There have been many movies that have claimed to be the scariest movie ever made, but as far as I'm concerned that title still belongs to William Friedkin's adaptation of William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. Even after forty-two years, this film remains as bone chilling and terrifying as ever and has aged remarkably well.
Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn) is a successful actress currently filming a movie in Georgetown, D.C and living in a nearby house with her young daughter, Regan (played by Linda Blair). Regan begins to behave strangely and Chris grows increasingly concerned, taking her to specialist after specialist with no help. One doctor suggests an exorcism ritual might help set things right for Regan. If the child believes she is possessed, then the ritual might convince her that she is not. Chris turns to Father Karras (played by Jason Miller), a local priest that spent some time on her film set and has a background in psychology as well. He agrees to meet with Regan as a therapist but when he comes face to face with the possessed child, he is convinced he's seeing the real deal. He gathers evidence and appeals to the Catholic Church to grant an exorcism. They agree and send Father Merrin (played by Max Von Sydow) to lead the exorcism.
There is something that is just downright chilling about this film. It so masterfully builds and grows it's tension and horror that by the end it's almost unbearable. I can't think of another movie that has managed to do that so well. There is something about seeing this little girl, Regan, go from a sweet innocent girl in the beginning to turn into a total monster throughout the film, barely recognizable from the girl we saw at the beginning. Director William Friedkin manged to craft a film that somehow remains largely timeless with special effects used sparingly that still hold up incredibly well. The small details give away the time period the film was made in, it was originally released in 1973, but yet it doesn't feel overly dated. The tension, suspense and horror within the film is just as palpable today as it was then, which is no small feat either.
The film has also spawned two sequels, a prequel and countless imitators but none have come near the impact the original film had over audiences and still does today. There is something that is absolutely fearless in how they depict Regan's possession and the things the demon in her makes her do are nothing short of terrifying and shocking. Even when I rewatched it for this review I was still shocked by some of the scenes in the film. It was surprising what scenes remained burned in my brain and which ones I had completely forgotten about. Needless to say, everything I remembered was in the second half of the film when things get really crazy, except for a scene early in the film when Chris and Regan play with a Ouija board. Seriously, they mess around with a Ouija board and then wonder why they hear strange noises at night, taper candles turn into blow torches suddenly and their daughter becomes possessed? You don't mess with things you don't understand people. But it's a horror movie, so things like this are common place, I suppose.
Overall, even after all these years The Exorcist still packs a wallop for genuinely scary Halloween viewing. Of the sequels, I've only seen some of the second one, which was so nonsensical and boring I never bothered to finish it and turned me off of seeing either the third or fourth films (although I have heard the third one is actually halfways decent, so maybe someday...). As it is though, the first one is plenty for me.
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