Ranking The Exorcist Movies

I just finished watching the entire series of Exorcist films for the first time over the past couple of weeks.  I had never seen any of them, including the original.  Now seems like a good time to rank the series from best to worst.


#1. The Exorcist (1973)



Of course the original movie is going to take first place.  How could it not.  This a great film that has held up very well.  The effects are incredible with some brilliant performances.  The medical gore really got to me and I'm usually fine dealing with that stuff.  What I liked most was how the exorcism was really a last resort and our main characters take every rational and reasonable option before getting to the exorcism.  This is a horror movie about belief for non-believers and I really appreciate that.  The decisions made by the characters feel extremely real.  If I had a complaint, there are a few moments where the film chooses to  tell us something rather than show us, which I believe rarely works in movies.

 9/10: Great 


#2. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)


Now that we have the obvious out of the way, let's get into what is apparently a hot take.  The 4th Exorcist film is a reshot version of what would ultimately be the 5th film, even though they both tell the same story and have a lot of the same actors.  Neither is well regarded, but it seems that Dominion is more well liked. I strongly disagree and I actually really liked this film.  Sure, the CGI is abhorrent and the 3rd act is on the dull side, but I had a great time watching this film.  Growing up Catholic, I always felt movies like this should be really demonic.  Like it's wrong to even watch them on screen.  It should feel like you're tampering with evil forces beyond your imagination to even put them in a DVD player.  That's how I felt watching this movie.  It feels Satanic and wrong and I loved it.  Sitting through this was a treat in a dark way.  I had so much fun watching these terrible things happen.  Plus a kid gets eaten by a hyena.  What's not to like?  Unlike some of the other movies in the series, The Beginning shows us the awful things that unfold in graphic detail and I'm a sucker for that.

 8/10: Really Good 


#3. The Exorcist III (1990)




This is then last film in the series I actually enjoyed.  The Exorcist III has a bunch of problems.  It has almost no gore, some wonky editing, occasional overacting from George C. Scott, and an ending that doesn't match the rest of the film because of reshoots, though the original ending is much worse.  However, this movie also has Brad Dourif as the main antagonist, the Gemini Killer.  I love Brad Dourif in everything he does and he gives one of the best performances I have ever seen.  I'm not exaggerating.  This is god-tier stuff.  He spends pretty much the entire movie sitting in one location, but it doesn't matter, he steals the show while barely moving and pulls you into his magnetic and disturbing charisma.  I cannot overstate how good he is in this role.  I also like the chemistry between two of our main characters, a cop and a priest who have been friends for years.  They work really well together.  The dialogue is excellent and there is one amazing kill, even if there isn't any gore.

 7/10: Good 


#4. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)


This was originally supposed to be the 4th film in the series, but the studio did not like it and pretty much remade the movie.  I'm normally not one to agree with studio heads, but they were right on the money here.  I won't call this a bad movie, but it's dull.  It has some interesting moments, mostly with the development of the main character, played by Stellan Skarsgård, but beyond that there isn't a lot to this movie.  Everything this movie does, The Beginning does better.  

 5/10: Meh 


#5. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)


What an absolute snooze-fest.  I only watched this film a few days ago and I barely remember it.  While I do like seeing Linda Blair again and the 3rd act at least looks cool, this is one of the worst horror films I've ever seen.  I was bored and confused for just about all of it and I just wanted it to end.  It's not even so bad that it's good.  It's beyond boring.  I don't know what they were thinking with this piece of crap.

 1/10: Horrendous 


So that's my ranking.  What do you think?  Am I dead wrong or right on the money.  I imagine people will tell my I'm crazy for having The Beginning so high, but maybe someone out there will agree with me.  Hopefully, I'm not alone!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more