The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

It’s crazy to me to know “The Exorcist” is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, we lost its legendary director recently in William Friedkin, a trailblazer who was not afraid to push the envelope and do things his own way in films such as “Cruising,” “The French Connection,” and “To Live and Die in L.A.”  He was an outspoken and passionate filmmaker who never backed down from his vision and his principles. I think it’s safe to say his most talked about film of all-time is “The Exorcist” which recently got a 4K upgrade from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. Even to this day, people go to their local theater to watch it on the big screen, or they revisit it on home video when it’s spooky season.

There is quite an infamous backstory to the making of this film and getting it off the ground.  It’s a legitimate miracle the film was able to be made considering all of the roadblocks and obstacles the director and his crew had in making it. I could go into detail here, but it’s best to Google it, as it’s lengthy and strange.  I’ll just say this–many thought the film itself was cursed because of all the odd occurrences which happened to this production.  People would also heavily protest the film, and many filmgoers would faint and get sick while watching it.  The film has certainly developed quite a reputation over the years for a variety of reasons.

“The Exorcist” is set in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and introduces the audience to actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and her twelve-year-old daughter Regan (Linda Blair). They are renting a house while Chris works on a film directed by Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran), someone she considers a close friend.  We are also introduced to Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), a psychiatrist at Georgetown University who works with fellow priests. Father Karras is struggling with guilt as he wishes he was spending more time with his mother, who is elderly, frail and unwell. He is also having a crisis of faith as well. At a party Chris is hosting, she notices some unusual behavior from Regan, and Regan is also talking about strange and weird noises in the attic.

From here, things only get worse for Regan as she starts to become vulgar, aggressive and develop facial sores.  She has baffled modern science as they can’t understand what is wrong with her. They think it has something to do with her brain, but it still doesn’t explain her actions or her superhuman strength. Once Regan becomes a danger to herself and others, they decide the only solution is to tie her to her bed and perform an exorcism.  There is a lot of hesitation on the part of Father Karras, as he doesn’t think it will turn out well and might only further damage young Regan.  However, if a more experienced priest helps him, he will do it.  This is where Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) comes in to help Father Karras with the exorcism that will hopefully save the child.

I’ve seen “The Exorcist” three times now, and I’ve really, really wanted to fall in love with it, but for whatever reason, it is a film I respect and admire but don’t love.  I can see the great acting on display from Jason Miller, Ellen Burstyn, and Linda Blair.  It’s impossible to ignore their range of emotions and their ability to sell this material and make it work. My issue is with the pacing of the film.  I’m all about letting things breathe and building up to something, but this is very much an all-or-nothing film at times.  At times, it’s moving a little too slowly without enough character build-up, and the plotting can be a little tedious.  At other times, it’s in-your-face, intense, and really mind-blowing.  There is really no middle ground with “The Exorcist.”

At fifty-years-old, “The Exorcist” is still an impactful horror film, without question.  I just wonder if it’s more built on its reputation and folklore at this point. One might even argue if it’s a horror film or a thriller. It is a little bit of both, which I think most horror films are to some degree unless they are just flat-out horror with no plot.  There is a plot here and a rhyme and reason to what unfolds, but it feels a little dated, in my opinion.  All in all, I think “The Exorcist” should get its flowers for being a horror film that was ahead of its time and has really opened the door for a lot of the supernatural horror films we see today from “The Conjuring” and “Insidious” world.  However, it’s a good yet flawed film, overall. As I stated earlier, I like it and it stays with me, which is a good thing, but I don’t love it and it doesn’t impact me, as much as I feel like it should, considering its place in film history.

* * * out of * * * *

4K Info: “The Exorcist” is released on a two-disc 4K release from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  It comes with two different 4K versions of the film.  One version is the theatrical cut, which is 122 minutes. The second disc is 132 minutes and features the extended director’s cut of the film in 4K.

Video/Audio Info:  Warner Brothers did a pretty good job of cleaning up this film. However, they didn’t clean it up so much that you aren’t able to enjoy the dark and moody look of the film. I would say it’s a good but not great transfer of the film.  I’ve seen better transfers of older films from Warner Brothers.  It does come with a very, very good Dolby Atmos soundtrack for the film, though. I was really blown away by how good the film sounds. It also comes with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Special Features: The theatrical version comes with the following special features: an introduction by William Friedkin, a commentary track by Friedkin, and a commentary track by William Peter Blatty, who wrote the novel and the screenplay for the film, with special sound effects. The unrated version of the film also comes with a commentary by Friedkin. These are all older commentary tracks and the introduction is much older as well.  The big issue here is the fact they didn’t have a third disc with some of the special features from the previous Blu-ray release.

 Should You Buy It?

This is a rather tricky one.  I’ll say this–if you love “The Exorcist” and it’s one of your favorite films of all time, the transfer makes it worth the upgrade, even though I didn’t think it was a great transfer.  It has its issues, as, at times, it can be a little unfocused and not super clear.  If you own the Blu-ray, you should keep and not sell it because you will lose your special features with this 4K as it only has the commentary tracks and an introduction from the director. They really should have added a third disc just for the special features.  Overall, “The Exorcist” is a film that has earned its place in horror film history based on it being released at the right time with the right director and the right cast and crew.  It’s a good film.  However, I don’t think it’s a great film in my personal opinion. If you love the film, I think you will be happy with what Warner Brothers has done with the transfer.  It’s not a bad transfer by any means.  It’s just not a transfer that is going to “wow” you.  You will probably be very disappointed they didn’t port over the special features from the Blu-ray.  However, if this is your favorite horror movie, you want to own it on the best format out there right now, which is 4K.  If you are lukewarm on the film or think it’s merely good, you can keep your Blu-ray if you already own it.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.