Does anyone find this movie dreadful even after watching pretty much every other horror movie under the sun? Why is it so? Why does this movie feel so...I don't know the word, wrong? There's something very sinister about it.

As I'm sure most of you are, I'm well versed in horror films. I'd like to think I've seen it all. Psychological, gore, thrilling etc etc. Every year or so I end up with a list of 3-4 movies I find genuinely terrifying. I mostly gravitate a lot towards Asian horror films because of my familiarity with the region and the general creepiness of the ghosts.

And yet, Exorcist is the one film I always kinda feel uneasy with. Why is that?

The filmmaking is excellent. It doesn't "feel" horror, it feels more like a drama about a family who is going through a crisis. But it somehow has a very sinister presence. Regan's possessed face is something that still scares me when I see it. There's just something disturbing about the concept of a little helpless child being taken advantage of by a malevolent force that takes pleasure in weakening your faith in God.

The score is haunting too. I think the sound department did an excellent job, especially in the scene where Karras has the nightmare about his mother. It's so otherworldly.

I don't know. Anytime I see the Exorcist playing, my mood suddenly goes down a notch because I just get bad vibes/energy from the movie itself. Which is great because that's what a scary horror movie SHOULD do right? But why does it feel that way?

The closest movie I can think of that I get similar feeling to, is Ju-On.

Maybe its the house/setting? The small cast of characters? The foreboding presence of something simply evil?

I often tell people Exorcist is my top horror movie, and its true, because it genuinely gives me the creeps. And I don't know why. It just does.