Hokum of a high order

Rating: 5/10 (11 June 2002)

Seeing "The Exorcist" again after all these years (albeit in a 'new' director's cut) only confirms what I originally thought of it - that it is hokum of a very high order and in no way to be taken seriously.

The cast act their dear little hearts out and in Max Von Sydow's case go well beyond what should be expected of them but in a film in which (very) bad language, swivelling heads and projectile vomiting amount to satanic possession and hence 'real' evil, this adds up to, well nothing more than Hollywood overkill.
Real evil is, I'm afraid, much more insidious than some clever special effects. If you 'want' to be scared by what the Devil can do to ordinary human beings look no further than "The Boys of St Vincent" (the destruction of childhood and innocence by those who profess to speak in God's name) or "Conspiracy" in which a group of Hitler's henchmen sit around over lunch and plan the extermination of an entire race while making jokes and being 'polite' and even 'nice'. (And note both of these were made for television).
So while "The Exorcist" works on a sophisticated horror movie level it is a travesty of a serious movie.