Classic Horror Review: “The Exorcist” (1973)

Exorcist

Yesterday I watched The Exorcist (1973) for the very first time. A lot of you were surprised to learn that I had never seen this movie before in my life. I just knew I had to change that quickly. I am very aware of the reputation this movie has built ever since its initial release in 1973. The Exorcist was the first horror movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. That’s quite an impressive feat for a horror movie to achieve. I watched “The Version You’ve Never Seen” of The Exorcist, which was re-released in theaters in 2000 and includes 11 minutes of never before seen footage. I intend to watch the Original Theatrical Version at sometime soon.

Well, I can confirm to you that The Exorcist is easily one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. Its an excellent and classic horror movie with strong performances by Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and Jason Miller. I felt deep sympathy for the characters in this movie. William Friedkin did a brilliant job directing this movie and the cinematography really stood out. The soundtrack is superb and helps with building up the tension. There were a lot of scenes in this movie that were both frightening and memorable. I did have some problems here and there, especially with the noticeably out of place opening scene. I get that it’s a portion of the story, I just didn’t like the desert setting for a movie like this.

This movie also had its share of slow moments, but the development of the story and characters definitely made up for that. Also worth mentioning are the truly outstanding make-up effects and the brilliant suspense build up. I really wish I saw this movie at a younger age. The Exorcist is definitely a movie you need to have seen at least once in your life. It’s all around such a well crafted movie. Some of the creepy images throughout are extremely haunting. One of the best horror movies I’ve ever seen and I’m more than interested in reading the novel by William Peter Blatty at some point. Highly recommended!

–Ferdi Akkulak

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