I'm not going to guarantee that it will scare you. - The Exorcist Reviews

What can be said about The Exorcist that hasn't been said already? Not much, probably. But here goes. Many people consider this to be the scariest horror film of all time. I would agree that does have some frightening moments. In particular, I recall the nearly subliminal images of faces, both demonic and human. However, I don't find the film that scary overall. I will explain after a brief summary of the film. For those of you who haven't seen it, The Exorcist is about demonic possession. An actress' home is the site of some strange happenings, such as the sound of rats in the attic without any rats being found. Soon, her daughter's personality begins to change. She's reaching her teen years, so I'd suspect that had something to do with it. But it gets worse...much worse. Soon, she's spewing noxious substances, speaking in tongues, and contorting her body. Again, just like a teenager..haha....hehe...well, anyway. A battery of doctors and pscyhologists cannot figure out what is wrong with her. Nothing left to do but call a priest and perform an exorcism. Which is exactly what they do. The priest determines that Satan, or perhaps one of his many minions (Adam Sandler comes to mind) has possessed the little girl. Thus, an old priest, played brilliantly by Max von Sydow, is called in to assist. He has performed an exorcism before, but he has been weakened considerably by it. In addition, he appears to have some sort of skeleton in his closet. He comes in from a Middle Eastern archeological dig, and sent to the home to do his business. The film itself is quite good. It has excellent performances from the cast, great sets and special effects, and fairly striking cinematography (I still really like the first shot of von Sydow approaching the house, seen on the poster). The story itself is somewhat interesting as well. But I still didn't find the film that scary. And here's why. I don't believe in God. Because I don't believe in God, I also don't believe in Satan. Thus, the whole possession idea strikes me as absurd. Sure, it's just a film, and I should suspend disbelief. But the story was supposedly based on actual events. And I don't buy that. Thus, I don't wholly buy into the film. If you, yourself, believe in God, then this film may very well scare the snot out of you. For my money, The Silence of the Lambs is a scarier film. One doesn't have to stretch one's imagination to think that twisted freaks live among us. Now, don't get the idea that I'm dumping on the film. I think it's very good. I've seen it many times, and I always enjoy watching it. Certainly, it was an important film in the annals of horror (though I venture to say Rosemary's Baby precedes it, as well as the Italian Giallo thrillers). Ultimately, I'm just stating that the film didn't scare me. So I'm not going to guarantee that it will scare you. If anything, your reaction to the film may reveal your own beliefs, regardless of what you thought them to be. In that respect, it is fine cinema.