The Exorcist (1973)

This post contains content not suitable for children. It contains discussion about violence, gore, and death. There are some incredibly graphic mentions of self-harm.

The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, follows a girl possessed by a demon, her mother trying desperately to help her and the priests that perform the exorcism. The film begins in northern Iraq with Catholic priest Lankester Merrin, played by Max von Sydow, working on archeological digs where he uncovers a Saint Joseph medallion and a small figurine representing Pazuzu, an ancient demon.

Meanwhile, in Georgetown, actress Chris MacNeil, played by Ellen Burstyn, works on a movie with her alcoholic director, Burke Dennings, played by Jack MacGowran, and lives in a temporary home with her daughter, Regan MacNeil, played by Linda Blair, and several servants, played by Kitty Winn, Rudolf Schündler, and Gina Petrushka. Chris notices a Catholic priest, Father Damien Karras, played by Jason Miller. He is going through a crisis in his faith and job as a psychiatrist and counsellor to fellow priests. He visits his mother, who dies immediately following. A statue of Mary is found desecrated in a church in Georgetown, foreshadowing the demon’s arrival and subsequent possession.

Life seems to be going well for Chris until Regan begins to act differently and erratically. Chris hears strange scratching sounds from the attic, but cannot find the source of the sound. As well, Regan finds an Ouija board and has conversations with an imaginary friend named “Captain Howdy”. During a big party, Regan comes downstairs and then urinates on the carpet in front of a group of party-goers. Regan becomes violent and exhibits abnormal strength Chris, an atheist, looks to the medical community for answers to her daughter’s issues. The doctors run a multitude of tests, but come up with no physiological cause for her illness. The doctors continue to invalidate Chris’ experiences and make diagnoses that are all discredited.

One night, Chris comes home to Regan sleeping alone in the house. It comes out that the director, Burke Dennings, had been called to babysit while the nanny had run an important errand. Dennings is found at the bottom of a large staircase outside MacNeil’s house with his head turned backwards. This introduces the homicide detective William Kinderman, played by Lee J. Cobb, instantly connects this highly suspicious and supernatural death to the church’s desecration. He questions Chris and Father Karras. The situation escalates when Chris finds Regan violently masturbating with a crucifix. The possessed Regan then turns her head backwards and speaks in Denning’s voice, while moving objects mentally. This sends Chris into a full mental breakdown and causes the household to confine Regan to her bedroom.

As the demon continues its possession, Regan’s health begins to deteriorate. Chris meets Father Karras and requests an exorcism for her daughter. At first, he is skeptical, but after multiple visits to the house, he begins to believe. During his visits, the possessed Regan speaks in tongues, claims to be the Devil, projectile vomits into Karras’ face, and reacts to tap water that Karras claimed was holy water. Chris confides that she believes Regan pushed Dennings out of the window and one night, Karras sees the words, “Help me”, appear on her stomach.

Ultimately, he makes the request for an exorcism and finds out it will only happen with an experienced priest. Thus, enters Father Merrin, who has performed exorcisms before and has been battling with Pazuzu. Both priests arrive at the residence and prepare for the exorcism ritual. Merrin warns Karras that the demon will speak lies and perform a psychological attack. Sensing his weakness, the demon focuses on Karras, specifically targetting his dead mother. The demon screams vile and horrific things during the entire exorcism.

At a point, the priests take a rest and Merrin takes heart medicine. Karras enters the bedroom early and is taken aback when he hears his dead mother’s voice from Regan. Merrin dismisses him, citing weakness, and continues the exorcism. Karras speaks with Chris, giving him a feeling of courage and determination. He finds Merrin dead and begins to punch possessed Regan. He begins to scream for the demon to take him instead. The possessed Regan tears off his Saint Joseph medallion and then the demon enters Karras’ body, leaving Regan free. Karras then jumps out of the window, dying in the exact same spot as Dennings. His friend, Father Dyer, performs his last rites as he dies. In the final scene, the MacNeil family packs up and leaves this Georgetown home. Regan looks healthy and is thankful to Father Dyer. As they leave, Chris returns Karras’ Saint Joseph medallion to Father Dyer.

Horror Film Rating System

Category	Rating (/10)
Performance	10
Special Effects	8
Violence	9
Score/Foley	7
Scare Factor	10

Performance

The performances in this movie are remarkable and committed. Ellen Burstyn was nominated for Best Actress for both the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Linda Blair won the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the Academy Awards. The breakdown of a mother whose daughter is unwell and violent was captured perfectly by Burstyn. As one of the main characters, she holds a good portion of this movie on her shoulders.

Linda Blair was 14 years old when she starred in the Exorcist and gave a prolific performance. Both Blair and Burstyn participated in a good portion of the practical and special effects, leading to multiple back injuries. In one scene, Burstyn landed on her coccyx, screaming in pain. That sound was used in this film and honestly makes me queasy to think about. (I have a minor coccyx injury so I relate!) The more gruesome scenes used a stunt double for Blair and voice actress Mercedes McCambridge performed the possessed Regan dialogue.

Jason Miller’s performance as Father Karras was also very well done. His stoney expressions and reactions to Regan’s demon are compelling, enhancing the events of the movie. Part of the realism of this film was attained through the direction of Friedkin who utilized harsh tactics. He slapped one actor in the face before a scene. During the scene where Regan vomits in Karras’ face, the actor was told that the vomit would hit his chest, so the reaction in that scene is genuine.

Special Effects

Released in 1973, this film was prolific in its contribution to the horror genre. To create the special effects, they utilized mechanical effects, life-sized puppets, editing tricks, lighting and other techniques. The makeup was done by William A. Farley and the special effects were done by Marcel Vercoutere. For the physical stunts, the actors and their stunt doubles were put in harnesses and their wires were yanked around to create the effect of the actor flying around the room or in Linda Blair’s case being pulled back and forth on the bed.

Another technique they used was to make a replica of Regan’s bedroom and place it in a refrigerator that went 20 degrees below zero, so as to show the actors’ breath in the room during the exorcism sequence. This was a bold move that lead to certain difficulties. In particular, they were only able to shoot five scenes a day and it meant lighting had to be perfected. One final special effect was the pea soup vomit that Regan projectile vomits repeatedly. This led to the actress being unable to eat pea soup for the rest of her life. The special effects are fantastic and scary, leading to this film becoming the model for future exorcism movies and one of the best horror films of all time.

Violence

This movie goes through moments of violence which are then followed by moments of distance and character and plot building. For the time, this violence in this film was shocking and novel, leading to people running out of the theatre, vomiting, or fainting.

One scene struck me as incredibly violent and disturbing. I am going to go into a bit of detail about this part. This is a trigger warning. Please skip to the next paragraph. This scene involves Regan violently stabbing her genitals with a crucifix. After watching, I keep having this scene flash in my mind. It is so violent and horrifying and presents itself as sexualized self-harm. I completely understand the reactions of audiences when it was first released as nothing like it had really been seen before in American cinema. This scene is deeply affecting and leads to an enormous sense of fear and repulsion.

Another scene that deeply affected audiences at the time was the realistic cerebral angiography, which involved a needle being injected into Regan’s neck and blood shooting out. It was definitely difficult to watch and I had to look away. It really was just a medical scene which nowadays is much less scary since we have shows like Grey’s Anatomy to desensitize us. I can understand why it caused such a reaction in the theatres at the time.

I would argue though most of the serious violence was left out as both Burke Dennings and Father Merrin died off-screen. In more modern horror movies, there would be a graphic death scene. It adds certain power to Karras’ death, which was similar to Dennings, but shown in a POV style and then the final shot from above of his body with people surrounding it. The exorcism sequence involves some violence, but I would argue most of the violence the demon inflicts is psychological through vile expletives. Overall, this film contains very graphic scenes of violence and gore, but it uses it purposefully and infrequently, creating a bigger effect on the audience.

Score/Foley

Firstly, the theme song is frankly iconic and incredible. It does sound like other horror themes, but it came much before. It is spooky and slightly disturbing but in a good way! The foley in this film is quite well done as we hear a lot of strange and gross sounds coming from the demon frequently. As well, the sounds are quite sharp and lead to the contrast between quiet moments and the serious action of the film. I cannot help but compare films within the horror genre. This film utilizes quiet scores and then loud violin screeches. In modern horror films, there is a constant onslaught of sound that is deafening at points. Sound is a very effective medium to create fear in an audience, but it must not be overused. The Exorcist’s use of sound is effective and brilliant, leading to Robert Knudson and Chris Newman winning an Academy Award for Best Sound.

Scare Factor

I am officially a believer. Most of the lists of best horror movies had the Exorcist in the number one slot. I was skeptical and maybe a little scared. For a film released in 1973, it is absolutely terrifying. The pacing of the film is slow, but it lends itself to the added distance and isolation experienced by Chris, Regan, and Karras. This film was prolific in its creation of the exorcism genre. A big part of this is the battle between good and evil, God and the Devil. As well, the idea that an innocent child could be possessed right in her own home. It leaves viewers feeling unsafe and always at risk. A demon could possess us at any moment and make us do and say horrible things. There is a lot of graphic imagery, such as the flashes of the demon, Pazuzu, which occur throughout the film. As well, the masturbating scene is deeply affecting and terrifying. The entire exorcism sequence has the audience on the edge of their seats, maybe with their hands in front of their eyes. It is a battle with a supernatural force that has great power. Will the demon really be defeated? Ultimately, it ends happily with Regan free, Karras having found his faith, and Chris and her family moving away. However, audiences are left thinking: Is it really over? Can the Devil or a demon be defeated through death?

This film will never be forgotten as it truly changed the consciousness of society and the horror genre. It is genuinely disturbing and scary. I believe for horror fans it is a must-watch.