Review of The Exorcist (1973) by Don H — 28 Jul 2018

William Friedkin's 1973 film about a little girl who is possessed by a demonic spirit is hailed as being an American classic by many film critic and movie buffs alike.

I am not one of those who sees this film as being any thing other than your everyday horror movie, that Hollywood spits out about three times per year.

The problem with "The Exorcist" isn't that it's not scary enough, it certainly is. The problem isn't the acting, because the film has very good performances from Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Lee J Cobb and of course the demon herself, Linda Blair. The problem is the fact, that like so many other films in this genre, the director seems to care more about scaring people than he does making a great movie, which in my opinion he fails to do so here.

The characters in this movie seem like nothing more than pawns the director is using to induce shock on the audience. And I found that to be distasteful on Friedkin's part.

I felt that some of the things these actors had to do, especially the young Linda Blair to be borderline sick. And there's no one to blame for that other than the director.

I have a high tolerance for sex and violence in the movies, but one scene in this film crossed my line. It's the scene where the demon forces this young child to have sex with a crucifix, and in that same scene the demon tries to force her mother to perform oral sex on her. To ask any actor to perform a scene like that is bad enough, to ask a child actor to perform a scene like that, is almost perverted.

This film left a bad taste in my mouth, because of the director's lack of care for his characters and his poor treatment of these actors.

"The Exorcist" is an experience, but not a pleasant one.