The Exorcist

"I think I've lost my faith..." The book itself caused such a public commotion that Warner Bros snapped up the movie rights to it almost immediately. As well as the author, they chose a rising star in directing. William Friedkin. The Exorcist was everywhere in the press and on all people’s lips, mostly in a negative way. Which, as we know, is the best way of advertising. And the crowds just kept coming, the box office takings were huge. But for all the controversy, the bans, the movie theater operators’ arrests for unauthorized screenings, people fainting in the audience, moralist outrage and tales about the director terrorizing the crew at the time, they forgot about the movie as such and what it brought (not only) to the genre. The wide range of Academy nominations change nothing about that. Although in today’s world The Exorcist has aged in terms of shockingness, but it still works perfectly on the worrying basis of “what if". Chipping away at the certainty that nothing paranormal in our world exists. The five years younger, no less phenomenal Medusa Touch works with very similar “fears" of a direct encounter with the irrational. Or at least, that’s what I think... The best moments? Apart from the very well known ending, the muted dream sequence got to me most. But I was very disappointed by the absolute refusal to exploit the ingenious main musical theme. I simply can’t think why it was used so little in the movie. The Exorcist is proof that you need “just" three things for a good horror. A director with a skill for building up and gradually thickening the atmosphere, a good screenplay and, primarily, good actors. It’s a shame that such a conjunction occurs in this genre once in a blue moon. If you’re lucky. It’s good that The Exorcist at last received recognition from a filmmaking point of view. Both the movie and Friedkin certainly deserve it. (09/02/2008)

The Exorcist was obviously directed by someone who understood the film industry, the audience, and the market. At the time of filming, there was a peak of interest in the trendy satanic theme, and the audience was already accustomed to many things. One of the few remaining taboos was the connection of satanism with a child as a symbol of innocence. Within a short period, three genre films were created that successfully attempted this and gained cult film status. Alongside The Omen and Rosemary's Baby was The Exorcist. Shocked viewers held their breath as they watched the fragile girl transform into a vulgar monster full of anger. Unfortunately, for me, The Exorcist has always been a film where the prologue and the final scene work. What comes in between, which logically makes up the majority, goes over my head due to its excessive literalness. The prologue, which is unrelated to the rest of the story, is filled with sinister anticipation, tension, and a menacing premonition. Something is not right, but you still don't know where the blow will come from. In the final scene of the film, the camera focuses on the stairs in front of the house where someone had died shortly before. Through that shot, you feel an unspoken question - will the horror continue? The rest of the film plays with such open cards and is so descriptive that it simply becomes uninteresting to me. The director wants to emotionally manipulate me, but it doesn't work anymore because we don't live in the early 70s. For me, it still holds true that fear and tension are best evoked by what you cannot see and do not know. A film is the most powerful when it leaves you to wander in uncertainty. A film like The Exorcism of Emily Rose is much more attractive and impactful to me. Overall impression: 40%. (08/11/2013)

The Exorcist is a horror masterpiece that pushed its genre into dimensions that are entirely different than the current standards. The psychology of the characters and the power of the story make this film a full-fledged, nerve-racking drama that compares favourably to the best of Hitchcock’s work. (23/11/2004)

The nowadays approach to ghosts in horrors is very different from the original Exorcist. I haven’t seen anyone look at the supernatural in such a pragmatic way as in this movie in a while. The contemporary horror movies take ghosts for granted. But in this movie it wasn’t like that. It was quite the contrary; they tried their best to convince the mother of the little girl that she was just sick. Fortunately the fans will be eventually rewarded because after the series of quite confusing cuts which totally ruin what would otherwise be some quite thrilling scenes, the ending scene full of exorcism starts and it is so amazing that it has no equalin the movie industry. It might be because it was one of the first of its kind. After the awkward beginning which in its own way creates the atmosphere of something like an anti-horror it eventually becomes more than a solid experience. (26/08/2019)

Superb film, flawless horror. There’s no need to praise the details, the rating speaks for itself (I actually don’t know what I would reproach). This film didn’t feel as old as it really is – time has left a deeper mark in much younger films – The Exorcist could meet even the stricter standards of today. (21/05/2008)