I have a theory about 'classic' films. Now this could get ridiculous, but for the hell of it, hear me out.

For one, movies viewed well past their time period have a much different impact on a more modern audience over the viewers who would have seen this for the first time in 1973.

Now of course watching a 12 year old girl walk down the stairs ass backwards while throwing up blood can be a might unsettling for most I must agree, but I wouldn't have gone so far as to throw up all around my floor like I heard happen to some while the film was playing in '73.

For two reasons,

One: as a more modern audience,…

Alright, let's get this shit back on track...

There's really nothing like sitting alone in a big, old theatre, and wondering if you're going to make a total fool of yourself. The Exorcist, however, worms its way inside you; it provides a deep unease and an unsettling sense of horror, rather than jump scares.

I took notes throughout this viewing and I'm still not entirely sure how it actually works. It's a slow burn, certainly - the film starts in the middle east, and stays there for what one would think is far too long. We then follow two characters, separately, who don't meet up until halfway through. The titular event doesn't come until the very end. But still, the…

Trailer

When I was a kid I used to spend the majority of my time watching horror films with my Mum. It’s a well-worn story, and one that anyone who’s familiar with my reviews will know already, but back in the nineties she had a vast collection of horror films, many of which she’d taped off the television in the dead hours of the morning, and as a way of getting me to bond with her she used to let me sit down and watch them. By the time I was ten years old I’d probably seen over a hundred slashers, psychological thrillers and video nasties, and though a few of them creeped me out, I can’t say that any…

STORY
Regan McNeill is the daughter of a actress, Christine McNeill. Regan begins showing signs of possible psychosis and her mother begins to worry. It turns out Regan didn't need a psychiatrist, she needed an exorcist.

The story of The Exorcist has been replicated and copied over the years. But nothing holds a candle to the original. The reason for this is because of a few things.

The first being the story structure. The film doesn't start with Regan. It starts in Iraq. The movie sets up certain things before the audience is introduced to the main plot point.

Secondly, we have quite a bit of time to get to form an emotional connection with the girl. She is not…

Exactly four decades old this year and still The Greatest Horror Film Ever Made. A pure example of true terror. There are many horror films that will crawl underneath skin to linger or invade your nightmares to haunt but there has not been a film like The Exorcist that is an exemplary example of the genre.

William Friedkin's masterpiece has beautifully aged but what is most fascinating is its intelligence towards its subject matter. There is no doubt that The Exorcist is designed to scare the shit out of you but it brilliantly plays on our worst fears, maybe not the fears we like to admit to but the film takes advantage of our thoughts on Catholic guilt, our beliefs…