The Mother of ALL Possession Movies

Rating: 9/10 (26 May 2007)

I recently purchased the re-cut DVD version of this 1973 film. I had never watched the whole film (when it's appeared on TV) over the years but I had read the book long ago. Since I had no pre-conceived ideas about film content, I really enjoyed it for what it is: a thinking-man's horror movie.
Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller are excellent as the two priests who are called in to fight evil. Ellen Burstyn is properly distraught as the mother. Linda Blair, as Regan, has to be admired for the arduous task it must have been to portray the physical disintegration the 12-year-old girl goes through; she was never to repeat that kind of performance in her "career". Lee J. Cobb, as Inspector Kinderman, is the only somewhat light note in the dark proceedings.
The effects are, for their time cutting edge. The shock value has been lost slightly by the fact EVERYONE has heard about those scenes or seen still pictures or video clips of them. The FX are still effective and add to the fear and tension.
Warning: if it's even AVAILABLE, do not see Exorcist 2!