Day 6
The Exorcist

I distinctly remember my first viewing of The Exorcist.  Back in 1997, it was my first year of college, and I was living in a shitty upstairs apartment of a run-down duplex with my punk-rock friend, Zarrie.  I used to work at a restaurant and on my way home would rent a movie almost every night.  This one night, I decided to finally watch The Exorcist.  So, I rented a well-worn VHS and proceeded to watch this movie by myself, in my room.  Needless to say, The Exorcist  scared the living hell out of me.

The Exorcist had such an impact on me, I haven’t re-visited it since.  Most movies lose their scariness once you’ve seen them.  But every time I have thought about re-watching the film, I would talk myself out of it.  When it was re-released in theaters as the “Version You’ve Never Seen!” I skipped it because I’m not a fan of revisionist film making and didn’t think CGI belonged in The Exorcist.  It was scary enough in its original 1973 form. 

So, now The Exorcist is on Blu Ray, with both versions of the film and some extensive behind-the-scenes documentaries.  Time to revisit this film.  It’s been 13 years since I’ve seen The Exorcist and I can honestly say that it is a Horror Masterpiece.  37 years after it shocked movie audiences, it still is a frightening and shocking film, with some well written subtext about faith.

Since I haven’t revisited this film for so long, I didn’t remember any of the plot other than “little girl gets possessed, priests try to remove demon.” There’s so much going on here that I felt I was watching this for the first time.  The care and thought put into this script is rare.  The main sequences that everyone remembers doesn’t happen until the last third of the film! A majority of the film is spent on a mother dealing with the possibility of losing her daughter and a priest who is losing his faith. 

With all three plot elements in play, The Exorcist is much more than a horror film.  The time and care spent by director William Friedkin to set up this story is rare in filmmaking these days.  The Exorcist is on my short list of perfect films.  It is a masterpiece and I enjoyed it much more the second time. 

If you have never seen The Exorcist, don’t waste any more time.  It’s an absolutely beautiful, intriguing, startling and scary film that will still be relevant long after I’m gone.