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- Screen in Review: Waves of Terror eS rer as ame re ee Oe ra Mas + ee ek 8 Oe ee OT RO Re «ee a In ‘The By PHILIP WUNTCH “The Exorcist,” now play- ing at the Wilshire Theater, fs, at its mildest, purgatory to endure. As sheer moviemaking, the film makes expert use ofev- 4 ery trick, both new andold, 4 in the annals. As a viewing experience, however, it is like being forced totake the scariest ride on the midway on a full stomach, The film was produced and written by William Peter Blatty, from his own best- seller, and directed by Wil- liam Friedkin as though it were another ‘French Connection.” Conversatlons are kept at the lowest possi- ble pitch; ff, as the ads say, “you are on the edge of your seat,” it's probably because you want to hear what's going on, CONVERSELY, THE SOUNDS of screeching brakes, shrill whistles and strange noises in the middle of the night ave tumed up to ear-burning levels. The trick predates Hitchcock, but it works, The story by now Is well- known. An intelligent, salty actress, working on location in Georgetown, has a seem- ingly normal, loving 12-year old daughter, Regan, The devil, for reasons known pril- marily to himself, chooses to possess Regan, entering her body and making her commit unnatural, murderous acts. In her normal moments, the poor girl begs to be rid of the devil. Duritg spasms, however, the devil Is in com- plete control: her flesh be- comes parched with sores and scabs, and her lips turn to flaky crusts. The devil, lit- erally embodied in her, has superhuman strength and speaks in a subhuman voice, sometimes sounding like a hoarse Truman Capote. It can also do horrifying tricks, | Exorcist’ ore N Linda Blair... Happy and normal until the devil gets fo her In “The Exorcist,” at the Wil. shire. like turning the girl's head completely around on her neck, LANGUAGE BARRIERS are not only shattered but stomped on, the devil being something of a dirtymouth, Needless to add, “The Exor- cist’ is not for children—nor for anyone of any age with | delicate sensibilities, | But, technically, the film Is _ superb. The waves of terror are indeed waves; they’re all-engulfing, mindboggling and exhausting, scarcely leaving you time to breathe before the next wave hits with hurricane force, The performances are ex. cellent, particularly Elten Burstyn (looking surprisingly like Glenda Jackson) as the grieved mother and Jason Miller as a tormented young priest-psychiatrist. Max Von Sydow lends his distin. Priest psyciatrist. Max Von of the chief exorcist, Dr. Gil- lespie to Miller’s Dr, Kildare, Linda Blair, who won the President’s Physical Fitness Award in 1972, plays the un- fortunate Regan. IN A WORD: A technical knock-out, but it cheats on the sidelines,

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