The reputation of this film,all the hype at the time,and subsequently,the virtually guarenteed unnerving nature of it,just put me off actually seeing it ,for years...That poster with the figure of Max Von Sydow,in the lamplight,was burned into my retinas,the book,passed around at school,with it's black cover and heavy white typeface,became a disturbing icon.,and it had "Tubular Bells" for crying out loud! We were too young to go and see the film anyway,it was an EX(orcist) certificate,so i just avoided it really. I saw it on DVD just a few years ago,and was so glad i caught up with it.It's so good,so powerful and emotional ..the excerpt from "Tubular Bells" comes early on ,jarring with a bright autumnal "unsuspecting" leafy suburbia, The story of the Priest,his loss,his suicide? is so painful,so melancholic,but i dont remember things ending bleakly.A complete masterpiece of a movie.