Thursday, October 22, 2015

Horror Movie Month: The Exorcist

The Exorcist is a 1973 movie directed by William Friedkin and starring Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, and Jason Miller. It is based on a novel by William Peter Blatty. Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is concerned when she notices her 12-year-old daughter (Linda Blair) exhibiting strange behavior after playing with a Ouija board. Doctors can find nothing wrong with Regan, so Chris enlists the help of Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), who agrees to perform an exorcism.

The Exorcist is considered by many to be the scariest movie ever made, and while it didn't scare me as much as I thought it would, I remember watching a DVD extra that talked about the real-life case that inspired the movie, and that scared the crap out of me. You can read about the case of Roland Doe here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcism_of_Roland_Doe

The Exorcist is a creepy movie, and I can see why it has scared so many people. All of the performances were great, and Linda Blair was incredible as young, possessed Regan...such an impressive performance for a 13-year-old. The version I watched this time was the theatrical version, but I watched a different version a few years ago that had a scene with Regan running down the stairs like a spider, and I thought it was creepier than anything in the original version of the movie. I have to say that Chris MacNeil is the most devoted mom ever...if I had been in her shoes, I would've been out the door after the whole "bed shaking and lifting off the floor" thing. I guess it's a good thing I'm never having kids. ; )

My rating: 8/10

Followed by:

Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist III
Exorcist: The Beginning


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