Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow, Lee J
Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran | Written by William Peter Blatty, based on his novel
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 132 minutes | Directed by William Friedkin
Many consider this to be the finest, and scariest, horror film ever made. For others, such as BBC film critic Mark Kermode, it's their favourite film of all time. But however you feel about it, The Exorcist is indisputably a brilliant piece of cinema.
Even today, The Exorcist has the power to shock – no mean feat in this era of so-called torture porn. The brilliance of this 1973 classic is not simply in its shock factor, although there is plenty of that. It is more about the tension that Friedkin slowly builds, and the atmosphere which becomes increasingly creepy.
Perhaps best known for the lurid green vomit scenes, crucifix masturbation, 360-degree rotating head and profanities uttered by the possessed girl, 12-year-old Regan (Blair), there are also some moments of extreme violence, made all the more shocking coming from a young girl. And that's probably the film's greatest enduring strength; what makes it all the more horrifying, and disturbing, is that the victim in the film is a young, innocent girl. Adding to the horror is that Regan's mother, Chris (Burstyn) is powerless to help her only child. It is also a tale of a priest, Father Damian Karras (Miller), who has to battle his own inner demons, as well as those that have taken possession of young Regan.
I first encountered the Exorcist when I read the novel when I was just 14. And my first experience of the film was at the age of 16, when myself and a group of (also underage) friends snuck into the local drive-in one night to see it, on a double bill with Friday The 13th – and you can guess which film scared us the most (we laughed our way through Friday). While it is probably not quite the best film ever made, The Exorcist is certainly one of the most effectively chilling and disturbing horror films of all time.
EXTRAS ★★★★ Both the remastered Director’s Cut (called here The Version You Haven't Seen Yet, which contains the controversial "spiderwalk" scene) and the original 1973 Theatrical Cut; audio commentaries (two by Friedkin, and one from writer Blatty); a brand-new making-of documentary, Filming Exorcist (40 minutes), which features never-before-seen footage shot on the set by cinematographer Owen Roizman; New Exorcist Locations, a 10-minute featurette on the various shooting locations of the film; New Exorcist: Different Versions, a 10-minute featurette on the various versions of the film; the 1998, BBC-produced 25th anniversary Fear of God documentary, presented by Mark Kermode (77 minutes); Interview Gallery (12 minutes); Director's Cut and Theatrical Cut trailers and TV spots.