Well Made Movie Has Slow Pacing and Lacks Scariness

Rating: 5/10 (24 June 2006)

There are many, many, positive reviews of The Exorcist on IMDb. Apparently, people consider this movie to be the scariest ever, or the best horror ever made. Reading these glowing comments, I rented it to improve my horror movie education. I expected to be scared and entertained. The former never occurred, and the latter was only found in a handful of scenes (basically all the ones involving the little girl).
This movie is well acted, well written, and well thought-out. It just moves at an exceedingly slow pace, building up to scenes that are bizarre and entertaining but ultimately not scary. The lack of scariness is actually not a deal breaker for me, as Rosemary's Baby was hugely enjoyable without any scariness whatsoever. It's the slow, boring buildup that sinks this movie. I can't stress this enough because if you're one of those people that can't stand slow movies, then I strongly suggest you skip The Exorcist.
Some people will suggest that I didn't find this movie scary because there is something wrong with me, or my circumstances while watching the movie, rather than the movie itself. Therefore I also think it's important to mention what kind of a person I am. I'm 22, male, rational (ie. no beliefs in the supernatural), and have a BSc. I saw the movie at night with three friends. I'm not a cold person by any stretch of the imagination, but having been raised in the 90s, I may have developed an insensitivity to on screen violence contributing to my immunity to this movie. Perhaps if I were a devout Catholic, an artsy person, or someone raised in the 70s, it would have been a whole different story.
So the moral is, if you're anything like me, don't bother. If you're like me but can tolerate a slow buildup involving a lot of mild drama, you may still enjoy it for a good laugh.
~G for Gregarious