THE EXORCIST

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I'm not into horror films, which may explain why I had never got around to watching this classic of the genre.

I'm at a loss what to make of it. 

It's not especially scary but it is shocking, mainly due to the foul language coming out of the mouth of the schoolgirl, Regan.  

One of its strengths is that it takes all the Catholic church mumbo-jumbo seriously.  Max von Sydow does a good job of injecting gravitas into the proceedings, as Father Merrin.  In comparison modern science gets a bad rap, and it was impossible for me not to feel huge sympathy for Regan's mother (well played by Ellen Burstyn) in the hospital scenes in particular.  

Perhaps the most effective thing that director William Friedkin achieves is to create a lowkey quasi-documentary style which makes the ordeal that Regan and her mother are going through all the more horrific.

There's no denying that it's well-made and I can see why it made such an impact, even if ultimately it's not really my thing.

RATING: ✓ Cheers

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