The Exorcist

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♥

This article is dedicated to William Friedkin, who died from heart failure and pneumonia at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles at the age of 87 (August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023), William Peter Blatty, who died of multiple myeloma on January 12, 2017, at a hospital in Bethesda, five days after his 89th birthday (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017), Mercedes McCambridge, the voice actress of Pazuzu, who died of natural causes on March 2, 2004, at age 87 in La Jolla in San Diego, California. (March 16, 1916 - March 2, 2004)

The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the same name, and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller. The film is the first part of The Exorcist franchise and was directed by William Friedkin.

The Exorcist

This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 2010.

"Is there someone inside you?"
— Psychiatrist

"Sometimes..."
— Regan MacNeil

Genre:	Horror
Directed by:	William Friedkin
Produced by:	William Peter Blatty
Based on:	The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
Starring:	Ellen Burstyn Max von Sydow Lee J. Cobb Kitty Winn Jack MacGowran Jason Miller Linda Blair
Cinematography:	Owen Roizman
Distributed by:	Warner Bros.
Release date:	December 26, 1973
Runtime:	122 mins (Theatrical cut) 132 mins (Director's cut)
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Budget:	$12 million
Box office:	$441.3 million
Franchise:	The Exorcist
Prequel:	Exorcist: The Beginning
Sequel:	The Exorcist: Believer (chronologically) Exorcist II: The Heretic (by Release date)

Plot

One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting odd -- levitating, speaking in tongues -- her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest (Jason Miller), however, thinks the girl may be possessed by a demon known as Pazuzu. The priest requests to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow) to help with the difficult job.

Why It's An Excellent Day For An Exorcism

The film is incredibly faithful to the 1971 horror novel it's based on.
All of the actors and actresses' performances were outstanding, especially from Ellen Burstyn (who later reprised her role in the Blumhouse trilogy), the late Max von Sydow, the late Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, the late Jack MacGowran, the late Jason Miller, the late Mercedes McCambridge, and Linda Blair.
Great direction and production from the late William Friedkin and the late William Peter Blatty.
It's often considered one of the greatest horror films ever made, and it became the first to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Plenty of terrifying moments, especially Regan's iconic head-spin scene, as well as the infamous moment where she masturbates with a crucifix.
Rather than overusing jump-scares and horror cliches, the efficiency of the film is achieved thanks to the atmosphere, and dark vibes are placed as the story progresses. The lack of music in the horror moments also makes them even all the more scary.
Pazuzu is a well-known Assyrian demon and an incredible villain who manages to possess Regan, turning her into a hideous vessel for it to mercilessly taunt and abuse those around it, twisting her into a demonic parody of her former self, which included behaviors like vigorous masturbation with a crucifix, demanding people to have sex with her, and yelling sexual insults at people.
Regan's possessed look and the face of Pazuzu are genuinely creepy, which is how a villain in a horror movie should look. (see Trivia)
Quantity of special effects still holds up to this day, and this was when the CGI was outlying in the future.
Incredibly awesome and creepy soundtrack, most notably Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, listen here.
The film has been known to scare people more than any other horror movie. When year the actual movie was released in December 1973, scores of the audience formed long lines outside theaters to see it. It made them scream, cry, throw up, and pass out, caused ambulances to go to theaters, and even had a lot of people walk out midway through because of how scary it was.

The Only Bad Quality

For some viewers, If they already know what Regan MacNeil looks like when Pazuzu possesses her, all the shock value will be gone.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 172 reviews, with an average of 8.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Exorcist rides its supernatural theme to magical effect, with remarkable special effects and an eerie atmosphere, resulting in one of the scariest films of all time." On Metacritic, the film has an average weighted score of 82 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Videos

Trivia

The film was arguably said to be one of the most controversial films of all time due to its content and has sparked numerous controversies, and bans in certain countries after its release. Some of the well-known controversies surrounding the movie include:
- The unreleased trailer, which features black and white dissolving flashes of the faces of Regan and Pazuzu, was ultimately withheld by Warner Bros. for being too scary. This trailer alone was so disturbing that viewers cried, vomited, or even fainted after seeing it until Warner Bros. pulled the trailer due to the shocking content. One reason for all this is that people in 1973, the year the actual movie was released, were not ready for it because of the stunning special effects at the time. However, the flashes were later used in the trailer of The Exorcist: Believer.
- Although the film was never officially cut or banned in the UK, several attempts to release the film on video were thwarted by BBFC censor James Ferman, who cited both the age of Linda Blair's character (as she was under 12, the film might have had significant appeal to underaged viewers) and reports of incidents of hysteria involving young women (leading to concerns that the film might cause severe emotional problems for those who believed in demonic possession) as obstacles to a home release. Following a successful theatrical re-release in 1998 and Ferman's retirement as censor in January 1999, The film was submitted for a home video release for the first time in February 1999 and was passed uncut with an "18" certificate. The film had previously been released on video in 1981, uncertificated, by Warner Home Video.
A publicity photo of Regan's possessed look and the face of Pazuzu would later become notorious for its use in online screamers, most notably in Winterrowd games, Where's Waldo, Say It, and The Maze (The Scary Maze Game). which led to plenty of internet screamers being created in the early 2000s, including K-fee commercials, What's Wrong With This Picture? and many more, and even had their wiki too.

External links

The Exorcist at the Internet Movie Database
The Exorcist on Rotten Tomatoes

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