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The Exorcist (1973)

tomatometer

85

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 47
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 7

The Exorcist rides its supernatural theme to magical effect, with remarkable special effects and an eerie atmosphere, resulting in one of the scariest films of all time.

75

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 2

The Exorcist rides its supernatural theme to magical effect, with remarkable special effects and an eerie atmosphere, resulting in one of the scariest films of all time.

audience

83

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 380,690

My Rating

Movie Info

Novelist William Peter Blatty based his best-seller on the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism in the United States. Blatty transformed the little boy in the 1949 incident into a little girl named Regan, played by 14-year-old Linda Blair. Suddenly prone to fits and bizarre behavior, Regan proves quite a handful for her actress-mother, Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn, although Blatty reportedly based the character on his next-door neighbor Shirley MacLaine). When Regan gets completely

R, 2 hr. 2 min.

Classics, Horror

Dec 1, 1998

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (47) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (7) | DVD (9)

Some movies aren't just movies. They're closer to voodoo -- they channel currents larger and more powerful than themselves.

September 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment (1)
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Friedkin and Blatty seem to care nothing for their characters as people, only as victims-props to be abused, hurled about the room, beaten and, in one case, brutally murdered.

August 24, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comments (11)
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Exorcist is not an unintelligently put-together film, which makes one all the more impatient with it.

March 19, 2008 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comments (13)
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

If movies are, among other things, opportunities for escapism, then The Exorcist is one of the most powerful ever made.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's something elemental about The Exorcist.

September 21, 2007 Comment
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There is nothing dated about The Exorcist, which remains an effective excursion into demonic possession more than a quarter of a century after it was first unveiled to the public.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's something new to be discovered in every viewing of The Exorcist.

July 28, 2011 Full Review Source: Film Blather | Comment
Film Blather

The Exorcist is likely just as disturbing today as it was 25 years ago.

February 28, 2011 Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | Comment
Cinemaphile.org

But, is it just me, or is Karras's the only story that's really compelling?

February 15, 2011 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | Comment
Film Freak Central

It just never gets un-scary. That's the best part.

January 9, 2011 Full Review Source: FEARnet | Comment
FEARnet

Trendsetting shocker about a possessed child.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

An unforgettable horror film that doesn't just get under my skin - it stays there.

October 15, 2010 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment
IGN DVD

Its power lies in the slow and gradual way it pulls us in, coupled with director William Friedkin's ability to render every aspect utterly plausible.

October 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | Comment

The behind the scenes documentary is great and reveals how the use of practical, on set effects added to the success of the film.

October 11, 2010 Full Review Source: KPBS.org | Comment
KPBS.org

The Blu-ray transfers look and sound better than ever, and a good, scary movie remains a good, scary movie no matter what the edition. (Blu-ray Book)

October 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...the movie is right up there with the cinema's better chillers.

October 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

If it failed on all other levels (which it doesn't), The Exorcist would nevertheless be an excellent family horror story.

September 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

From the day of its first release in 1973, "The Exorcist: was the greatest horror film ever made, and it remains so to this day.

August 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | Comment
Cinefantastique

... a crude religious exploitation piece (although poor Linda Blair - required to urinate, swear and vomit on cue - is exploited more than anything else).

August 16, 2010 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comments (9)
LarsenOnFilm

The overall film has a well-developed sense of atmosphere that most films of today are missing.

November 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Exorcist

This is truly one of the most disturbing and frightening movies ever made, especially for a person of faith.

August 27, 2011
Joe McCall

Super Reviewer

I was fortunate enough to catch The Exorcist: Extended Director's Cut (formerly The Version You've Never Seen) on the big screen and I'm lucky to have the great blu-ray book edition which includes both versions of the film. I've never really seen it as a horror film, per se. It seems more like a character study or a

January 24, 2007
FilmFanatik
Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

    1. Regan MacNeil: Your mother's in here with us, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I'll see that she gets it.
    – Submitted by Zbigniew Z (29 days ago)
    1. Regan MacNeil: What's that?
    2. Father Damien Karras: Holy water.
    3. Regan MacNeil: Keep that away from me.
    – Submitted by Patryk G (40 days ago)
    1. Regan MacNeil: Stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker!
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (3 months ago)
    1. Dr. Klein: Keep your fingers away from my God-damn C***.
    – Submitted by Daniel R (3 months ago)
    1. Chris MacNeil: You show me Regan's double, same face, same voice, everything. And I'd know it wasn't Regan. I'd know in my gut. And I'm telling you that 'thing' upstairs isn't my daughter. Now, I want you to tell me that you know for a fact that there's nothing wrong with my daughter, except in her mind. You tell me for a fact that an exorcism wouldn't do any good. You tell me that!
    – Submitted by Nick P (4 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Der Exorzist (DE)
  • L'Exorciste (FR)
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