The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist

IMDB rate: 8,0

Genre: Possession

Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair

This hasn't been the first time that I watched The Exorcist, I've actually watched it quite a few times already.. difference is, the previous times I didn't watch it sober :). The first time I watched The Exorcist I watched it because my dad thought it was the most frightening movie he'd ever seen, although he was quite young back then. Anyway, a great reason for me to watch it, because what can be more scary than a movie of which your dads afraid of? 

I wasn't scared when I watched The Exorcist for the first time, simply because I grew up in a time where these movies were nothing compared to what I was used to. This doesn't change the fact though that The Exorcist was a great movie to watch. I must admit though that while watching The Exorcist for the first time I drank quite a bit of alcohol, making it a slightly laughable experience when Regan walks down the stairs upside down.

I watched the extended version of the movie, meaning there are a few added scenes where you can see the demon flash by. The spider walk scene is also added in this version. The spider walk scene is definitely a great addition to the movie, the only problem with it was that the scene seemed unfinished after that. There's no reaction about it whatsoever and for some reason it's the only scene where she's out of her room. The strange part of this is that she is tied to the bed the entire time, but that moment she suddenly wasn't anymore, the moment after that she was tied to the bed again. What I did like in the extended version was the statue (?) of the demon slowly appearing besides the door, it gave a very creepy vibe.

What I admire a lot about this movie is the make-up, it's pretty scary to see a little girl that messed up. What's making this more scary is the voice. The voice is not Linda Blair's own voice, but I actually hardly noticed since it's synchronized pretty good. Linda Blair plays the young Regan incredibly well. What's of course the best thing about this movie is it's dialogue, which I can imagine was pretty shocking at that time. "Your mother sucks cock in hell" is just one of these memorable quotes. Thinking that all these bizarre scenes were acted by a 12 year old makes it even more amazing.

The Exorcist is definitely not a flawless movie, it has quite a few continuity errors actually. Doesn't change the fact that it's a brilliant movie to watch, and I somewhat wish I could be there in 1973 when it was first released to feel the true terror of this movie. I think The Exorcist is an excellent movie, perhaps it's not a perfect movie for this time anymore, but I can imagine it was a jewel at the time it was being made. Loved it!

My rate: 8/10