The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Exorcist
Horror · 1973
When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Movie details
The Exorcist
“Something almost beyond comprehension is happening to a girl on this street, in this house…And a man has been sent for as a last resort. This man is The Exorcist.”
1973 Horror 2h 2m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.7 / 10
Community rating
When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Exorcist?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Horror · 1984
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
Barbarian
Horror · 2022
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
The Dogs
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After fleeing his psychotic father, a young teen and his mom seek refuge in a remote farmhouse, only to face a pack of ferocious dogs and the sinister spirits that haunt the property.
Mirrors
Horror · 2008
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.
Books of Blood
Horror · 2020
A journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.
Mother's Day
Crime · 2010
Crazed members of a sadistic family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new owners.
The Believers
Horror · 1987
Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly drawn into a series of grisly, ritualistic murders involving the immolation of two youths.
Strange Darling
Horror · 2024
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Saint Catherine
Horror · 2024
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Hellraiser
Horror · 1987
A hedonistic man finds a mysterious puzzle box that summons a group of gruesome beings known as the Cenobites. These otherworldly entities open the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
William Friedkin
Written by
William Peter Blatty
Ellen Burstyn
Chris MacNeil
Linda Blair
Regan MacNeil
Jason Miller
Father Damien Karras
Max von Sydow
Father Lankester Merrin
Lee J. Cobb
Lt. Bill Kinderman
William O'Malley
Father Joseph Kevin Dyer
Kitty Winn
Sharon Spencer
Court is in session
Put The Exorcist on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.