CAST AND CREDITS: STARRING: Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller, Ellen Burstyn, Kitty Winn , Lee J Cobb DIRECTED BY: William Friedkin WRITTEN BY: William Peter Blatty PRODUCED BY: William Peter Blatty DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner Bros. RATING USA... Rated R for strong language and disturbing images RATING CANADA... Rated R for strong language, sexual content and extremely disturbing elements.

Horror

This review is not of the 1973 version of THE EXORCIST but of the new re-release of the version you've never seen (2000). Here's the press release. "With a digitally remastered soundtrack including new sound effects and new music, along with never-before-seen restored footage, THE EXORCIST: THE VERSION YOU'VE NEVER SEEN pays tribute to this terrifying film, originally released on Christmas in 1973. It tells the story of Regan (Linda Blair), a little girl who becomes possessed by the devil and undergoes a violent exorcism conducted by the priest (Max Von Sydow). A blood-chilling film, directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, this enhanced restoration of the original will thrill audiences anew." Okay that's the end of the press release. Chances are that almost everyone has seen the original 1973 version, the good news is that if you see it again it will still scare the hell out of you. The film has not really lost any of it's punch after 27 years; I guess that is what makes a classic and THE EXORCIST is such a film. I really thought that the scenes where Regan brings up the pea soup like substance would seem silly by today's standards, but, I was wrong it is still effective. Lots of warnings about the language, it has definitely been brought up to date. Regan's language when she is possessed is much more vile and disgusting. She is what makes this film so terrifying. To see a little girl doing and saying what she does especially with the crucifix will still send the chills just rolling up and down your spine. Heck, just writiing about it sends chills down my spine. Either that or it's cold in here. Needless to say you really should not allow young children to see this film. "You're telling me I should take my daughter to a witch doctor, is that it?" The novelist William Peter Blatty wrote the book after being inspired by an exorcism of a 14 year old boy in Maryland. It would be interesting to read about this real life exorcism but I have never found anything about it. I certainly hope it was nothing like the movie, that's for sure. The studio changed some music and dialogue but to give you some extra chills and to make you feel uncomfortable while watching, they added almost subliminal cuts of demon like faces. They appear behind doors and other places where, we the audience, can see them for the briefest of time, but the characters do not see them. They also added the infamous spider walking scene that was edited out from the original release. Apparently, during test screenings in 1973, audiences were so terrified by that scene that they decided to take it out. The scene is too short, as far as I am concerned. Though it was an excellent, short scene, it was no where near as terrifying as I had expected. Here is a brief description of the story. The film open's in Northern Iraq at an archeological dig. Father Merrin played by Max Von Sydow has discovered an ancient carved demon statue which we will not see until later in the film in one of the most powerful scenes in the film. This opening scene has the statue on one side of the screen facing Father Merrin on the opposite side. This scene instills the film with a sense of foreboding but also foreshadows the upcoming battle where he will face off against this terror for he is THE EXORCIST. The story switches to the United States where a famous actress played by Ellen Burstyn and her daughter Regan are about to become the pawns in a battle between good and evil. Regan becomes possessed by a demon. After doctors perform countless tests and find nothing wrong with Regan, her mother Chris MacNeil finally begs the help of a troubled priest, Father Karras, played by Jason Miller. Karras has recently lost his mother whom he feels died because he did not do enough for her. After much testing he realizes that the only way to help Regan is to call for an exorcism. Father Merrin is brought in as he is the only priest in the area who has ever performed an exorcism. Of course the story now moves quickly to it's terrifying conclusion. THE EXORCIST is a film that goes down deep into our primal fears of the unseen supernatural todraw the terror out of us. No matter what we say about spirituality we all fear the possiblity of eternal damnation so this feeling is what makes us nervous and fearful. The characters all have their weaknesses as we find out. They only have to keep them in check to survive the battle. Karrars is an educated man who specializes in psychiatric therapy, medicine and real life ailments, but he is haunted by the guilt he feels for his mother's death. This battle is really about him and his last chance to rediscover his faith. One of the other pleasant things about the film is that I really enjoyed hearing Tublar Bells by Mike Oldfield again. It still chills. If you eat popcorn during this film then make sure you hang on to it because it may shoot out of your hands during the scary scenes.

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