The Exorcist 4K 1973

I have long wanted to fulfill my dream and get to know the best horror movies of the last 50 years. And there are a lot of them. Good and bad, interesting and boring. And of course the most important factor - scary or not. Personally for me it's one of the main points in horror movies. I will start, perhaps, with one of the most famous horror movies of the last century "The Exorcist".

A famous actress begins to notice strange behavior in her daughter. Having learned that little Regan is possessed by a demon, she invites a priest to perform an exorcism....

I've watched the movie dozens of times, and I wouldn't say it's as perfect as everyone says it is. Still, there are a few minor flaws. And with each new viewing I find more of them. However, it's worth remembering that "The Exorcist" was made 50 years ago, but even now it looks very good. Quite possibly even better and of higher quality than many modern horror movies. So, I will start a more detailed analysis of this movie.

The first disadvantage I can call a very long acceleration of the storyline. In my opinion, a little delayed with the beginning. A very boring and overly drawn out spectacle. Already after the first half an hour of viewing I usually start to feel sleepy. Only at the very end the movie more or less speeds up and starts to produce something frightening. With a rather immodest timing in "The Exorcist" is too (in my opinion) few horror scenes. They are there, but for a horror movie that lasts more than two hours (and the director's version is even longer) it's clearly not enough. Although, it is quite possible that half a century ago the audience had enough of it. Personally, I, who have long been accustomed to the fact that in modern horror films the main action begins in the middle of the movie (or even at the very beginning), almost fell asleep while watching it. It was a bit long, but, as I think, the plot itself simply requires it.

The second disadvantage is the performance of the actors. From all of them I can single out only Jason Miller. That's who really gave his best. Played the best. But the rest of the actors and actresses did not really please me. Although it may well be because I have seen their other work in the movie, and I know that some of them (for example, Max von Sydow) can give out much more emotion, which has been repeatedly demonstrated by them in later films. But considering that this particular horror is half a century old, and that acting has now gone by the wayside in filmmaking, it's pretty much doable. However, I expected obviously more from such a cast.

And now to the pluses. Of course it is worth noting the atmospheric nature of the movie. For many horror movies it is an important factor. And some even manage to scare the audience with this very atmosphere. As for "The Exorcist", we can say that the lion's share of the movie is built on it. The dark tones, somber soundtrack, and many other factors will make you feel a little uncomfortable while watching it. A perfect balance for any horror movie.

Another plus is the fact that the movie is shot with almost no special effects. There are of course a lot of technical tricks (plastic makeup, etc.), but, again, this is not a modern horror, with computer visual effects, which only use this and that to bring the audience into horror.

I've re-watched "The Exorcist" many times and I can say that it's one of the most interesting horror movies of the 70s. The endless sequels, on the other hand, didn't really do much for me.