The monstrous spirit of a slain child murderer seeks revenge by invading the dreams of teenagers whose parents were responsible for his untimely death.
Director:
Wes Craven
Stars:
Heather Langenkamp,
Johnny Depp,
Robert Englund
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director:
John Carpenter
Stars:
Donald Pleasence,
Jamie Lee Curtis,
Tony Moran
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
A young couple moves in to an apartment only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins to control her life.
Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths and must survive the terrors of Leatherface and his family.
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game.
Director:
Wes Craven
Stars:
Neve Campbell,
Courteney Cox,
David Arquette
A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a bloodthirsty, flesh-eating breed of monsters who are ravaging the East Coast of the United States.
A group of camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp where, years before, it was the site of a child's drowning and a grisly double murder.
Director:
Sean S. Cunningham
Stars:
Betsy Palmer,
Adrienne King,
Jeannine Taylor
A visiting actress in Washington, D.C., notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. And, book-ending the story, a frail, elderly priest recognizes the necessity for a show-down with an old demonic enemy.Written by
Andrew Harmon <aharmon@erols.com>
Something beyond comprehension is happening to a girl on this street, in this house . . . a man has been sent for as a last resort. That man is The Exorcist. See more »
According to Christian doctrine, Father Karras could not have become possessed at the end of the movie because no demon or the devil can dwell where the Holy Spirit (God) is. In this case the priest was a saved child of God and therefore had the Holy Spirit within him. See more »
Goofs
William Peter Blatty closely modeled the exorcism scene on the actual rite of exorcism in the Church's "Rituale Romanum". Father Merrin can be seen opening a copy of the Rituale in the scene in question. However, the priests depart from the Rituale in two important details. First, there should have been four people (apart from Regan) in the room during the exorcism: the exorcist himself; an assistant priest to take over in case the exorcist died midway through; a member of the victim's family of the same sex as the victim, to help restrain her; and a doctor, to (among other things) administer any medication that was needed. Due to the "2 Priest rule", Fr Merrin should have delayed the second round of the exorcism and phoned the bishop to get a replacement for Fr Karras, instead of trying to tackle it on his own. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Boy:
[in Arabic]
They've found something... small pieces.
See more »
Crazy Credits
There are no opening credits after the title. Although it is commonplace now, it was unheard of in 1973. See more »
Alternate Versions
The Special Edition DVD also includes a 75-minutes documentary titled "The Fear of God" on the making of the Exorcist. The documentary includes screen tests and additional deleted scenes, including:
Chris MacNeil and Regan going sight-seeing in Washington;
after Chris hears about Burke's death, Regan crawls down the stairs upside down on her arms and legs like a spider and then chases Chris and Sharon around the room;
Karras and Merrin sit on the stairs during a pause of the exorcism and exchange some words about what's happening to the girl.
I recently revisited this film on Blu-ray after some 45 years. It still rates as one of my favourite horror films, one of my top ten films and a masterpiece of film making. Beautiful photography, great locations, sets, special effects and acting.
It still stands up as a great film today
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I recently revisited this film on Blu-ray after some 45 years. It still rates as one of my favourite horror films, one of my top ten films and a masterpiece of film making. Beautiful photography, great locations, sets, special effects and acting. It still stands up as a great film today