Last month I was researching the horror genre and I came across many iconic horror movies. Every list that I found had a collection of movies based on their sensibilities of what classifies as horror and what they find to be gimmicky. However, whichever list I checked, all of them had The Exorcist (1973) in some capacity. The film is so embedded in the hearts of horror fanatics that most of the recent horror films pay homage to the William Friedkin directorial. The insurmountable success of the film forced the studio to make sequels of the film that amounted to nothing. Now, 50 years since the original film, there is a sequel in the works – The Exorcist: Believer. As Believer was going to be a direct sequel to the film, I finally checked out The Exorcist and I definitely have some thoughts.
The Exorcist Review – No Story, No Plot, No Scares!
The film begins with Azan in Iraq and sets up the tone for evil activities very well. However, what follows afterwards are a bunch of unrelated sequences. I might be scrutinized for saying this but The Exorcist has no story. We just see few characters going with their life and nothing else happens. Out of them we only feel for Father Damien because of his subplot with his mother. At the start Regan’s mother Chris, hears some sounds but we never go back there. After a while Regan just starts doing crazy things.
After which everytime we see Regan, she simply does crazier and crazier things. The stakes never get higher. Some demon has Regan and throughout the film everyone just thinks she is mentally ill and dealing with depression. I mean I can see it working in The Conjuring 2, but the face that Regan has, with the reptile eyes and cuts on her face, I don’t know how no one believes she is possessed. We don’t know anything about the demon even if he talks constantly. We don’t understand the reason for him choosing to possess Regan.
I mean The Pope’s Exorcist did a better job at that. I will give the film credit for having truly disturbing imagery like Regan’s face, the mutilated figures of Mother Mary and the one scene where Regan is hurting her privates with a cross. I mean that genuinely startled me. However, other then those fleeting moments there is NOTHING about The Exorcist which is scary. I don’t understand the need for the inspector angle at all. I mean why are there no scares set up? Seriously, Regan doesn’t even hurt anyone in any sense.
Even if it happens, it is done off screen. It might’ve been fine 50 years ago, but it definitely doesn’t work today. Which bring me to my next week…
The Exorcist Review: Might’ve Worked Then Not Now!
Director William Friedkin makes the odd choice of not including music to raise the bar of tension. I constantly felt that from a filmmaking perspective the film was unfinished as whenever something terrible does happen we don’t feel it in our gut. The moment Regan starts levitating in the air, I felt it could’ve worked so much better if music raised the stakes. I have to be clear, I’m not blaming the filmmaker, I am simply addressing the fact that cinema as a medium has evolved and the techniques and sensibilities we employ today are much more reformed then we had 50 years ago.
I also understand that all of what we have today is credit to the groundwork laid by films like The Exorcist. However, I don’t think that means we continue to ignore the problems with these films and regard them as classics. In an evolving landscape, not addressing the problems with the “classics” like The Exorcist is telling future filmmakers that mediocrity is rewarded. I understand watching such films as part of film history but not to appreciate them, rather understand how much we have evolved and how much we need to get better in the future.
I’m not saying all classics are bad but in my experience, most of them turn out to be rather underwhelming. Like the disturbing moments I mentioned above, I can imagine how much disturbing they would’ve been 50 years ago if they startled me today as well but that doesn’t make it a better film. I did like the end of the film though, it was a good set up which puts things in perspective.
Verdict
The Exorcist is not a great horror film for 2023, it might’ve been for 1973. The contribution that it has made for the horror genre is undeniable but I have to say that the film has aged poorly. I hope the upcoming sequel is better and made for the audience of today. I’ll rate The Exorcist 1.5 out of 5 stars.
The Exorcist: Believer is directed by David Gordon Green, the director behind the Halloween sequel trilogy and stars Ellen Burstyn, Olivia Marcum, Leslie Odom Jr., Jennifer Nettles and Lidya Jewett.
The Exorcist: Believer is all set to release in theatres on 6th October 2023.
If you have any questions regarding The Exorcist, feel free to ask in the comments below and stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
