The Exorcist

The Exorcist (1973)

–Why her? Why this girl?

–I think the point is to make us despair. To see ourselves as… animal and ugly. To make us reject the possibility that God could love us.

 

The Exorcist has the reputation of being one of the scariest movies ever made, and I’m not about to dispute that. I’m sure it was even more shocking in 1973, but I find it disturbing even now. The horror is multi-layered. For anyone with religious beliefs, the movie is like a worst nightmare come true. Beyond that, though, what happens to Regan is terrible because she is an innocent. She did nothing to invite evil into her life, and yet it took her over. The film works to upset us at a primal level because we want to protect our children but watching Regan’s possession is a reminder that sometimes we fail. Bad things happen to good people and the innocent do, sometimes, suffer. There is also an inherent fear of loss of control whether it’s of our bodies or our behavior. If you were brought up in a devout household, this movie contains some of the most appalling images and lines I can think of. All of these factors collide in William Friedkin’s adaptation of the William Peter Blatty novel.

From the very beginning I was forcibly reminded of how important sound is to a modern horror film. In fact, as I pointed out in my review of Val Lewton films, sound can be one of the scariest things about a movie. The Exorcist has a very effective soundtrack to accompany its sound effects. The scratchy violins at the beginning are just a prelude to the whole. I also found the dig in Iraq quite effective in its use of ancient statues and symbols. They bring a biblical feel to the opening scenes and serve as a reminder of how long the battle between good and evil has raged.

Like many effective thrillers, the movie has a slow buildup. We are introduced to Father Merrin, played by the irreplaceable Max von Sydow, as he works on the dig. We see his bad health, and then we are whisked away to meet Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter Regan (Linda Blair). We are allowed to see Regan behaving as an ordinary child before everything descends into chaos. When her problems start to manifest, Chris naturally takes her to the doctor; however, another part of the horror of this tale lies in the hospital. The doctors don’t know what is wrong with Regan and so they subject her to painful tests and different medications. I’m reminded of watching House –medical shows do not help with my fear of doctors. I’m convinced most of the time that they are just guessing about what is wrong with their patients and experiment until they either cure or kill them. Science and doctors torture Regan in the guise of treating her. They have good intentions but find themselves impotent and unable to cure her.

In desperation, Chris turns to the Church and exorcism. Father Karras (Jason Miller), the priest she first requests to help her, is a man struggling with his faith. His mother has recently died and he is suffering enormous guilt about whether he could have done more to help her. Other priests who appear are much more worldly and sophisticated than either Father Karras or Father Merrin. One even jokes that his idea of heaven is a nightclub where he is the star and everyone comes to see him.

Miller is touchingly troubled as Karras, a man who is used to dealing with metaphorical demons of the mind and not the literal demons inside Regan. He has a believable chemistry with Max von Sydow and their joint efforts to exorcise Regan are heart-stoppingly thrilling. Ellen Burstyn makes Chris a strong mother driven to desperation to save her little girl. Linda Blair is amazing as Regan although I’m glad to learn that she had doubles for some of the more objectional scenes. The image of Regan with a crucifix is burned into my memory as one of the most horrific moments I’ve ever witnessed.

While The Exorcist would seem to be targeting Christians as those it terrifies the most, I still think this movie is upsetting on a more universal level. As all great horror films must, it taps into our darkest most innate fears…in this case loss of control, fear of doctors, the inability to help the innocent in general or more specifically those we love. It has earned its place as one of the most shocking, scary films in the horror universe.