By Jack Shanley

A raw terrifying film, said to be the scariest film ever made, but does it live up to those 50 years on from its original release? The answer well for me at least is yes. It is such a well-directed film…so patient in its pacing flawlessly acted, with brilliant editing and cinematography that really add to the eerie atmosphere of the film. Every shot, every cut is deliberate. The composition of each shot is perfect. Every element of each scene is utilized to its full capacity in each shot, and nothing in a shot lingers for too long, or too short of a time. It gives you just enough to make you feel uneasy.

The Exorcist isn’t just a typical ‘girl is possessed’ film. It is much more involved and deeper than that. For much of this film you question if Regan is just crazy or if she is actually possessed. Even during the exorcism scene, the priests are fully convinced she is even possessed. Which gets to the heart and core of the film: it is a film about faith. Despite the religious nature of the film, there is quite a bit of science and psychology involved to make even the most religious people question how realistic their beliefs really are. And despite all this doubt and questioning of faith during the film, the exorcist puts all their conceived notions, beliefs, and logic aside, taking a leap of faith to try to save Regan in one of the greatest climaxes in all of cinema. It didn’t feel like an exorcism just for the sake of an exorcism, it felt earned. With a new Exorcist film on the horizon ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ and the sad recent passing Exorcist director and cinema great William Friedkin, now is a great time if any to watch the horror masterpiece. The Exorcist is being screened for its 50th Anniversary in the Light House Cinema in late September into early October. In all truth I’d recommend checking out The Exorcist and see what you think of it, I shall give it a score of five stars. Director: William Friedkin – Rating: 18 – Genre: Horror/Thriller – Run Time: 2h 12m – Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.