(1973)*****
The Exorcist is William Peter Blatty's 1973 screen adaptation of his 1971 novel of the same name, the novel was based on actual events in 1949 St. Louis (read here for details); http://www.prairieghosts.com/exorcist.html.
WPB combines three different scenarios into one plot. Chris MacNeil, (Ellen Burstyn) a visiting actress in Washington, D.C., notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter, Reagan, (Linda Blair).
Meanwhile, a young priest, Father Karras, (Jason Miller), at nearby Georgetown University begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness.
And, elderly priest Father Merrin, (Max von Sydow) recognizes the necessity for a show-down with an old enemy, the demon Pazuzu.
Director, William Friedkin, (The French Connection, 12 Angry Men, To Live and Die in LA), quickly establishes the existence of the evil that is to come, and unfolds the story of possession in pieces that are unfortunately easy to digest. playing upon the characters feelings of guilt and helplessness to draw the audience into the spiral.
In the words of Twisted Sister "Stay away from Captain Howdy"
13 comments:
cool, desroc! i've never seen the exorcist but it is on my list for the competition this month.
in case any of you missed it, here's jordan's exorcist review from last year.
http://horrorthon.blogspot.com/2007/10/exorcist.html
the restored version with all the extra hospital footage and the spider walk was a total blessing.
it'd be nice if this flick finally got special edition treatment. there's all kinds of extras that could be tacked onto this.
You sir, are a braver man than I.
I read the book when I was about 12 (where the hell were the kids parents?!) and saw the movie in my early teens. They both scared me so badly, I didn't even look at the picture you posted.
the spider walk scene was cool, the hospital scenes were a little much for me...the added soundtrack stuff was not needed
Ac, you've never seen The Exorcist? Good lord, woman! That needs to be a priority this Horrrorthon.
no worries jpx, it is already in the netflix queue and i should get to it mid-to-late october.
Excellent!
i just changed it to the restored version....
I stand by my excellent!
The spider walk traumatized me for life.
That traumatized my son Zeke last year Whirly. Do you know they have an action figure of that link
I haven't screened this one for the 'thon, although I've seen it. Possibly the most potent horror movie ever made.
That's interesting to hear from you Octo. I always thought that my being raised Catholic is what made this so effective (read, piss my pants frightened) with me.
I have rejected the whole shooting match, but when they get ya' young with the devil crap, it makes an impression.
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