The Exorcist (1973) review – Revisiting Friedkin’s Depressive Masterpiece On 4K

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are checking out a movie frequently dubbed as the “scariest of all time” – William Friedkin’s The Exorcist from 1973. This movie just got a brand new 4K release, so what better time to revisit it than now?

A Controversial Horror Classic

When actress Chris MacNeil’s (Ellen Burstyn) daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), begins acting strangely after the pair move into a luxurious house for Chris’s new job. Chris believes that Regan may have a simple medical condition that can be treated by doctors. When it turns out, however, that Regan is getting worse and even becoming violent, Chris resorts to an altogether more drastic option for helping her child in the form of two Catholic priests.

Man, did this movie ever cause a storm on its release back in 1973? Sparking ire from the religious community and puritan audiences alike, The Exorcist is a movie whose legend has been built just as much off the screen as it was on it.

“It’s not remotely scary anymore… but if you are looking for an aesthetically different, utterly hopeless, fantastically acted and engaging story of demons and despair, you will probably really enjoy it.”

The frequent mixing of sexuality and religion was enough to raise a lot of eyebrows. But, when combined with the adorable possessed girl swearing, acting violent, and being vulgar, it was enough to send heads spinning. That’s without mentioning the blasphemous depictions of items of religious significance being used in, ahem, ways they were never intended.

Did you know that this movie was banned in the United Kingdom until the late 90s? Its cinema run was truncated due to the mass protests organised by religious leaders and community heads. When it finally made its way to home video in 1981, its shelf life was cut short by the passing of the Video Recordings Act 1984.

BBFC director James Ferman refused the 18 certificate on the grounds that the controversy would create a desire in young people to watch it, in turn corrupting their fragile little minds. We sure loved banning horror here in the UK.

Finally!

I was delighted when this movie was finally released in 1999! I still remember my best friend and me wondering how we would get our grubby hands on a copy. We certainly were not old enough and didn’t have any convincing fake ID. What we did have, however, was a lot of balls. Hell, if we could get away with buying four cans of Carling and a small bottle of vodka, this should be child’s play.

“The Exorcist wasn’t scary, we didn’t jump once… and it didn’t freak us out at all. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was a bit boring. It could never live up to the hype.”

Luckily for us, my mate just so happened to be 6 foot 3 and had a very convincing bum-fluff moustache. So we headed up to the counter at our local video rental shop and tried our luck. It worked! Not because of the height or the bum-fluff moustache. It was because I’d spent a ton of time in that shop chatting with the young lad who worked there. He liked me and was more than happy to let me break the rules.

We rushed back to my friend’s house, so eager to watch that we didn’t even wait until night-time. We threw it on his 14-inch portable television right there and then. Sat forward on the edge of our seats with eyes wide in anticipation of some serious horror fun.

This was only going to end one way, right? We were seriously disappointed. The Exorcist wasn’t scary, we didn’t jump once, it didn’t get into our heads, and it didn’t freak us out at all. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was a bit boring. It could never live up to the hype.

Still an iconic horror movie

With that being said, this is still a great movie. I can appreciate it more through adult eyes. It takes a while to get going. The first third is devoted to Chris trying to find a scientific solution to Regan’s issues. But once things pick up and the horror starts, things get grim fast.

“The heavy, brooding, almost foggy atmosphere is something many movies tried to copy and completely failed at. The Exorcist really nails the dreary, depressive horror vibe almost like no other.”

The continuous sense of dread, present throughout, is something that I couldn’t appreciate when I was younger but do now. That’s a difficult thing to achieve in horror and it works incredibly well.

Sure, it doesn’t quite meet the levels of existential dread present in most people’s everyday lives. But this movie often feels hopeless and almost like a ball and chain hanging from the viewer’s neck. The heavy, brooding, almost foggy atmosphere is something many movies tried to copy and completely failed at. The Exorcist really nails the dreary, depressive horror vibe almost like no other.

Technically hugely impressive

The thing that stands out while watching The Exorcist in 2024 is how intricately crafted and well-made the movie is. To recognise that the majority of the lighting here was organic or what was available in the house at the time is quite something. Just look at the scenes in the kitchen! There is stainless steel everywhere but not a single errant reflection from a stage light. That’s incredibly impressive.

Everything is so carefully crafted and deliberate that the limitations of the setting become the strengths of the picture. This movie was filmed in so many ways that go against convention. It makes for a horror movie that looks completely unique. Every shot is purposeful and you can tell that a tremendous amount of work went into making that the case.

Acting is fantastic. Everyone takes this movie and story incredibly seriously. Special mention has to go to the young Linda Blair. She, obviously, had a difficult shoot but is completely convincing throughout in one of horror’s most iconic performances. Ellen Burstyn gave her body for this film, suffering a bad injury in one scene, and you feel every second of her pain and grief at her situation. Jason Miller’s performance as the conflicted Father Damien Karras is captivating and completely full of nuance. Everyone is fantastic without a single exception.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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