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158 of 183 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic That Transcends Time., December 9, 2000
The Exorcist has scared the living-bajeepers out of my entire family for as long as I have known. After first seeing it when I was much younger, I remember that I didn't get a good night's rest for atleast two weeks. When I told my father that I was going to see the re-release of it in the theater on Halloween night, my dad warned me and said, "Don't forget. People have fainted, thrown up and gone crazy when seeing it on big screen." And it's true. When The Exorcist was released in the early 70's, the audience had been scared out of their wits. So what is it about The Exorcist that not just gives us the chills, but literally tears into our bodies and minds and threatens the well-being of our souls? The Exorcist can be classified as "horror" because of the sentiments we receive when we realize that all medical and scientific reasons have been explored and have failed to explain 12-year old Regan's behavior. When all rational, logical explanations have failed, the mother Chris (who is an atheist) desperately turns to a Catholic priest for help. As the plot builds up to this, the audience is forced to question, "Does diabolical possession really exist?" Just the idea of demons from Hell preying upon vulnerable and inviting souls is terrifying. Not only is it terrifying, but some people might take it as an insult to their lifestyles or intelligence for it asks them to turn to a source they may have denied long ago for personal reasons: The Church. Living in the scientific/information age, many of us have ruled out phenomena that are explained by mystical powers. We outrightly and confidently declare that such things asking us to go beyond our founded knowledge, for example, the blind faith in God, miracles, the existence of spirits and demons, cannot be since our scientific progress has supported time and time again that there are other and MORE FOUNDED possibilities. Due to our scientific revolution, our skepticism has risen tremendously regarding the once-declared-"mystical" explanations.....because they've been mistaken, and they've probably been wrong all this time. Friedkin once affirmed that the reason why he made the film wasn't to scare people, unless it was to scare them back into their faith. His main intention was for people to question and return to their faith, to find room for the mystical explanations in this age where science and information reign. This re-release is actually more fitting for today than the old version because the extra minutes added include a longer focus on the psychiatric and medical tests that were performed on Regan, in the end failing to determine what was wrong with her. The doctors are literally dumbfounded, and it is when they are speechless that they realize they're limited. It is a humbling experience for both the characters and the audience. Some other visually-shocking scenes are added too - obscenities are enhanced, and the infamous "spider-walk" (they hired a contortionist) is added to satisfy the moviegoers whose motivation is to enjoy the sheer horror. (The obscenities are meant to shock viewers -- but I was disappointed to hear the younger people behind me fill up with laughter.) However, for those of us who are curious about the mysterious power behind the priests and their rite of exorcism, in this film is enclosed a deeper and more serious story about good vs. evil. Viewing this may result in a strengthening of faith. As a theological researcher, I have done extensive research on diabolical possession, and although most exorcists would say that the realism of what happens during an exorcism could never be captured on film, I'd have to say that "The Exorcist" does, in the least, capture a glimpse of it. It is good to know that it is not jacked-up to fulfill the standards of Hollywood horror, and that the stages of possession all the way to the expelling of the demon were accurate in description. (i.e., the inviting of the demon through the Ouija board, signs of infestation such as rapping on the walls and floors, poltergeist-like characteristics such as inanimate objects moving by thmselves, shaking of the bed, levitation of the possessed, the possessed speaking in an inhuman voice, exaggerated contortions of the body, throwing up pints of spit, responding belligerently to the prayers said, cuts suddenly appearing on the body seemingly from the inside out and sometimes spelling out words, the possessed having the ability to speak and understand foreign languages not priorly known, etc., etc.). Overall, a very well done revision of the original film, (writer William Peter Blatty said that he had been waiting for this version to be released for over 25 years) and a fantastic and beautiful story about faith, while exploring serious and important concepts of this age.
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