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The Exorcist Review

By Bryce Hanson on August 5, 2020 5

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This week we follow up David’s favorite “horror” movie of all time, with my favorite horror movie of all time: The Exorcist. Every time I revisit it, I’m reminded that it truly is a masterpiece.

The Exorcist Reagan close up illustration by horror movie talk podcast
@dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website.
The Exorcist Trailer

Synopsis

The Exorcist, if you don’t know, is about an exorcism of a little girl. Regan, played by Linda Blair, is the 12 year old daughter of single mother Chris MacNiel played by Ellen Burstyn. Regan starts complaining about her bed shaking at night, and then as days pass, her personality slowly changes and she starts behaving erratically.

Chris exhausts every medical and psychological avenue, and is still left hopeless as her daughter continues to get worse. Some doctors reluctantly mention Exorcism as an option.

Father Karras, played by Jason Miller, is a reluctant skeptic, but is recruited to perform an exorcism. With the help of an older more experienced exorcist, Father Merrin, played by Max von Sydow, they struggle to expel the demon or demons that are tormenting Regan.

The Exorcist Poster
The Exorcist Poster

Review of The Exorcist

The Exorcist is the center tentpole of the horror genre for me, and probably for a lot of people. It’s often at the top of best horror movies of all time lists, and for good reason. Some of the themes and scenes from this movie are still genuinely disturbing nearly 50 years after it’s release. It deals with a lot of conscience and subconscious fears about life, reality, and little girls.

A lot of the notoriety about the film comes from it’s marketing and stories of people fainting or leaving the theater. However, it doesn’t owe it’s longevity to these gimmicks, it is still held as one of the best critical and commercial successes in horror.

The special effects might not hold up to modern audiences, but everything else is timeless. The acting is great, the themes are handled maturely, and the director had an unhealthy conviction to get his vision of the story. All of these work together to create a film that has spun off a whole subgenre of exorcism and demonic children.

Score

10/10

The Exorcist

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Final Recommendation

If you are a horror fan, and want to see the original “elevated” horror movie The Exorcist is a must see.

About Bryce Hanson

I'm a big fan of horror movies because it's rare that they aren't interesting. Whether it is a straight to VOD or the latest theatrical release, there is always something to talk about. I also like to sing, wax philosophical about mythology and religion, contemplate the void, and spend time with my family. I am usually up in my head about something, so apologies if I'm looking off into the middle distance. Along with David, I am a co-founder of Horror Movie Talk.

If you want to know more about my taste in horror films, checkout my about page or listen to episode 14: "The Horrific Beginnings of Horror Movie Talk"

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Se7en Review | Horror Movie Talk says:
    September 9, 2020 at 12:01 am

    […] being used here is the same sort of approach William Friedkin employed in “The Exorcist” and Jonathan Demme in “The Silence of the Lambs.” What could become a routine […]

    Reply
  2. Hereditary Review | Horror Movie Talk says:
    October 22, 2020 at 12:34 pm

    […] that they will generally find it distasteful. This is not a jump scare horror movie. This is an Exorcist, a Rosemary’s Baby, a […]

    Reply
  3. His House Review | Horror Movie Talk | Episode 126 says:
    December 20, 2020 at 1:42 pm

    […] The Exorcist uses the terror of having an undiagnosable, severely sick child. The Shining uses Jack Nicolson. In this film, it uses the lived experiences of refugees of war torn countries and the trauma associated with it. […]

    Reply
  4. The Unholy (2021) Review | Horror Movie Talk | Episode 145 says:
    April 14, 2021 at 12:01 am

    […] one is a hard one to review for me. There are a lot of things that I like about it. I love the religious theme of good being deceived by Evil. The bones are really great in this story, however, it’s dragged […]

    Reply
  5. Poltergeist (1982) Review | Horror Movie Talk | Episode 149 says:
    May 13, 2021 at 12:08 pm

    […] the scale of Ghostbusters to Exorcist, Poltergeist definitely leans more towards Ghostbusters, but it matches the quality of both in my […]

    Reply

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