To Hell With It: The 50th Anniversary of "The Exorcist"

 

by Michael Lyons

The Exorcist is the scariest movie ever made.

Sure, that's my opinion, but that is how I have felt since I first saw it when I was 14, and it aired on network TV (CBS) for the first time.

Even in its edited-for-TV form and its "parental guidance" warning, The Exorcist shook me, as it did many audiences when it debuted almost fifty years ago.

Before The Exorcist, most horror movies I saw were black-and-white "monster movies," where Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man terrorized villagers in what looked like a far-off place. Or, it was one of Alfred Hitchcock's classics, like Psycho or The Birds, taking place in another decade and another time.

These were movies where horror seemed otherworldly. The Exorcist felt real, taking place in our world, where horror had invaded, in a story that seemed as if it could happen.

Based on a novel by William Peter Blatty, the film centers on a single mother, Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn), who notices that her 12-year-old daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), is exhibiting strange behavior and soon discovers that a demon from hell possesses the young girl.

A local priest, Father Karras (Jason Miller), and a police Lieutenant named Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) begin investigating the disturbing incidents. Eventually, Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), well-versed in demonic possession, is brought in to perform an exorcism.

One of the reasons The Excorcist rises above standard Hollywood horror fare is director William Freidkin (who recently passed away). As he did with The French Connection, Friedkin brings a gritty style that seems to combine standard narrative with an almost-documentary feeling, making scary sequences even more startling.

Among these are the disturbing "crucifix scene" and "head spinning scene," the now iconic "pea soup projectile vomit" sequence, Father Karras's dream sequence (with an almost subliminal glimpse of one of the most horrifying faces ever to appear on screen), Regan's speaking in a demonic voice, and the exorcism scene itself, which keeps the audience trapped in Regan's room with Fathers Karras and Merrin.

Through all of this are outstanding performances that range from Burstyn's captivating helplessness, Blair's waves of an innocent young girl and repellent creature, Miller's conflicted and wounded priest, and Von Sydow as the weary and wary Father Merrin.

The Exorcist was (and still is) a gut punch for audiences when it arrived in theaters on December 26, 1973, becoming a box-office hit and the first horror film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.  It contains scenes that have become part of our film and pop culture lexicon and has inspired five sequels, including the legacy sequel, The Exorcist: Believer, which debuts in theaters this month, just in time for Halloween. 

Upon its release, film critic Stanley Kauffmann wrote in The New Republic: "This is the scariest movie I've seen in years - the only scary movie I've seen in years."

Fifty years later, I echo Mr. Kauffmann's thoughts and simply say: The Exorcist is the scariest movie ever made.

For more of my articles, podcasts and to learn more about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to my website: Words From Lyons !