Exorcist was the best of the horror series for me

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2006)

I have been a fan of horror movies since seeing my first horror movie. My first experience in the horror was my screening of the 1953 movie "HOUSE OF WAX" and was shown in 3D. I was seven years old at the time and had to beg my Mom for the opportunity to see the film, but I was successful and it made a lasting impression on me. It made me a fan of a genre that I have carried with me into my sixtieth birthday. Many enjoyable moments along the way but none compared to the first time I viewed the movie "THE EXORCIST".
There was much hoopla attached to the opening to this movie and I wondered if it would live up to its billing. I had heard the stories of how the actor depicting the director character shown in the film unexpectedly died of a heart attack during the filming, the burning down of the Chicago theater where the Premier took place. Lee J Cobb, who played the detective in the film, died right after the filming, etc, etc. This film was special, and I knew it, as a veteran of the 1950 William Castle horror films that always had a gimmick to promote its release. Who will ever forget SMELLOVISION? This was different.
My wife was six months pregnant for our first-born Christopher when this movie was released and there was a warning against viewing the movie for woman carrying child. We waited until the final showing of the initial release and traveled 45 miles to see it. We were not disappointed. This film was a landmark. Here was a horror movie that actually had a story. Directed by William Friedkin, who began his career in Chicago on WGN-TV TV in the mail room and two years later began directing live TV. The man had a talent in telling a story. In 1968 he directed his first feature film, "GOOD TIMES" starring the then very hot, Sonny and Cher. By 1971 Friedkin had directed the "THE FRENCH CONNECTION" and was highly regarded in Hollywood. The book was a critical milestone and although fictionalized by William Peter Blatty was based on a true incident, which took place in 1949 in Mt. Rainier Maryland. Prior to this book, Blatty had earned his wings as a screenwriter of comic movies including "WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR DADDY?" in 1966. Following an unsuccessful screen writing period, Blatty retired to a secluded cabin near Lake Tahoe, where he began organizing the story that would later earn him a worldwide best seller entitled "THE EXORCIST".
The pieces were in place for an extraordinary tale that would become a horror classic. "The Exorcist" exploded into the cinema history books not as a gimmicky exercise but as a thought provoking saga of the forces of good verses evil. As William Friedkin describes in the 25th Anniversary Edition, everyone interprets the story differently.
Every Halloween I view this movie and I always notice details in the story that I missed in earlier viewing. I highly recommend this movie for the folks who want to see a horror movie that does more than say BOO! Be assured that for maximum impact, it should be viewed with the lights down low and it won't hurt to view the feature "on a dark and stormy night".