a landmark of it. Not just how much it's talked about or parodied, but also its ability to unnerve and unsettle me even years later. The Exorcist is a fantastic film, both as a film of its genre and of film full-stop. The effects are superb and have held up very well, and the sound is marvellous and adds to the many startling moments. The cinematography and scenery are also incredibly well done. The macabre, obscene demonstrations of manifest evil on display still startle even now, while William Friedkin's direction is one of his best and most intelligent of his career, not just making the scares genuine but also combining these with allegorical religious subtleties. The performances also lift, Linda Blair is really quite startling, and you couldn't have had more perfect support from Max Von Sydow and Ellen Burstyn. Overall, genuinely unsettling and effective. 10/10 Bethany Cox