1001 Club - Exorcist, The (1973)

#592. The Exorcist (1973)

Why It's In The Book: "The first major blockbuster in horror movie history, this film has exerted a powerful influence on the subsequent development of the genre. Never before had a horror film been the subject of so much prerelease hype, so much gossip about postproduction strife, so much speculation as to why people of all ages would stand in line for hours to watch something reputed to induce fits of vomiting, fainting, even temporary psychosis.. The cultural impact of The Exorcist can hardly be overestimated. It challenged existing regulations specifying what was acceptable to show on the big screen. The film stole U.S. newspaper headlines away from the ongoing Watergate scandal, at least for a while, led to a detectable increase in the number of “real-life” spiritual possessions reported, and, as one critic wrote, ‘established… disgust as  mass entertainment for a large audience.’…

In an era of student protest, experimental drug use, and general questioning of authority, The Exorcist allowed viewers to take pleasure in the terrible punishment inflicted… The film not only gave rise to a slew of lesser-quality sequels, imitations, and variants on the possession theme, it also made the child with malevolent powers as dominant motif in horror cinema." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Siochembio - 10/10
"One of the scariest sequences in the entire film is found about halfway through, and has absolutely nothing to do with the exorcism. The shots of Regan in the hospital are almost unwatchable, even by today’s significantly lowered standards of gore."
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Adolytsi - 9/10
"It’s nice to see a well regarded film, one that damn near every fan of the genre will call a certified classic, and have it be everything it’s been made out to be."
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Movie Guy Steve - 9/10
"This film has become enmeshed in the vocabulary of film—the little girl’s head spinning around, swearing, and spitting pea soup, for instance, is a reference anyone can make whether or not he or she has seen the film."
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Alyson - 8/10
"Today, demonic possession movies are popping up faster than you can find a pair of priests, but they’re nowhere near the caliber of The Exorcist."
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Lindsey - 8/10
"This film skillfully combines the ancient fear of demons and possession with modern day technology and places it in an everyday setting."
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nicolas krizan - 8/10
"blasphemy and disturbed sexuality"
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Kim Wilson - 7/10
"The Exorcist was such an overwhelming success that it sparked a horror subgenre of possessed people and the resulting scenes of exorcism."
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Klaus Ming - 7/10
"Despite its faults, the film has left its mark upon popular culture."
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Overall Rating: 8/10