"The Exorcist": Horror masterpiece or simply overrated

[Blue Chipper]

I gave this film two viewings at two different times; I was with my friend on the first viewing, in the day, and I was alone at night on the second. When I was with my friend, as the "scary" scenes would roll up, we couldn't help but note how incredibly laughable and underwhelming the film was, and how it was overrated. The performances seemed cheesy, and some of the scenes were just comical. However, on my second viewing, the film had a totally different effect on me. It terrified me. I wanted to cut it off half way through. Every scene was gripping.

So, here I am, with two completely different reactions to the film, not knowing my exact opinion on it. I think it's an apt time to ask: Is The Exorcist the horror treasure that many protest it to being, or does it not deserve all the praise?

 

[INDYjon22]

Hmmmm, well for one thing you must take into account when you watched the film. I remember watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original) and thinking it was rather bad, but it must be noted that we have become desensitized to violence. When the Exorcist came out it was rather ground breaking but we have seen much more violent and graphic things since. What the early audience views as shocking we find humorous because we have seen worse. That is at least something that should be noted.

As for if the Exorcist is a masterpiece or not, well I don't really know. It had a huge impact on the horror genre when it came out and on film as a whole, but I personally am not a huge fan of the movie. I respect it for what it did but will never go out of my way to watch it. I do believe from the aspect of what it did historically for film and the horror genre that it should be seen as a masterpiece but that is something that really is up for interpretation for whoever is watching it. I think you just have to base its historical value off of what it did in the time period it came out not the current one because we have seen much worse then the Exorcist since.

 

[Frozentrash75]

The Exorcist in my opinion is Horror Masterpiece i mean it's really hard to find another horror movie that has had a bigger effect on society then the Exorcist the movie is like 30 years old and it still holds up very well today just because the movie isn't all gore and fake blood doesn't mean it's not disturbing. When the exorcist was released everybody was going to church. This movie also has some of the most famous scenes in a horror movie like the girl's head spinning or coming down those stairs like a spider so in my opinion their is no doubt that The Exorcist is a Horror Masterpiece.

 

[PEP3]

You have to look at in terms of historical relevance and the timeframe in which it was released. Given the climate of the early '70s, that movie scared the pants off MILLIONS. By today's standards, much of it looks cheesy and poorly crafted, but in its heyday, it was a film that left a lingering sense of doom, malign and fear in countless theatre-goers.

 

[Phoenix]

Definitely a Horror Masterpiece but a dated one. The film was groundbreaking providing a horror that's never been seen in a film before 1973. It shocked audiences around the world, made people sick and the film was one of the first to be given an X rating and was also banned from video release for a number of years. Mostly films like that would only be films involving heavy violence and possible influence on society (ie A Clockwork Orange), this was the first by a Horror based film.

The Exorcist is an excellent film in getting chills out of you and it certainly depends on the environment you're watching it in. The key issue of why this film's effect has faded is because of two main things - weaker sequels and special effects/cgi enhancement. Unfortunately this affects most classics and has seen the boost in remakes (like Clash of the Titans recently) so the original film gets a new leash of life, but never captures the essence of what the original film gave. Since The Exorcist came out we had films like Star Wars which brought in ILM and CGI would start appearing in the late 80s/early 90s. So our views have changed greatly because where it was groundbreaking in horrors films, the special effects were outdone by newer films so where we've seen one awesome effect, the Exorcist's effect dwindles. On top of that, our views on horror and what's shocking has changed so we have become nullified to what the 1973 audiences felt, I'm not a personal horror fan because it's get too cheesey and cliches, but The Exorcist is one film I personally find to be great for a horror number which I don't think has been matched by American Cinema if I have to be honest.

So The Exorcist is a masterpiece, just one that has been dated in time because of how cinema has grown, the audiences have grown and are shocked by different things and effects have become so much more sophisticated since. So it's a masterpiece but affected by change.

 

[jmt225]

Easily a masterpiece.

Personally, I like the movie, but don't love it. However, when you see footage of COUNTLESS people passing out due to the horror depicted in the movie, that's when you realize the impact The Exorcist had. My mom went to the movies to see it when it was first released, and while she didn't past out, she said she was "seeing things" in the movie while watching. So, it got in her head. And she did witness others pass out herself, in person.

The fact of the matter is, The Exorcist became the first real mainstream horror movie. And not only did it change the genre forever, but it changed cinema forever. The flick had a ton of balls, plus unbelievable special effects for its time. You just have to respect this film, even if you aren't a huge fan of it. Bottom line.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

By the standards of many more modern horror movies, I think it's easy to see The Exorcist as being overrated. It relies more on psychological stimulation and suspense rather than the standard horror movie does, particulary today. However, you have to take into consideration the subject matter that the film deals with and the day and age in which the movie came out.

The Exorcist isn't the first horror film to deal with aspects of supernaturalism along the lines of demons and whatnot but no film had approached it in this way before. In this movie, you have a young and innocent prepubescent girl possessed by a demon that mutilates her body at various points in the movie, speaks with a menacing tone, says things that were quite shocking to hear from a girl of Linda Blair's age in the early 70s, saying things like "Fuck me, Jesus", stabbing herself in the privates with a crucafix, etc. Some of these things in and of themselves were just plain shocking to audiences.

However, you also have to take into consideration the religious beliefs of those that watched the movie. In the Bible, there are mentions of demonic possessions and many people take the Bible as literal truth. Even if they don't, many still beliefe that demonic possession is possible and does happen. In the film, the demon identifies itself as "The Devil", even though later films, and the book itself I think, name the demon as Pazzuzu. The Devil or Satan or whatever is a being that literally hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people believe exists. The villain of The Exorcist wasn't some disfigured psychopath or a mentally ******ed cannibal or some unsoppable juggernauth wearing a hockey mask while wielding a machete. The villain was a primal force of nature that many believe exists, including those that have watched The Exorcist over the years. In the minds of some of them, I'm willing to bet they said "I know that this is only a movie, but maybe something like this can really happen. Maybe it can even happen to me."

The Exorcist wasn't a movie that had a lot of blood and gore in it. Blood and gore might not necessarily be scary, depending on who you are. You might be disgusted, but being disgusted and frightened don't go hand in hand. The Exorcist is one of these movies that takes a part of who people really are, or at least some aspects of what they believe in, and uses it to generate legitimate fear.

Is it a masterpiece? I'd have to say yes overall. This was a movie that truly frightened a lot of people that have seen it. It didn't need lots of violence, it didn't need blood and gore, it didn't need some tangible villain. It used some of the deepest held beliefs that many people have, took them and turned it onto a story that people are still talking about nearly 40 years later. It got inside people's heads and stayed with them.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I'd have to agree with the majority here. It's a masterpiece for it's time and that's it.

If you're the type to be taken in by eerie music and shadows, and not like me where you can recognise those effects to the point where you can usually pre-empt what's going to happen in the following sequnce, then yeah you'll probably be scared shitless.

If you're naive enough not to believe that self mutilation and the mutilation of children doesn't happen somewhere in the world every ten minutes, then yes, you'll probably be deeply disturbed.

If you're stupid enough to believe in demons or supernatural possession of someone's consciousness, then again, you'll probably find the Exorcist to be a very powerful (yet traumatic) cinematic experience.

However, if you've watched the majority of the 'cult' horror movies and didn't even jump, and have then had your expectations ruined to the point where you can't even tell the difference between a slasher movie and a crime thriller, then no i don't think you'd appreciate 'The Exorcist' at all.

For the '70s this was probably THE horror movie to see. Now, in 2010, it's THE movie to sit and watch all the way through in order to prove to your mates that you're not a complete pussy.

For people who love 'The Exorcist', i'm not intentionally calling you stupid, or naive, or easily frightened, but i didn't see anything about this movie that made it remotely 'frightening' or 'gripping' by my standards, but then again, i'm a sick fuck! Hell, i watched the Dawn of the Dead remake in the cinema and laughed my ass off when the heroine's husband was killed by the zombie 10 year old in the first 10 minutes. Everyone else was jumping and screaming, and i was laughing. And that's a result of modern horror movies desensitizing everything. Torture and murder aren't shocking anymore.

Demons and monsters have become 'cool' instead of terrifying. You've only got to look at Vampire films. Vampire films used to be filled with sex, violence and graphic death. Now they're all filled with lovesick pretty boys and cute girls hunting for love instead of blood.

So no, i think if you found a 40 year old who'd never seen 'The Exorcist' but had watched modern day 'horror' films, then i doubt that person would see what all the fuss was about.

The exact same thing could be said about 'A Clockwork Orange'. Was banned for years and then you watch it now and ask yourself, 'what's so bad about this that it was banned for so long?'

Eventually society will become so desensitized that 'Cannibal Holocaust' will be shown alongside Saturday morning cartoons.

What was so different the 2nd time around 100B.C.? Was it simply that you were paying more attention the 2nd time and didn't have someone else ruining the suspense by talking the whole way through? What made it so terrifying? And i don't ask in order to mock, i genuinely want to know.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Maybe back when it was first released it may have been a masterpiece...but i think its completely overrated...

it just never hit me this film...im a big horror fan, but this film just never hit me...maybe back in the days it may have been a big hit...it won 2 academy awards and had 8 other nominations...it grossed a lot...$440,000,000 compared to the budget of $15,000,000...thats a huge success, especially for back then...and thats just the first one...well the first was IMO the only real success out of the lot...

anyway, i used to hear a lot about these exorcism crap...about people dying when they saw it, and for that simple reason, WELL OVERRATED!!