Day 16: The Exorcist

16. The Exorcist (1973)
Dir: William Friedkin
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow

A film so evil that priests were periodically brought on to bless the set after strange occurrences, including injuries and a fire. Held in high regard as perhaps the scariest movie ever made we have William Friedkin's 1973 film The Exorcist. Based off the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, who also wrote the film's Academy Award winning screenplay, The Exorcist was and still is one of the most critically acclaimed horror movies ever made. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, two of which it one for sound and writing, was the highest grossing film of 1973 and not to mention the subject of some controversy The Exorcist is an American movie classic and probably the scariest film I ever recall seeing.

Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is a working actress filming in Georgetown living with her 12 year old daughter Regan (Linda Blair). Regan, who's often a fairly normal child soon starts occasionally exhibiting strange behaviors including; abnormal powers, a change in her mental and physical makeup and a strange demonic voice that she now possesses. Regan goes through strenuous medical tests and psychiatry but with less than stellar results. Once Chris learns that her daughter may be the victim of a demonic presence, she contacts Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) to perform an exorcism.

From the opening sequence of Father Merrin on an archeological dig in Nineveh to the film's shocking climax, there's a strong feeling of suspense and hopelessness in this supernatural thriller. With subliminal editing and dark, powerful themes you can see why there was so much controversy, people weren't just freaked out that the film dealt with some Satanic subject matter, they were freaking scared too. Something about the innocence of child taken away and replaced with something of pure evil just disturbs people. It's not surprising as their has always been somewhat of a belief in possession being real. As a matter of fact William Peter Blatty just happened to base his book off a true event that took place in 1949.



Aside from all this evil and controversy, you can't deny this film's greatness. The whole cast especially Jason Miller in my opinion, come as very real with some powerful emotions. The film is shot and scored masterfully, and William Peter Blatty has truly written a classic story. This is probably the best a horror movie will ever fair with critics or award ceremonies and certainly did a lot for the genre. It gave horror movies a new found respect and inspired and opened the door for future filmmakers. If you ever feel like getting spooked it's always an excellent day for an exorcism.

Fright Fact: The voice of the demonic spirit Pazuzu was performed by Academy Award winning actress Mercedes McCambridge.

Horror Highlight: Here's a segment of the exorcism with subtitles for some reason.