One of the top ten scariest

Rating: 9/10 (29 October 2006)

This is a great movie that will continue to scare you even after multiple viewings.It's downright unsettling the first time you see it.
A young girl,played by Linda Blair,begins to act strangely and when a myriad of medical tests fail to find a cause the thought begins to creep in that she may be possessed.
This movie is based on the very scary book of the same name by William Peter Blatty and he does a super job with the screenplay to this movie.The direction is by William Friedkin and his pacing of this movie is perfect.All the actors are great,with the exception of Blair,who is a little too cutesy and a little too hammy in some places, at least until she is possessed and then she is quite good.Jason Miller, in his first ever movie role,as the troubled priest/psychologist is superb.Miller was a very interesting man who won a Pulitzer prize and dropped dead on stage during a rehearsal for a play.
The DVD version of this movie comes with some scenes that were omitted from the theater version.The scene with the possessed girl walking down the steps upside down on her hands and feet will freak you out.I can't imagine why the original couldn't have used the scene at someplace in the movie.The gore and pea soup scenes are tame compared to some stuff we see today in movies but it is more the subtleties in this movie that will scare.A shadow,a figure behind a door or movement at a window are seen in our mind as something evil lurking nearby and we construct the scariness in our minds.
Watch this movie with all the lights out late at night and then try and sleep without wondering what is under your bed.