Arguably the most powerful, frightening and greatest horror film of all time - 'The Exorcist' is an unrivalled yet often imitated tale of supernatural possession. Directed by William Friedkin and adapted from William Peter Blatty's classic 1971 novel, 'The Exorcist' is one of only a handful of horror movies that lives long in the memory, mainly due to its chilling soundtrack taken from Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' and the hideous transformation of Regan McNeil (played by Linda Blair) who is taken over by a demon to such chilling effect. 'The Exorcist' is far more complex than all manner of today's extremely average possession tales, with Father Lankester Merrin, whilst in Northern Iraq, discovering an ancient amulet in the form of a terrible demon named Pazazu, which via the opening of an Ouija board sets up home in the soul and body of 12-year old McNeil who lives thousands of miles away in Washington D.C. From here on McNeil displays not only incredible strength but also a dark side resulting in her constantly swearing. All this of course is monitored in a hospital but after negative results it is believed that Regan is in fact possessed - and responsible for several accidents and murders.
To those who've not seen this shocker of a film it's quite to describe such is its icy atmosphere, but those who have succumbed to its darkness will often speak of several scenes which have become embedded into the annals of film. The rotating head, the green vomit, the rising from the bed and the horrid crucifix scene were so ahead of their time and still shocking to this day, amidst rumours of a curse on set and one or two peculiar subliminal screen flashes - 'The Exorcist' has gained a reputation that it most certainly deserves. Hard to believe that this movie wasn't shown on terrestrial television in the UK until 2001 and didn't get a proper home video release until 1999. Personally, 'The Exorcist' is way too powerful and frosty movie to sit through, and that's the reason I could never make it my number one of all time, but it's highly unlikely any other film will come close when it comes to a tale of demonic possession and hideous effects. The sequels were rather dire - especially 'The Heretic' and an unrelated Italian 'The Exorcist III' but the official third movie, entitled 'The Exorcist III' starring George C. Scott contained some frightening moments.
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