Exorcist (The)

Genre: supernatural thriller

With: Ellen Burstyn (Chris MacNeil), Max von Sydow (Father Merrin), Lee J. Cobb (Lt. Kinderman), Linda Blair (Regan), Jason Miller (Father Karras), Kitty Winn (Sharon), Jack MacGowran (Burke Dennings), William O'Malley (Father Dyer)

Director: William Friedkin

Screenplay: William Peter Blatty (based on his novel)

Release: 1973

Studio: Warner Bros., Hoya Production

Rating: 16

MBiS score: 8.9/10

That’s One Frightening Way to Get Religion!

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Story-line: while doing archaeological work in Iraq, Father Merrin is almost trampled by a horse-drawn cart. Actress Chris MacNeil, on location in Georgetown, notices that her daughter Regan is behaving erratically. Father Karras, a consultant at Georgetown University, is worried about his aged mother living alone in New York City. In a church somewhere, a statue of the Virgin Mary is desecrated. I ask you now… is there any sense to all of this?

Pluses: forceful performances by Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and cast, superlative direction, a very clever and thoroughly effective ‟screamplay” offering original touches and a cunning buildup of tension, able cinematography and convincing special effects.

Minuses: don’t fret if the first act feels a bit disjointed… it’s a necessary set-up for the potent suspense to follow. The film score, which features fine music by Henze and Penderecki, makes little room for Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, a composition indelibly linked with this legendary movie. A note for sensitive viewers: some scenes are spooky or disgusting but the movie overall is not repulsive.   

Comments: for years, I have had a completely false impression of THE EXORCIST. Instead of the full-fledged gorefest I expected it to be, it stands as a serious moral drama depicting one special predicament that science alone can neither explain nor alleviate. As a whole, it doesn’t disrespect religion (in spite of some foul language) and its heart-stopping ending squares nicely with an odd little episode of the New Testament (in the Book of Luke… but don’t look it up!). THE EXORCIST, dare I say, is a bona fide masterpiece informed by denial, hysteria, visions of hell and the power of faith. In appreciation of William Peter Blatty (1928-2017) for his extraordinary story.

MBiS

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