THE EXORCIST and it's SEQUELS THREAD

[The Reaper Man]

THE EXORCIST,the best horror movie of all time?
It's certainly up there.What's your opinion on this one?
What cut do you prefer?
Do you rate the sequels..?

[vincenzo]

I first saw it on a cinema re-run in the early 80's. It's still a film of tremendous power and the slowness of the first half is more than compensated by the finale. The re-edited version was appalling.

Exorcist II is absolutely absurd but I admit to having slightly grown to like it. I thought Exorcist III was an excellent film and only let down by the senseless Nicol Williamson character.

The rest should have been expelled by Max Von Sydow.

[Daemonia]

Friedkin's The Exorcist is one of my all-time favourite films. The film is positively dripping with brooding menace and still packs a punch, even today. Never thought I'd ever see the day when the BBFC approved it for home viewing, things sure have changed a lot over the past decade.

As for the sequels, Exorcist II is a bit silly, but I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as its reputation suggests. Exorcist 3 is excellent - creepy and unnerving, despite the studio interference. Dourif is outstanding and gives a career best performance. The two Exorcist prequels are missed opportunities though, but I do prefer Schrader's version over Harlin's.

[vipco]

I wouldn't call it 'one of the best' or ' a pile of piss' so I did'nt vote.

To me its nothing special.

[Zarith]

I consider it one of the best, but I doubt I would be as positive about it if I saw it today for the first time.

The Exorcist is a childhood trauma. I was at 10 or 11 when I saw it, and I was scared to death. Today the fear factor wouldn't be as high.

What I like most about The Exorcist is that it's a drama before even being a horror movie. It's real. I can feel the despair, the hysteria, the sadness. The emotions are vivid. It makes it all more disturbing.

What I don't like about it is the religious conclusion. All the satanist stuff. You know: the priest taking Satan out of the girl, becoming possessed himself, and committing suicide to destroy it... That's going too far for me. It's giving credits to the possession. A satanic possession is, for me, as silly as vampires and werewolves. It's cheap horror. Mediocre imagination.

The film would have been much better with an open conclusion. Is Regan really possessed by Satan? Or is she just delirious, schizophrenic?

[mark meakin]

It's one of the best & it was certainly the first horror blockbuster.Exorcist 2-The Heretic is heavily flawed with some great visuals & a fine Morricone score though both cuts should've been released on dvd.The Exorcist 3 is very creepy but is damaged by the OTT climax added by the studio & Paul Schrader's cut of the fourth is a vast improvement over Renny Harlin's gored up version.

[gax]

its boring, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell" and "You see what she did your cunting daughter" are classic comedy lines but the rest seems like a christian scare film,not alot you can say about part 2 xcpt omg ive never seen a worse movie,part 3 is good didn't mind part 4 either version

[loops]

Never bee na fan of this film, cant see what all the fuss is about.

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by loops

Never bee na fan of this film, cant see what all the fuss is about.

To be fair, you have to view the film in the context of the era into which it was released. In '73/'74 bad language was still relatively new to cinema, so this ferocious onslaught of mocking, blasphemous language was very shocking! Not only that, but no film previous to this had ever tackled the subject of demonic possession in such graphic detail. Polanski had previously set the benchmark in satanic horror with Rosemary's Baby, but this raised the bar to a whole new level.

Also, audiences were a lot less cynical back then and religion was still accorded a degree of respect - so The Exorcist was a real assault on those values.

But I also understand that its impact has lessened over time, although it still freaks me out every time I watch it! It's not comfortable viewing, then again, maybe I hold old-fashioned values, I'm not as hip and savvy as the younger generation that pretty much doesn't seem to believe in anything.

[The Reaper Man]

A classic of the genre Daemonia,which you've hit the nail on the head regarding the younger generation.