Hocuspocus, mumbo jumbo, gasp gasp, whoa!

Rating: 4/10 (21 March 2006)

The natural world scares me enough, so I am not exactly dying for the supernatural stuff of horror flicks. I watched The Exorcist all the same because the director did some movies I really like (The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A.) and there are some very good actors in it. But, frankly, I was not very impressed.
The Exorcist tries to scare people the same way a house of horrors does in a fun fare. The story somehow very much remains on the surface. I mean, It does not seriously explore fear and its source, it does not offer any explanation for what is going on and leaves the viewer stunned and with many questions (is it the specific location or the little girl that was the prime target? what has Iraq got to do with it? whatever happened to the movie director - why did he enter Regan's room? etc. etc.) What remains is a bunch of special effects that are pretty ridiculous, not unlike The Gremlins. Val Lewton must have turned in his grave!
Somehow I feel that The Exorcist represents a chance missed. It tampers with serious matter. Exorcism actually is a used practice even today (in private circles", with disastrous results), it is really not a good method for a surefire American success story, as presented here. I was bemused by the character played by Ellen Burstyn, Regan's mother (took me quite some time to find out what her profession was and long assumed the Max von Sydow character was Regan's father). To me she represents the American pioneer spirit. There is a problem that has to be solved, so you find a solution - period! On the positive side, director Friedkin really has a great talent for capturing the feel of specific locations. Northen Iraq as well as the Georgetown are filmed in a way, almost like a documentary, that will stick in your mind for a long time (that's what I like about Friedkin's afore mentioned movies).
And one thing I know now: Never ask the devil what your mother's maiden name is. He doesn't like it.