Devil's in the details - The Exorcist (original) review
So I finally plucked up some courage - and energy - to watch this movie, and Lake Mungo, on two consecutive Saturdays. I wanted to watch The Poughkeepsie Tapes originally instead of Lake Mungo, but I had the foresight to wiki the movie first, and thought that it's not something I would want to watch with my parents and little sister around.
Obviously I think almost everyone had watched The Exorcist that made Linda Blair a star but saddled her with a permanent spinal injury. Plot-wise, I didn't have any problems with it, but I dislike the way the scenes jumped from one to another. When the scene was on Regan and her mother, and then the next second it cut to Father Karras and his mother, without any link whatsoever. Another link missing was also when the movie opened with an archeological scene in Northern Iraq. I thought I've downloaded the wrong movie! LOL
Now someone should explain this part to me. I see no discernible link from the Iraq dig to Regan's family. I mean, yes, the medallion/necklace/whatever it is, and the devil obviously, but how and why did the devil travel to Iraq and back to the US? Did someone send the thingymajig that they found during the dig to the family, that's why she got possessed? Or did her mother came back from the Middle East unwittingly bringing back an extra baggage, as it was? Am I missing something?
I find the characters are set up to be, at the least, unwavering in their faith's, and at the most, blindingly dumb. You KNOW there's a girl that might be possessed, yet you allow everyone to enter her room alone. Hadn't they heard of the buddy system by then? Better safe than sorry? Something's bound to happen whenever there was only one person in the room with Regan, as demonstrated time and again, and yet they choose to just walk in like there was nothing to it. I must have ranted at the screen multiple times, with my mum watching me amusedly.
I'm not sure if this is the 'cleaned-up' anniversary version, but the special effects are pretty okay. The scariest thing about it is the anticipatory music, and that Regan's mother's hair which wasn't even ruffled throughout the movie, even though she was subjected to telekinesis LOL The music is really curse-worthy, because I was shielding my eyes whenever it came on, and there was one time when the face of the supposed devil flashed for a second while Regan (Linda Blair's character) was having her check-up, and my heart skipped a beat.
The way Regan's face was disfigured during her possession was also making me cringe. All the boils and the wild eyes, and the projectile vomit of pea soup, eeewwww. When her head turned 180, that was painfully disgusting. When the doctor's crotch was bitten, OUCH. And DOUBLE TRIPLE OUCH goes to the scene when Regan stabbed her own vagina with the cross. *crosses legs* And when she was walking on all fours backwards, down the stairs, I rubbed my back and thank god I didn't try any gymnastics while I was younger.
The movie didn't really disappoint, until you get to the ending, which, maybe because of the influence of the times, makes me think that it's a little weak. But when you put them into context, in the year it was shown, it might be a mercy to the audience to keep the devil's demise short and immediate. And will the last rites still apply to a dying person that was possessed? What impact will it have to the devil within the priest? And it's the devil, not a demon right? Like the Lucifer, devil? Not the black-eyed demon that was easy to be banished? :) Why would it target Regan though? Why her? Why not her mother? The babysitter?
All in all, yup, pretty good movie, I can see why it's a hit in the olden days, and it can still withstand today's standards. Only wished it wasn't so long though. I got a bit bored a little in the middle, all exposition without any action. And the brief comic relief in the form of the policeman is too little, too late. But I'm still thankful I'm watching it in the comfort of my home and not in the darkness of the theatre. :)