the exorcist [1973]

it is still a scary movie.  director william friedkin throws in some odd touches to keep the viewer off kilter.  for example, there is a quick shot of the demon's face interposed onto regan's contorted possession.  the flash of the demon's face is subtle but one to knock people back into their seats in a what-the-fuck-was-that? mode. 

i remember when this movie was first released and the electric fear it generated.  i didn't see it until a couple years later but hearing the adults talk about it was a freak out on its own.  but the movie holds up okay today.  the pic is tame enough nowadays to show on daytime basic cable tv which is where anna and i caught the last half hour. 

oh yes, the channel cut a few choice words said by the demon.  you'll recall that the demon was the picasso of dirty language.  other than that it was full-bore fright fest.  call me jaded.  the pic simply lost a bit of its punch.  i kept thinking why would a demon bother with a little suburban girl.  wouldn't there be bigger fish to fry? 

still, i say that when i watched it with my love in the full light of day.  i could say otherwise if alone and in the middle of the night when every creak and moan of our old house would set my nerves on a razor's edge.