| 100 |
Portland Oregonian
Isn't just a horror film, but an American classic. Watch again and reflect for days after -- at your own risk.
|
| 100 |
Charlotte Observer
Classically scary.
|
| 100 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Friedkin has said the new, expanded version of his film has a more spiritual tone. But it's still a shocker.
|
| 100 |
Chicago Tribune
Re-released now in a digitally enhanced, sonically improved and slightly longer version, the movie is even better than it was in 1973.
|
| 91 |
Entertainment Weekly
Here, in paranoid, bad acid trip form, is the real birth of girl power.
|
| 90 |
Film.com
The best thing about the new Exorcist is the spiffed-up soundtrack.
|
| 90 |
Variety
This edition of the seminal example of genre sensationalism refined by the cream of Hollywood craftsmanship is more complicated than a standard director's cut.
|
| 90 |
Dallas Observer
That's what directors do when they have nothing new to say: They go back and rewrite the past, if only to avoid facing the future
|
| 89 |
Mr. Showbiz
It's shlock, yes, but at least it's highbrow shlock.
|
| 88 |
USA Today
Retains the power to turn heads -- and stomachs.
|
| 88 |
Boston Globe
An upsetting landmark. Don't take the children.
|
| 88 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Suffice it to say I prefer the original conclusion, and I think most Exorcist fans will agree
|
| 88 |
New York Post
His (Friedkin) very lack of subtlety is both the strength and weakness of The Exorcist in the 21st century.
|
| 88 |
San Francisco Examiner
The amazing thing about the film, for anyone who hasn't had an intentional Hollywood scare lately, is that it still delivers on the most visceral level
|
| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Was and is a brilliant horror film, one with an archetypal ability to reach and disturb us. If I were showing The Exorcist to a friend, I would show the 1973 version without the slightest hesitation.
|
| 88 |
Miami Herald
The Exorcist has lost none of its ability to invade your nightmares.
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
A museum piece, something to be enjoyed for its historical value.
|
| 80 |
Rolling Stone
There's something elemental about The Exorcist, even with the new hopeful ending that betrays the bleak original.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Don Druker
You're scared witless much of the time, even if you conclude afterward that this 1973 movie was really pretty amateurish and simpleminded.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
The movie that launched a new era in horror films, and which, for one generation, remains one of the scariest experiences of their lives.
|
| 70 |
TV Guide
This truly terrifying film version of the best-selling Blatty novel is far superior to the book.
|
| 70 |
TNT RoughCut
Still packs a wallop of terror for those with the strength of stomach for it.
|
| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
This hugely popular horror yarn is less a cleverly spun story than a disjointed collection of shockeroos, surrounding a few ghoulishly effective moments with overcooked plot twists and in-your-face vulgarity.
|
| 40 |
Washington Post
11 minutes longer than the original, and 11 minutes worse.
|
