I read a lot of reviews that panned this movie. Personally I didn't think it was nearly as bad as people claimed it was. I found it interesting and a more true to life representation of what an exorcism is.
You didn't see heads spinning 360 degrees, projectile pea soup spitting, and lots of special effects. However, true exorcisms are not like what they show in the hyped up movies. This is more like what exorcisms are, and for believers, that's equally if not more frightening, because it's more real.
I will agree it is probably more frightening to believers and specifically Catholics than it would be to an Athiest hoping to see a Hollywood horror film.
The acting was quite solid, especially by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Then again, he puts his all into all roles he takes on.
That's not to say there weren't problems in the film. there were some cinematography issues. It was disjointed in many places. It seemed to hop from scene to scene with no proper segway. There were quite a number of moments where they could have pushed the button just a bit more, but missed the chance.
However, the acting was good, the script was fairly solid, the cinematography could have been improved, but it wasn't the worst I've seen... and I appreciated that it wasn't gratuitous. They didn't need to throw in explicit sex or gore to keep the story moving like other Oscar nominated movies. (black Swan lesbian sex scene). It held it's own without all the frills.
I gave it an 8 out of 10. Well worth the watch, but I think Catholics will get more out of it than anyone.
