The Exorcist (recut)...1973 original, 2000 version release...132 minutes...R...starring Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb and Linda Blair...written by William Peter Blatty...directed by William Friedkin
I think most people know this charming little story, which demonstrates why no one should ever play with a ouija board EVER. An actress gets to witness the transformation of her young daughter from average kid to demonically possessed creature, while a priest struggling with his faith is thrust into a spiritual battle that he has a hard time believing is even possible, and a second priest is brought back to a conflict with an old enemy that nearly killed him some 12 years ago. (*whew*) The movie is based on a best-selling novel written by William Peter Blatty, and was recut with additional footage and some digital manipulation to help tie pieces of the story together.
Let me say this statement up front: I consider this film to be a classic and a benchmark in terms of horror films. I'm not the only one, of course. The film made a box-office sensation when it was released, and is still listed on the top of various lists for best horror movies to this day. So what makes it work? Like any great movie, it's a combination of various factors.
One, the performances given by the cast are rock-solid. Even watching it now, I still find myself understanding and believing the struggles that Father Karras is going through. I buy that Regan is a normal, if possibly spoiled kid before things inevitably spiral downward. It's a clear switch between normal Regan and the thing possessing her. While the whole history of Father Merrin's previous exorcism is lightly touched on, the fear he has when he finds the ancient amulet in the Iraq dig and has his premonition is clearly visible.
Two, the writing and dialogue is sharp and mostly tight in terms of story. The original version's Iraq segment is the exception to this statement; the linkage between the Pazuzu statue and the events in Washington wasn't clear...and even though some digital imagery helps in the recut, there's a case to be made that it's still not exactly crystalline why these events are linked. (That said, I am always amused by a line Kinderman says about keeping the windows closed...drafts being a magic carpet for diseases...since Pazuzu is a demon of the Southwest wind in Assyrian/Babylonian mythology) Okay, exception noted...the rest of the story has great dialogue and moves at a steady pace.
Three, minimal soundtrack. It's one of the things that I had noted when I'd first watched the movie; that you weren't flooded over with mood music all through the movie...no buildup like is typical in a lot of horror movies. I'm not sure I can explain why, but the lack of background music makes the whole thing more effective. Again, there's a notable exception: Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", which is now inexorably tied to this movie. Even so, the music occupies only the briefest of moments on the screen.
Most of all, though, I think that what really makes this movie is its depiction of the rational impacted by the irrational...which I think is at the core of all supernatural horror. I'm not sure I've seen a better movie showing what happens when modern, rational, and intelligent people find themselves in a situation that they can't explain, can't understand, and have no real tools to deal with. The medical sequences (which get to me, mostly because I have a nasty fear of hospitals and needles) are the best example of this conflict...Regan goes through all sorts of painful medical tests and her doctors find nothing physically wrong, of course. I think it hits on the basic fear that life will always have unknowable and uncontrollable aspects, no matter how much we learn or try to exert control on the world.
Anyways, watch this movie if you haven't. (and why haven't you?) Like it, don't like it, whatever...but if you're interested at all in the genre and haven't seen this movie, you're missing a foundation block of discussion. If nothing else, see what sacred the bejeezus out of audiences in the early 70s. No time to be anything less than bold, I give this movie 5 ancient statues out of 5.
This is one of those older movies that could come across as dated upon watching it later, but doesn't. It's as scary to me at 37 as it was to me at 17, and that's saying something. Granted, I've dealt with more "things that go bump in the night" since I was a teenager. The scene that gets me the most is Regan crab walking down the stairs. That made the re-cut even creepier to me, somehow. Probably because that's one of those "gotcha!" scenes from the book that stayed with me.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you blogging again!
Yeah, I'm very glad they put that in. That was really just wrong.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, I can keep up with the blogging like I planned initially. :-)