it IS the scariest

Rating: Null/10 (10 September 2003)

and then again I might be obsessed with this movie. All i can say is that I'm 36 years old and will not watch this movie alone or at night. still, i maintain that it is my "favorite" horror film and the scariest movie i've ever seen. i first viewed this film when I was 12 years old and it was "taboo". I watched it at my best friend's house for the first time (on BETA no less) and found the sensationalism to be over the top. it was "cool" to be watching this film knowing that my parents would kill me if i asked them "can I watch THE EXORCIST"?? Years later I studied film at a liberal arts school and had the opportunity to actually discuss this movie with my peers, and from that day I found a new respect for just how frightening this movie is. and I'm not even Catholic. It's now the subtle things that make this movie so frightening--Reagan when she is being hypnotized and looks up at the doctor....the night she kills Burke Dennings and we can see her floating in her window (bet you didn't notice that one before!!...and the conversation that Karras and Merrin have together in THE VERSION YOU'VE NEVER SEEN about what it means for us to despair. I'm now reading the book for the fourth time. Like I said, I might be obsessed with this movie, but anyone who can honestly say this movie didn't scare them....well, perhaps then you aren't afraid of anything. and for that I commend you, because this movie really stays in my head.