The Exorcist: 
The Version You've Never Seen
 (2000)
review by Head Cheeze

Boo!

If that scared you then get out the coronary crash cart because the flick with chick and the crucifix dick is back and more vile and terrifying than ever! You want remastered audio? Hell, how's a 5 to 1 Dolby Digital mix with all new sound effects and earth rumbling bass? How about a crystal clear picture that looks as fresh as a morning daisy covered in pea soup puke? If that's not enough to get your pulse racing then the addition of 11 minutes of crucial and cool footage will surely make you cream in your Calvin Kleins! This IS the definitive release of The Exorcist and purists be damned!

The history of The Exorcist is fairly well known to it's fans (previous DVD and Laserdisc versions all offered commentaries and behind the scenes vignettes detailing the films "hellish" production), but to new initiates here's the longa and short of it. William Peter Blatty's novel and William Friedkin's film were two entirely different animals. While Blatty wanted more characterization like the novel, Friedkin wanted to trim down the narrative and deliver the shocks. What we finally get with this re-release is the version that BOTH men wanted and a much better film to boot.

For fans of the "original" this version does not take a thing away. It only adds to the film and creates a much more vivid picture of the tragedy that befalls the characters by fleshing out their relationships and digging a little deeper into the mythos of the Exorcist world. The restored scenes are not only limited to talking heads and character study. There is a trouser soiling segment known as "The Spider Walk" that has been digitally touched-up with new FX technology, as well as several subliminal images strategically placed about the film that creates a whole new sense of unease. Basically the new stuff in this movie is not just added fat to make more cash off of a classic film. Instead, look at this film as the Ultimate Exorcist. All the thrills and chills of the original with whopping amounts of new stuff that ,once witnessed, will make you wonder why it wasn't there in the first place.

As for the DVD extras, well, they don't hold a candle to the feature packed 25th Anniversary Edition. All we get here is a new commentary by Friedkin and the re-release trailer. This, I suspect, is to make you go out and buy two copies of the film.

The Exorcist is a must have for any fan of motion pictures period. No film in it's genre can hold a candle to this masterpiece, and in it's newest incarnation it only solidifies it's place as one of the greatest horror film of all time.