Terrific Performances and Direction

Rating: Null/10 (3 October 2012)

The Exorcist (1973)
*** (out of 4)
William Friedkin's classic about a concerned mother (Ellen Burstyn) who goes to a young priest (Jason Miller) after fearing her daughter (Linda Blair) has become possessed by a demon. There's no question about it but THE EXORCIST is certainly one of the most loved horror films ever made. To me, technically, it's one of the most flawless dramas from this era and I think this is where it's strongest material comes from. The film perfectly captures a mother's horror of witnessing something attacking her daughter and at first no one really knows what it is but her fears keep getting worse and worse with each new attack. I think this is a perfect set-up for some real-life drama and director Friedkin does a tremendous job here. Of course, when the demonic stuff begins to happen is when most viewers will turn away from being so frightened or perhaps they won't even bother watching because it scares them so badly. For me, the film has never scared me. I'm not sure what it is but perhaps it's due to my belief that good defeats evil. I'm not sure but it's always amazing to me that I can enjoy something so much yet it's main "thing" is something that doesn't work on me. In some ways I see the demonic stuff as somewhat more exploitation than anything else. I mean, the profanity, the self harming and other vile things that happen were obviously going to shock a mainstream crowd in 1973. These things just really don't effect me and I honestly think they're the weakest stuff in the film. Even during the exorcism some of the most striking moments aren't exactly what we're seeing happen but instead the more psychological stuff that the demons words are having on the priest. With that said, there's no question that the film contains some of the greatest performances you're going to see from a film like this. Burstyn is remarkably strong in the role of the mother and Miller is also terrific as the troubled priest. Blair perfectly fits the part of the loving child but the real key to her is once she starts to become possessed. Max von Sydow and Lee J. Cobb are such strong, fierce character actors that seeing them in a film like this just gives the movie more strength.
I will say that the "Director's Cut," as it's now called, is a lot weaker than the original version people saw in 1973. The infamous spider walk might have been a good idea on paper but seeing it here just makes me certain it should have remained on the editing room floor. The various Satanic images that pop up throughout the movie are more distracting than anything else. I also didn't care for the added ending or the extra scenes involving Regan's doctors. In reality, I'd say nothing added to the picture helped it.