A girl possessed by The Devil is uncured by modern medicine and undergoes an exorcism performed by a down-on-his-faith Jesuit psychiatrist and an older, experienced missionary

Rating: 10/10 (27 June 2006)

I've recently been watching runs of this on cable and am fascinated that it no longer scares the be-jeezus out of me. Back in 1973, I went through a somewhat prolonged and superstitious period of not being able to be alone, due solely to having watched this film. But, also having seen some of it's franchise offshoots, (II-III and the prequel), I can say without a doubt that this is the best of the lot. The screenplay is tight and the production steadily builds to the final climax. Even after having watched it recently several times, and even though I know the ending, I can readily see how a newcomer might not be able to predict it, with surety. Great film --by today's standards, has an indy look and feel to it. The casting is superb -- Jason Miller left very big shoes to fill. I would LOVE to see this on a big screen again!