A masterpiece that was ahead of its time!

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2000)

I can understand why this film caused so many reactions back in 1973 now that I've seen the film myself. There are few horror films that attain to be realistic. The Exorcist is one of them and it does it in such a shocking and powerful way that even nowadays, over 25 years later, it has the ability to scare the viewer or at least make him feel very uncomfortable. The fact that the film is based on a true story increases this feeling even more.
The Exorcist is closer to perfection than almost every other movie I have seen. The acting is exceptionally good for a horror film. Especially Jason Miller (as Damien Karras) in his first feature film role does an excellent job and never loses his credibility. Linda Blair is simply amazing as Regan/the demon. Another strong point is the location (Washington D.C.) because the evil is not in a dark forest somewhere far away, it is among civilization.
State-of-the-art special effects (like the spinning head) make sure that the film doesn't get ridiculous, something that often happens when the plot is more developed than the special effects. William Friedkin, the director, demanded the best from crew and cast. Everything that wasn't exactly as he wanted it to be just wasn't used in the film (in the BBC-documentary you even learn that Friedkin threw the original soundtrack over the street (no kidding!) because he didn't like it). That's why this film became an all-time classic, because every single element was driven to perfection.
Everybody should see this film, not only fans of the genre.
My rating: 10/10