Exorcist author William Peter Blatty exhumed the demonic possession tale -- 17 years after the original and 13 after the monumentally disappointing sequel -- for a walk on the frightfully disturbing side. This film, largely ignored and perhaps lost on a new generation of filmgoers, is as chilling as modern horror gets. While not worthy of the original's "classic" status, this rendition is full of flesh-crawling moments -- base horror hopped up by the addition of graphic gore. The film deals with the eternal battle between God and the Devil, generally digging deeper in the collective horror psyche and generating a more primordial sense of fear. Such metaphysical horror must be done well and Blatty succeeds in scaring the innards out of the viewer. George C. Scott gives a thoughtfully inspired performance, and an unheralded Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Ewing make cameos. Although the film borrows a bit much from the Omen and Amityville traditions, overall it is authentically frightening in its execution.
