03/08/10 - The Exorcist

The Exorcist (1973, 122 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/

After seeing the horror montage at the Oscars (of which I appear to be one of the few people that liked) I realized I hadn't seen what is typically regarded as one of the best horror movies ever: The Exorcist. So I decided I'd check it out.

The film stars Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, an actress living in Georgetown. It turns out her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) becomes possessed by an evil spirit. Sent to help rid this spirit from the girl are Father Karras (Jason Miller) and later Father Merrin (Max von Sydow). Lee J. Cobb also plays Lt. Kinderman who is investigating a death that results from the possessed child.

I didn't really know what to expect coming into the film. I guess I expected to be terrified or something because of the acclaim the film gets. Instead, I didn't really feel much. I thought about it and I don't think I can blame this on the "aging" of the film or anything like that. I mean, the special effects that create the disturbing sequences still hold up well to this day. Maybe it's that so many of them have been parodied and spoiled for me, leaving my viewing without that surprise factor that made it so terrifying for a first time viewer.

One problem I had with this problem is that it never let me get attached to any one character. However, that's not to say the characters weren't well developed as they were. It's really just that the film jumped around on its focus and it was odd. Here's what I mean. At the beginning of the film we get the scenes where Father Merrin is at some desert tomb site. Then we jump to a focus on Chris. Then we move to focusing on Father Karras. Then Father Merrin returns to the scene, but pretty much immediately dies. Then the attention shifts back to Father Karras. All the while, Regan is in the background serving as a means to shift the attention around between the characters and to progress the plot. Overall, though, I just felt like I got a whole lot of well constructed characters but that the movie jerked around in its focus instead of building them up together. It was disjointed in a way, but still produced good characters.

The Exorcist does create many memorable scenes. It's hard to say the head spinning, the vomiting, the stairs themselves, and the iconic Exorcist arrival aren't all amazingly done. Even at the beginning there's a great "good versus evil" shot of Father Merrin staring at the evil spirit statue thing. This great aspect of The Exorcist continues throughout the whole film as it seems all the shots are well framed and well done. I don't have any problem really with The Exorcist except with how the characters are and, sadly, the lack of fear I really felt.

Overall, I gave this film a 7/10. The Exorcist wasn't as good as I was hoping. It seems discombobulated but still well done. It's a shame so many of the good parts had been spoiled for me, but in all truth they still retained their high quality. But, sadly, I just never felt tense or scared as I watched.