THE EXORCIST

by Tom Meek

Upon its release, in 1973, The Exorcist altered America's cinematic landscape, igniting a Hollywood obsession with the supernatural that has yet to abate. Lauded by critics, denounced by Billy Graham, embraced by the Catholic church, it set box-office records and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (winning two, for sound and screen adaptation). Women fainted, men vomited in the aisles, and protests were staged nightly. Shot on location in Iraq and Georgetown, the film offered unassuming cinematography, innovative use of effects, and non-actors like playwright Jason Miller (in his Oscar-nominated debut as Father Damien Karras). Screen legends like Max von Sydow (the elderly exorcist of the title) and Lee J. Cobb (a crusty detective) have nothing on the astonishing pre-teen Linda Blair as Regan McNeil, a young girl whose psychotic behavior baffles doctors and drives her mother (Ellen Burstyn in a gut-wrenching performance) to seek the help of priests, who decide that Regan is possessed by a demon.

The director's cut, a collaboration between director William Friedkin and producer/writer William Peter Blatty, features a completely revamped digital sound design and 11 minutes of previously excised footage. One shocking scene, known for years among fans as "The Spider Walk," is well worth the 27-year wait. This extraordinarily moving and terrifying film has lost none of its power -- it makes the ersatz splatterfests that pass for horror movies these days look like ghoulish cartoons.