Essential Horror

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2012)

I have a dirty little confession to make—I never actually saw The Exorcist in its entirety until one week ago. Taking this long to see what many consider to be the horror movie to end all horror movies is a travesty; trust me, I know. Over the years I had caught bits and pieces of it on television, but for some reason I just never took the time out of my oh-so-busy schedule to sit down and watch the whole thing from start to finish.
After making a hasty decision to watch it very late one night via my Netflix Instant Queue, I found that all of the hearsay surrounding this 1973 classic is true. It's extraordinarily creepy, unsettling, and well done.
Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, a Catholic priest who moonlights as an archaeologist. It turns out that he's also one of the foremost experts on possessions and exorcisms.When Reagan, the daughter of a wealthy actress who resides in Washington D.C., is possessed by an evil spirit that claims to be none other than Satan himself, a long and winding road develops that will eventually lead a weathered old priest and a demon-possessed child to a meeting that is nothing short of bone- chilling. I'm getting a little ahead of myself, though, so let's back things up.
Reagan, a 12 year-old who lives with her mother in a Georgetown area townhouse, gradually begins to exhibit increasingly erratic (and wholly bizarre) behavior. Her mother, Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn), consults a large variety of medical professionals to try and determine what's causing the strange outbursts—which, by the way, entail sporadically cursing God and inflicting brutal physical damage on herself and others.
Part of what makes The Exorcist work so well is the realistic handling of this situation by Chris (she immediately contacts a wide variety of medical professionals). Very few people would immediately think, "Okay— my daughter is possessed" and consult religious authorities as a primary reaction. The doctors who try to treat Reagan all approach this from a very scientific, logos-oriented standpoint too; their initial diagnosis is that she has a legion on her brain that's causing the erratic and violent behavior. After undergoing a series of gruesome tests to try and identify the location of said elusive legion, the doctors find that, physiologically, she's in full working order. Frustrated and baffled at the lack of competence these physicians have displayed, Chris starts to enter panic mode. Reluctantly, one doctor eventually suggests that Reagan is the victim of supernatural influences, and, as a last resort, Chris gets in touch with a local priest by the name of Father Karras. Karras is a well-educated man who is immediately skeptical of the supposed possession of Reagan, but he agrees to visit her and assess the situation himself. After a series of harrowing encounters with demon- Reagan, Karras, with the blessing of the Catholic church, teams up with Merrin in an attempt to drive away the evil spirit.
The plot, as you've no doubt noticed, is pretty bare bones, but, like any truly scary tale regarding the paranormal, it works because it's handled with thoughtfulness and sincerity. All of the actors display a true sense of urgency in regards to the seriousness of Reagan's situation, and the acting of Blair (who, of course, was only a child at the time) is phenomenal. As Father Karras repeatedly visits and tries to learn more about who (or what) has taken over Reagan, said evil influence begins to bore into Karras' mind. Slowly, it's revealed that Karras is plagued with guilt in regards to his recently deceased mother. She passed away after he made the decision to place her in a nursing home, and Satan (or whoever is in Reagan) methodically mines that guilt until Karras is on the verge of completely losing it. The psychological horror utilized in The Exorcist is supremely scary, and this, along with many other things, helps elevate it above any other "possession" movie that's ever been made.
Added to the effect of this is the fact that The Exorcist builds tension better than almost any other horror movie. As people approach the door to Reagan's bedroom, the sense of foreboding terror that lurks just beyond what you can see is palpable—you'll literally find the hair standing up on the back of your neck as you're pleading for whichever character to just hurry up and throw the door open so you'll be able to breathe again.
And, of course, The Exorcist has many scenes that exist for no other reason than to totally freak you out. The head-turn sequence comes to mind first, and is closely followed by the stomach-turning pea soup vomit scene and the crab-walk-down-the-stairs bit that's found in the director's cut.
I feel immensely guilty myself for not having scene this until the ripe old age of 27. If you consider yourself a horror aficionado and have never seen it, then go out and rent it right now—just be prepared to keep a crucifix and a vial of holy water next to your bed after you've developed a legitimate fear of the thumping sound coming from your attic.