The Exorcist

Since this is October and to me that just means that the NFL is in full swing and that it is time for scary movies!!!!

I bought the Exorcist Anthology yesterday at lunch. It is a set that has two versions of the original film, the sequel to that which as I remember sucked a lot, the third movie which had nothing to do with either of the first two and was directed by William Peter Blatty, and the reason I bought the set....the two prequels!!!!

When the original prequel was completed the studio decided they didn't like it so they hired another director and did a rewrite and FILMED IT AGAIN!!!! The second movie hit the theaters while the first has now found its way to DVD. It intrigues me to no end when I was reading about this whole decision in Fangoria last year, why a studio would do that. I mean they have no problems putting out horrible movies now and do so on a regular basis. So why do that with this dead franchise?

It just didn't compute to me. Well soon I feel I will have an answer to that and when I told Beersnob about it he expressed interest in watching as well so I feel that we will have an answer to this baffling question.

Anyway onto The Exorcist. Everyone knows this story and either has seen the movie or heard enough about it I am not going to bother with spoilers. The story is simple, girl gets possessed, doctors are baffled, psychologists are baffled, priests are called in, girl is saved, one priest is dead the other winds up in a bit part in part three.

This movie was out when I was a toddler and yeah I can remember stuff from then. I also remember hearing about how scary this movie was and for that time in movie history, yeah I can see that it would have shocked a lot of people. But by today's standards this movie has good acting, good storylines and subplots, but scary? Not in the least. Creepy? Yeah a little bit.

Max von Sydow is the expert priest who is called in to do the exorcism. His part is brief but powerful. He is a wonderful actor and has a great screen presence. Jason Miller who plays Father Karras is actually the real star of the movie even though Linda Blair is the possessed girl and has the most demanding job. Miller is the priest who is questioning his faith and has come to a crossroads in his life. He wonders what he should do about his ailing mother and then this case is dropped into his lap.

One thing leads to another and then the climactic big finish that everyone knows.

If you haven't seen it, don't worry about it. It is an OK movie but not a great one. It was probably more known for its groundbreaking special effects and the acting of Linda Blair who does an outstanding job.

I'll get back to this when Beersnob and I have had a chance to watch the prequels!!!!