The Exorcist
Something beyond comprehension is happening to a little girl on this street, in this house. A man has been called for as a last resort to try and save her. That man is The Exorcist.
Year of Release: 1973
Genre: Horror
Rated: R
Running Time: 132 minutes (2:12)
Director: William Friedkin
Cast:
Ellen Burstyn ... Chris MacNeil
Linda Blair ... Regan MacNeil
Jason Miller ... Father Damian Karras
Max von Sydow ... Father Merrin
Lee J. Cobb ... Lt. William Kinderman
Kitty Winn ... Sharon Spencer
Jack MacGowran ... Burke Dennings
William O'Malley ... Father Dyer
William Peter Blatty ... The Producer (uncredited)
Mercedes McCambridge ... Demon (voice)
Summary:
The belief in evil - and that evil can be cast out. From these two strands of faith, author William Peter Blatty and director William Friedkin wove The Exorcist, the frightening and realistic story of an innocent girl inhabited by a malevolent entity.
Academy Award winner Friedkin, who introduces the film and supervised this new video transfer from restored picture and audio elements, gets effective performances from Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow and Lee J. Cobb. The Exorcist remains, 25 years later, one of the most shocking and gripping movies ever made.
Review:
The Exorcist, the movie that reminds us exactly why you never force feed kids somethin' they don't like. When I was a kid, my babysitter never could grasp the correlation between that an the bathroom walls lookin' like a modern art gallery after lunch. You'll never guess who hates this one. Go ahead, try it. You're thinkin' the Catholics I'll bet. No way, they love it. Anything that can put the fear of Satan into people lines their collection plate an puts butts in the pew. Then those same butts put pew in the seats. Alrighty fine, you probably gave up several minutes ago anyway. Campbell's Soup hates it. Not due to bad PR or any of the usual reasons corporations start dookin' their drawers, but because the crew didn't like the effect their soup yielded on film. Thems fightin' words right there. The brand used for the movie was Anderson's Pea Soup, an to this day, the people behind Anderson's retains a certain level of pride and accomplishment at havin' made a product good enough for Linda Blair to launch all over Jason Miller's face. It's not even one of those "high road" stories like the one Mars tells about not wantin' M&Ms to be used in E.T., allowing Reese's Pieces sales to sky rocket. This is worse. This is the crew of the Exorcist lookin' you right in the eye an sayin' "this soup isn't good enough to soil Jason Miller's vestments." Now that's tension. Friedkin made a powerful enemy that day, but the man's an artist, an you've gotta respect a guy that puts what's best for the movie above all else. But anyway, I don't imagine anyone's gonna dispute the idea that The Exorcist has a great deal to teach us all. The colorful language alone is enough to lure in anyone seekin' enlightenment, but there's more to it than that, an these are just a few of the things I'd like to go over cause I learn somethin' new everytime I watch it. First, just cause somebody starts carvin' themselves a second vagina with a crucifix is no reason to call in the guy with the thread to stitch her back up. Vaginas are self healing afterall, an I'm sure all that nasty fungus growin' all over Linda's face is in no way any indication that maybe she's a little lacking in the personal hygiene area.
Second, you can yell til you're blue in the face, but if you really wanna get through to somebody so emphatically that they're reduced to bewildered silence, piss on the floor. What's left to say after you take a healthy squirt right on their shag carpeting? They're speechless, they've got nothin'. On a side note, this will work for both genders but women have the advantage of bein' able to keep their eyes locked on their adversary at all times as long as they're wearin' a dress, skirt, or night gown. Guys will always have to look away to fiddle with their belt and or zipper which weakens the effect. If you remember nothing else, remember this one. Puttin' your foot down's old an busted. Puttin' your piss down's where it's at. An third, Satan's a real drama queen. Now hopefully ole red jammies don't get bent outta shape about this, cause I'm not takin' sides here. I just call 'em like I see 'em an what I see is ole brimstone bottom gettin' squirted with a little tap water an cryin' for mama. As if that's not pathetic enough, Miller's lyin' through his priestly teeth by not even usin' real holy water on 'em an he's squealin' like a gopher in a deep fryer callin' for time out. Big weenie's squirmin' around in his night gown like a guy in a straight jacket with jock itch. This kinda behavior's not befitting the prince of darkness an I just want 'im to know that that kinda wimpery's not gonna be tolerated in this genre. Big Red needs to put down his purse an fight these priests like he's in it to win it. But where The Exorcist is even more relevant, an not only relevant, but way ahead of its time, is the lesson it teaches everyone about not feedin' the troll. Throughout the course of the movie, the Beast from south of Heaven trolls Jason Miller non stop. An even by the climax, Jason never gets his head around the fact that he's bein' screwed with so he can take a step back an get it together. Way to reinforce the Italian stereotype there, Jason. Guy can't hold his temper for nothin'. All Linda's gotta do is start talkin' 'bout Jason's mama an the guy loses his priestly manners. I mean, it gets so bad that by the end Max Von Sydow has to put 'im in time out an go try an tackle Linda on his own, an Max's roughly 124 years old in this movie an just witnessed Linda club Jason so hard he couldn't remember most of seminary afterwards. That's how off his game Jason allows himself to get. Since there's probably somebody somewhere that hasn't seen this one yet I won't ruin the ending but, suffice it to say, Linda's troll an conquer method works pretty well.
The movie begins in Iraq, where Max von Sydow's payin' all the locals two Dinar a day to dig in the desert when it's 134 degrees outside so he can find some religious artifacts. After awhile Max finds what looks to be the contents of an ancient junk drawer, an after he paws through all the old rubber bands, pennies, drained batteries an expired coupons he finds the head of a figurine that's got a real unfriendly expression on its face. Then Max heads back into town so he can take a couple little pills designed to cheat death for another day an checks outta his hotel cause he's gotta head over to the Pope's place for poker night. But on his way outta town he has to stop at some old ruins so he can look back an forth between this big nasty gargoyle statue an the head of the figurine he found an pretty quick a couple stray dogs start tearin' each other up cause in the Iraqi desert it's a dog eat dog world. Meanwhile, in Georgetown, Ellen Burstyn's writin' up her grocery list when she hears a noise like Jacob Marley's up in her attic draggin' his chains all over an goes to investigate. She can't find anything except her daughter's (Linda Blair) bedroom window hangin' wide open, so she figures a couple pigeons probably just flew in an had a fist fight on top of a chalk board or somethin' an shuts it. The next morning, Ellen gets up an argues with her butler (Karl) about the plausibility of rats in the attic an then heads over to the set of her latest movie an bickers with the director about what her motivation is. Once he explains to her that her motivation is wantin' to get the shot finished so she can get the hell outta D.C. she immediately gets it an completes the scene while a priest watches in the distance an gets all dejected when it's time to go do church stuff. Then Ellen goes home an asks Linda about her day an has to try to wrestle the dessert outta her hand all over the livin' room carpet til they've both got third degree rug burn. Elsewhere, the priest (Damian Karras) checks in on his elderly mother who's about half meshugganah an listens to Yanni on the radio all day. He tells her that if her gimpy leg's ever gonna heal she's gonna have to quit runnin' around the apartment practicin' her crossfoot spin. Meanwhile, Linda's showin' Ellen her arts'n crafts project an Ellen notices the Ouija board an has to make sure Linda ain't tryin' to raise the dead or anything unchristian like. She's not, she's just been talkin' to Jacob Marley, only when she asks Jacob if he thinks Ellen's hot he gives her the silent treatment. So Ellen tucks Linda in an asks her what she wants to do for her birthday an Linda says that either goin' sight seeing or goin' demon sounds fine to her. By now, Damian's gotten his ears to stop bleedin' from the Yiddish radio network an goes out to a bar with another priest an begs for a transfer cause D.C.'s a cesspool an his faith's gotten shakier than Elvis after 30 cups of coffee.
The next morning Ellen's P.O.'d. She's been on the phone awhile tryin' to get ahold of Linda's Dad so he can pretend he remembered it's her birthday an when that don't work she has to yell at the operator til they hang up an call the suicide hotline. Later that night, Burke (Ellen's director) calls her up at 3am to talk about the script an about that time Ellen looks over an spots Linda sleepin' next to her an Linda says the bed was shakin' like a 1973 Toronado in the back row of a drive-in theater an she couldn't get to sleep. About that time Ellen hears the noise upstairs again an wanders around in the dark til she moves her candle into a cloud of her hairspray an lights up her life, which is the exact moment Karl chooses to gloat about the empty rat traps an Ellen has to take about 17 Prozac tablets to get her blood pressure back to normal. The following day, Ellen takes Linda to the doctor's office to make sure her career's developin' at a healthy pace, only Linda starts cussin' at the doctors like Dick Cheney when they told 'im he'd reached the limit on heart transplants an then starts walkin' around the room hummin' like she's on an acid trip. So the doc has to tell Ellen that Linda's insane in the membrane an she's gonna need some Ritalin an a math tutor an that she might wanna consider some etiquette lessons too cause durin' the exam she was startin' to sound like Lawrence Tierney after he got cut off at the bar. Elsewhere, Damian's over at the insane asylum cause his mama fell down in the shower an couldn't get to her life alert bracelet an she thinks it's all Damian's fault. As you can imagine, after bein' hug raped by about ten pairs of boobs from the booby hatch an havin' his mama accuse 'im of bein' a turncoat, Damian needs to go to the gym an pound the tar out of a punchin' bag til he feels better an provide some inspiration for Sylvester Stallone. Meanwhile, Ellen's havin' a party with all kinda fancy pants debutantes an aristocrats an people with "van der" for middle names an while Burke follows Karl around accusin' 'im of bein' part of the Third Reich she chats with Father Dyer about Damian so she can find out why he always looks like he's about to grab people by the neck an twist their heads off like a Snapple cap. Dyer explains that Damian's just been in a bad mood for the last few years an that his mama died on 'im not long ago. Then Ellen an Sharon (her elder daughter) escort Burke to the door before he can finish drinkin' his weight in Old Milwaukee an so they won't have to hook the vacuum up to 'im to pump his stomach when all the sudden Linda comes downstairs an literally pisses all over their party. So Ellen has to scrub her up an put her back to bed an then goes downstairs to check on the carpet cleaning. This never woulda happened if George Hardy'd been here. You can't piss on hospitality, he won't allow it.
Then Linda starts freakin' out cause her bed's hoppin' around like a Mexican Jumpin' Bean an even after Ellen hops on they can't seem to make it stop defyin' the laws of physics. Meanwhile, Dyer goes to see Damian, only Damian's still feelin' sorry for 'imself an gettin' drunker'n Dean Martin after the first time he watched Ada. To his credit, unlike a lot of lesser men, Damian gets up the next day an goes to work, with a hangover, an stands up at the pulpit an regales the patrons with Jesus stories. Elsewhere, Linda's back at the hospital tellin' the nurses where they can go while the doc lights up a smoke in the hospital hallway so we'll know any advice he gives is completely useless. He tells her that the bed movin' part of the story really clashes with his theory so he's just gonna ignore that part an rub his chin thoughtfully for awhile til she's convinced he's intelligent. Then the nurses stick needles in Linda's carotid til she starts spewin' blood like Old Faithful an once that's finished they hook her up to an MRI machine that sounds like a Maytag appliance with a bearing goin' out. Nada, zero, her brain is hunky dory an the doc is a crock. But later that afternoon once Ellen takes Linda home, she has to call the doc up an tell 'im to get his hiney over to her house an explain how this next part's all in Linda's mind. So the doc comes in to find Linda elevatin' herself off the bed an doin' an involuntary workout routine while Friedkin stands in the corner singin' "I whip my Blair back an forth." Then Linda's neck inflates to 35lbs an she hits the doctor with Little Mac's Upper Cut of Doom an starts propositioning the rest of the entourage. Then the doc explains she's just got crazy strength an that he'd like to fart around with his test tubes some more before he concedes that his treatment's goin' nowhere. Eventually he has to, so Ellen leaves the hospital all dejected an when she gets home Linda's window's open again an all her blankets're kicked off. Ellen don't seem to get that it's HOT bein' the devil. Then Sharon comes home an Ellen yells at her a little for leavin' Linda alone, course if Ellen would just let her talk she'd be able to explain she didn't leave her alone, she left her with her alcoholic director. BIG DIFFERENCE. But she can't get a word in edgewise an they have to find out from a member of their film crew that Burke tried a triple somersault with a half twist outta Linda's window an pretty quick Linda comes down the stairs doin' the crab walk an spits about three pints of blood all over the stairs. Big show off. The next thing we see is Linda bein' hypnotized an the hypnotist asks if he can talk to the person inside her. She don't wanna let 'im out cause everytime he gets ahold of the steerin' wheel he makes an ass of her, but pretty quick he takes control anyway an he starts blowin' sauerkraut breath at everybody an tries to tear the hypnotist's junk off.
Elsewhere, Damian's doin' laps around the track so he'll be ready for the Apollo Creed fright while a detective (Kinderman) watches. Eventually he strikes up a conversation an tells Damian that Burke's head was swiveled around like a bar stool an that he doesn't see how it could happen in the fall, an he thinks it might be connected to somebody puttin' tits an a wang on the Virgin Mary statue over at the church. Then Kinderman starts askin' 'im out to a movie an he has to throw the local voodoo cult under the bus so he can get away. While this is goin' on, Linda's back in the hospital tryin' to bite everybody that gets within' dental range an startin' to look like a meth addict. Finally, the doc throws up his hands an brings up exorcism an everybody gets this "oh here we go" look on their faces. So Ellen heads home again an puts Linda back in bed, only when she does she finds a crucifix under her pillow an starts interrogatin' the staff about how it got there til Kinderman drops by. He tells Ellen he thinks Hulk Hogan must've snuck in an spun Burke's head around like a dreidel an then pitched 'im out the window cause there's no way the fall did that kinda damage to his neck. Once that's out in the open he abuses his position of authority to get her autograph an goes about his business but Ellen can't get a moment's peace cause no sooner does the door shut when Satan starts battlin' Linda for control an by the time Ellen gets upstairs there's shit flyin' around the room in every direction an Linda's usin' the crucifix to let Jesus in if you get what I'm sayin'. Then she shoves Ellen's face down into her hoochie cooch an hits her with a roundhouse right when she comes up for air an telekinetically moves a dresser in front of the door while she taunts her usin' Burke's voice. Later on, Damian comes up to Ellen on the street an after they briefly discuss Damian's cred she asks 'im where she can get in line for an exorcism. He tries to explain to her that the church is kinda embarrassed about the whole practice an they don't let it happen much anymore unless they're dead sure it'll result in positive PR an Ellen starts blubberin' til he agrees to look into it. So Damian goes to have a chat with Linda an Linda tells 'im to undo the straps so she can work that crucifix a little more since she didn't get finished the last time. But Damian tells her if she's the big D like she says she is she can do it herself an pretty quick she gets tired of Damian's questions an launches a volley of Nickelodeon slime right into his face. There's some pea soup from the soul for ya, father. Then he an Ellen have that awkward moment where you stand around waitin' for your clothes to dry after your possessed daughter vomits onto the company. Damian still ain't sure if he wants to do it, but it's not like he's got much else in his life, so he goes all NSA an starts listenin' in for clues on a tape recording of Linda an her Dad from her birthday to see if she mentioned any kinda demonic presence.
The following day, Damian goes to see Linda again an they chat like old friends for a while til the demon says it's made a cozy little nest in Linda's soul an it ain't goin' nowhere unless he's got an eviction notice. Damian's P.O.'d, an he pulls out his holy water an starts flingin' it all over Linda til she starts writhin' around like an epileptic anaconda an starts speakin' in tongues. They tried this at Guantanamo too but it never does much more than make the guy mad. Then Damian goes downstairs cause he needs a drink. No, make that a double. Fuck it, just bust the bottle over his head, that aughta take care of it. So while Damian tells her about how he totally psyched her with tap water, Ellen kills the mood by tellin' 'im she thinks Linda killed Burke, so Damian takes the recording from his session with Linda to an expert an the linguist tells 'im the tongue speak was actually English, just in reverse, an Damian gets this look on his face like he just realized he ain't been home for a week an hasn't fed his gerbil. That night, Sharon calls up Damian an tells 'im to get his holy ass over there so she can show 'im somethin' an when he arrives she takes 'im up to Linda's room an unbuttons her gown to reveal the words "help me" carved into her stomach. It's about this point that Damian realizes he's in way over his head. So the next morning he goes to the head of the church an tells 'im this girl needs 100ccs of exorcism like two weeks ago. The boss man says that's cool, but that Damian aughta take Max with 'im cause Max's done this kinda thing before when he worked with Judy Garland back in '47. So the church sends out a Western Union telegram for Max that reads "get back here pronto, shit's gettin' real out here" an the next thing we know, Max's there. Satan'll never know what hit 'im. Upon his arrival, Max tells Damian what he's gonna need in his tool box while Linda lies upstairs makin' dyin' cow noises an warns 'im about what a great psychological tactician Big D is cause he got a degree in psychology from Harvard before he started managin' Hell an once the prep talk's done, it's go time.
Satan's ready though, an the moment the priests enter the room he starts talkin' dirty to Max til Max has to tell 'im to STFU an scalds the bejezus into 'im with his vial of holy water. But the red guy weathers the storm an plants a precision Scud loogie right in Max's eye an Max has to read the biblical passages from memory til he can clear the Scud crud outta his cornea. About that time the tide starts to turn an hot pants starts writhin' around like he's bein' forced to watch The Wiggles an pretty quick he makes the bed start levitatin' an jostles it all around since it's the only way he can fluff his pillows with his hands restrained. Once he comes back down to earth Max starts drawin' crosses all over his face til he starts seepin' Chernobyl tap water all over an laughin' like a redneck at the Hee Haw reunion special. About that time the wall starts developin' more cracks than a plumber parade an Linda's head starts doin' the around the world an Satan starts trollin' Damian about his dead mama an pretty quick the straps snap off like break away panties an Linda starts defyin' the law of gravity. Eventually, Damian an Max are able to talk her down, but when Damian goes to restrain her again she clubs 'im with a double axe handle an pretty quick the room starts shakin' like Paula Deen's neck in a high wind til both Damian an Max are on the floor lookin' up at the guy that's ahead on points. But the exorcism's took a lot outta Pitch up to this point too, so Damian tucks Linda in so he an Max can go take a smoke break. God's chosen ones're really gettin' their holy hineys handed to 'em at this point, an they've gotta regroup. After a short break, Damian heads back in, alone, an starts puttin' the covers back over Linda cause no matter what she just won't quit kickin' 'em off. But then the deceiver starts deceivin' Damian again with his old Italian woman accent til he starts goin' scooters while Max listens to the whole thing from the next room an gets this look on his face like "I'm too old for this shit" as he gets up an takes Damian outta the game. Max's had it. He's goin' straight up Mad Max now, an he starts pourin' holy water all over Mammon's mammaries while Damian sits downstairs with his head in his hands lookin' like he was just in a funeral procession for his mama an a sink hole opened up in the road an swallowed the rest of his family. What a day this guy's havin'. Finally, Damian realizes he left the old man alone with father of all sins an pulls his head outta his ass an heads upstairs with every intention of goin' biblical on Beezelbub's unchristian can.
Alrighty, this is another one where there's nothing new to be said, and one of those titles from the 70s that will always be referenced immediately in the 70s vs. 80s horror decade discussion. I'm an 80s guy. 70s fans generally cite the Hammer updates of classic horror movies as a big part of their argument, but it's the seminal titles like the Exorcist that force the big 80s fans to respect and understand where they're coming from. Fact is, even though I prefer the 80s, my two favorite movies are both from the 70s; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Phantasm (1979). For me, the 80s will always win just due to the sheer volume, but the truly great horror movies from the 70s have a purity which is often unmatched by even the heavy hitters from the 80s, and The Exorcist is not only a prime example, but one of my all time favorites. One of the many reasons for its success is the rather unorthodox methods of William Friedkin. Among other things, during the shooting of the film, he got his stunt coordinators to get a little rough with both Burstyn and Blair during scenes in which they were in harnesses and injured both of them. In fact, the crucifix masturbation scene in which Burstyn is knocked to the floor that was used in the film features a genuine scream as Burstyn lands on her tailbone. Blair also suffered a back injury from the harness during the scene where Friedkin's whippin' his Blair back an forth. He was also reported to have fired a gun within close range of Jason Miller in an attempt to get the proper emotion for one of his scenes, and also slapped William O' Malley before the big climax scene for the same reason. Probably not what you'd call professional, though if you look at some of the all time great horror movies, crazy stuff often happened on set. You can question his ethics, and whether his tactics were really necessary, but you cannot question the results. Of course, one of the big appeals of The Exorcist is the "based on a true story" angle, which is one that's always going to put additional butts in the seats. According to at least one of the priests that were on-site during the original events, the movie is said to be fairly accurate, with respect to what the priests recorded. They of course changed the gender of the child from male to female, for no reason other than the fact that the audience will always be more sympathetic to a female victim. But according to the priests, most of the other stuff actually happened. The projectile vomiting, the mega loogies, the kid speaking in a language he'd never been exposed to prior, and words appearing on the kid's body as if they'd been scratched from within. This is of course if you believe the story; either way, finding out that the whole story was a hoax wouldn't do much to diminish the effectiveness of the movie.
Okay, lets put on our face shields an see what splatters onto 'em. The plot, in all actuality, isn't the least bit original. It's propped up greatly by the "based on a true story" suggestion, and otherwise isn't really anything new. That said, it takes a tired old angle and executes it better than any other movie in history has been able to, and ultimately, that trumps originality every time. You don't have to do something new, but if you're going to work a tired angle, you've really gotta blow all the other contenders away to get noticed, and they did that. Another reason why it's so successful is the shock factor of the dialog. You didn't hear that kinda language in a movie in the 1970s, period. Let alone coming out of the mouth of what audiences at the time believed to be a child. Most of the *really* nasty stuff is Mercedes McCambridge, who gave up sobriety to whiskey her voice up just for the sake of fine cinema. Now that's dedication. The acting, unlike most horror movies, is a big part of what makes The Exorcist so good. Ellen Burstyn steals the show as the stressed out Mom of Linda Blair, but Jason Miller is also very good as Father Damian "shaky faith" Karras, and Max "take no prisoners" Sydow is equally enjoyable as the geriatric Father Merrin. But Mercedes McCambridge I gotta say was robbed, even if it was she that robbed herself. She initially didn't want credit for the role. You can imagine, with the kind of dialog she was spittin' out at the time, it might cost you a few jobs. Course, once she realized the movie was a huge hit, she wanted everyone to know it was her. So on the one hand, you kinda feel bad for her, an on the other hand; no guts, no glory. Anyway, she was probably second only to Burstyn as far as acting contributions to the movie's success. Damn good acting, to say the least. Here's who matters and why, and do keep in mind that many of these people were goodie two shoes that didn't normally associate with this genre up to that point in their careers: Ellen Burstyn (The Wicker Man 2006, Red Dragon), Max von Sydow (The Wolfman 2010, Needful Things, Dune, Dreamscape, Death Watch), Kitty Winn (Mirrors, The Exorcist II, The House that Would Not Die), Jack MacGowran (The Fearless Vampire Killers, Night Creatures, The Giant Behemoth), Jason Miller (The Exorcist III, The Henderson Monster, Vampire), Linda Blair (Scream, Repossessed, The Chilling, Grotesque, Witchery, Hell Night, The Exorcist II), Barton Heyman (Lets Scare Jessica to Death), Rudolph Schundler (Suspiria), Robert Symonds (Mandroid, C.H.U.D. II, Superstition, 'Demon, Demon'), Donna Mitchell (Psycho IV), Robert Gerringer (The Sentinel), Mary Boylon (Alice Sweet Alice), Dick Callinan (Island Claws), Eileen Dietz (Demon Legacy, Snow White: A Deadly Summer, Halloween II 2009, Creepshow III, Exorcism, Freeway Maniac, The Clonus Horror, Helter Skelter 1976), John Mahon (Zodiac, The People Under the Stairs).
The special effects are amazing. Not amazing "for their time", amazing for any time. The make up on Linda Blair is nothing short of grotesque, and even though most of what she was upchuckin' was nothing you can't find in your kitchen cabinet, it works. Equally impressive is all the make up that had to be applied to Max von Sydow. Max was only 44 at the time, an they've got 'im lookin' like he's on a day pass from the nursing home. Pretty impressive, but that's what a 10 million dollar budget in 1973 dollars'll do for you. The spider walk scene of course, which in this day and age is what everyone thinks of when they think of The Exorcist, originally didn't make the cut because there was just no way to hide the wires attached to the stunt double. Fortunately, and this is probably the biggest contribution that modern computer technology has been able to contribute to any movie, 35 years after the fact, those wires were pretty easy to edit out, and that scene alone adds a solid 7% to the movie's total score, as it's probably the freakiest thing put to film to date. Another interesting "special effect" was the refrigerated room the crew shot in during the exorcism sequences. I've read the room was anywhere from -10 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is pretty damn chilly just to get that effect. But top tier movies like this one tend to have a lot of little things like that that they didn't have to do, but chose to do because it gives the scene even more atmosphere than it already had, which was no paltry sum to begin with. Spectacular special effects work, really well done. The shooting locations, you'd have to say are probably the low point, just due to the nature of the plot. There's nothing wrong with them, there's just very little that stands out, short of the now iconic staircase outside Linda Blair's bedroom window. And that's strictly due to the events surrounding them, not because they add anything on their own. Certainly nothing wrong with any of the locations, just nothing special. The soundtrack is still another bullseye. There's not one note of music in this movie that isn't generating atmosphere, but not only that, they knew precisely when to use music and when not to. Music can ruin a scene just as easily as it can solidify it, and many of the more chilling moments in the movie are made all the more chilling due to the dead silence. Anyway, I guess it's pretty good. Maybe you've heard of it. It's a classic, in the top 10 all time greatest horror movies ever made, its almost as good as Part II is bad, check it out or go to Hell.
Rating: 94%