The Exorcist (1973)

Plot: Chris (Ellen Burstyn) is an actress who notices dramatic and dangerous changes in her 12-year-old daughter, Regan's (Linda Blair) behavior. She has a seizure, shows unusual powers like enhanced strength and levitating. Doctors suspect she has a lesion in her brain. After many medical testing, nothing is found out of the ordinary and she's taken to a psychiatrist, whom she assaults. The paranormal activity continues including the bed shaking and strange noises. A doctor suggests an exorcism and Chris seeks out Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), who is a priest and psychiatrist. Father Karras doesn't believe she's possessed, until he hears her speaking English backwards. He then seeks permission from the church to perform an exorcism. Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow) is summoned to help with the exorcism. But will they be able to save Regan in time?

Review: This is one of my favorite movies and horror movies of all time. This is an adaptation of the novel, which is based on a supposedly true story about an exorcism performed in 1949. I like the plot. It's been done over and over again since its release. But what I like is that the film keeps a good balance between science and religion, although the greater majority of the viewers and just going to say she's possessed and stop all the tests and just do the exorcism.

The acting in top notch. There's no weak end. Ellen Burstyn is fantastic as Chris, who is a worried and overwhelmed mother who wants her child back. Jason Miller is fantastic as Father Karras, a priest struggling with his faith. Even though I think he's a little underused, Max von Sydow is great as Father Merrin. Linda Blair is a different story. While she is very good in the movie and carries the role well on her shoulders, there is some doubt about how much she did. When she was possessed, a voice-over actress did the demonic voice. There are some instances in the film where she had a body double, which is understandable but there are some scenes that didn't necessarily require a stunt double. So while Linda Blair did a good job, I don't think she deserves all the credit for the role of Regan because it was shared among different actors.

The film was originally released in 1973. It has been called the scariest movie of all time. Religion, a timeless subject that is basically explored throughout the entire movie, was taken much more seriously than it is today in 2011, the year I'm writing this review. So I do have a personal belief that the portrayal of religion and demonic possession during that time had an affect on the audience. Is the film scary? It absolutely is. The makeup of possessed Regan is disturbing, we have the famous pea soup vomiting scene (still gross to this day) and in the re-release we have Regan coming down the stairs like a spider, the head spinning, the bed moving. There are so many great scares. So it is the scariest movie of all time? To me, it's one of them. I can't be sure if it's the scariest movie of all time because there are many great scary movies that have been released since then. But it's without a doubt in my mind one of the scariest and most disturbing movies I've seen.

Rating: 5/5