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THE EXORCIST-United States-1973

Directed by William Friedkin

Written for the screen and based on the novel by William Peter Blatty

Starring

Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil

Max von Sydow as Father Merrin

Jason Miller as Father Karras

Lee J. Cobb as Lt. Kinderman

Linda Blair as Regan McNeil

and Mercedes McCambridge as the voice of the demon.

     What can be said about The Exorcist that hasn’t already been said? Other than perhaps The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, this film has recieved more acclaim and more accolades since it’s intial release in 1973 that any thing I say about it would be absolutely pointless.

    So how does one review a film that is called by many ‘the scariest horror film of all time’? I don’t want to repeat what everyone else says about it. I write these reviews so that I may voice my own opinion, whether the reader agrees with it or not. If I didn’t do that I feel that I would lose the respect of you, the reader. The best thing for me to do is to tell you just what it is that this film says to me as a person, as a believer in God and as a reviewer.

When I was growing up in the South, my mother used to say that lightning was the devil behind the door beating his wife with a frying pan. An old wives tale, for sure, but one that stuck with me throughout the years.

I was eleven in 1973, the year that the film was first released. I wasn’t allowed to see the film; a ruling set forth by my parents despite the fact that I had been watching horror films since I was six years old. So, I had to wait. It wasn’t until around 1979 that I first had the chance to see the movie. I remember watching and when the scene comes up where Regan’s bed begins shaking uncontrollably the first thought that entered into my mind was ‘well, shit, the devil’s not behind the door anymore.’ The second thought was that maybe, just maybe, I would be sleeping with the light on that night. I was 17 at the time.

I feel that The Exorcist has been such a monumental success because it doesn’t just tap into our fears but instead digs deep into them to the very core of what scares us. How many stories and tall tales have we heard about the devil over the years ? The devil is behind the door. He’s under the bed. On and on. The Exorcist takes every one of  those tall tales and stories and throws them right in our faces and for a little over two hours we are small children again with our eyes covering our faces and peeking through our fingers. No film since then has achieved the level of deep-rooted fear so intensely as this film has.   

     I mentioned my belief in God and what that means as far as the effect that this film has had on me. It’s very simple and I will quote the Reverend Cotton Marcus from The Last Exorcism on the matter. He said, ‘if you are going to believe in God, then you have to believe in the devil’. I believe in good (God), therefore I believe in evil (Satan). This is not preaching. I don’t expect every person who reads this to feel the same way I do. I am not telling you how the film affected your life; I am telling you how it affected mine.

 As a reviewer and as a fan, the film affected me because I know that there is always that one film that comes along that influences, impacts and shapes the films that come along after it. Look at Goodfellas. The film is considered one of the greatest gangster films of all time, and yet it will always be overshadowed by The Godfather. The same is true of virtually any film dealing with demonic possession. Each and every one of them will be forever in the shadow of The Exorcist. The Last Exorcism, Paranormal Activity and countless other films owe their existence to this film.

   I’m not even going to bother with a plot synopsis. I don’t have to. After all these years if you don’t know what the film is about then by all means rent it, buy it, whatever. Just watch it. I promise you will never be the same again.