A defining horror film...

Rating: Null/10 (22 June 1999)

What is so great about "The Exorcist" is that it combines the atmosphere and visual flare of the great old horror films and it also adds the shock effects (it was actually one of the movies that defined shock effects)of any modern horror movie for a combination that has made it about the only movie I cannot watch alone.
The theological underpinnings of the story also add to it's unsettling power. Friedkin's ground breaking approach to music and sound effects also contribute to it's power.
Perhaps the most unsettling image I can think of, in ANY movie, is the close up of Regan after the head turning sequence in the exorcism. It wasn't until later than I realized that it was 2 faces superimposed together (Eileen Deitz and depending on who who talk to Linda Blair OR Linda Blair's fake head used for the revolving shot). With the unbalanced features and the different eyes, how could it be anything else but unsettling?
About 80 to 85% of the horror movies ever made are total crap(although, it's sometimes enjoyable crap). That makes the 10 to 15% of the good and great horror movies so precious. At the top of the my list of those movies is "The Exorcist".