THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
In my eyes, you know you made your mark with a horror film when viewers are so scared of it, that they don't want to see it again. There is no film that has made such a mark like 1973's The Exorcist.
PLOT
Based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, the film follows actress Chris MacNeil, who is residing in Georgetown with her 12 year old daughter Regan, while shooting a film with director Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowan). When Regan plays with Ouija board, paranormal events begin to occur: Her bed starts shaking on its own and her attitude takes a massive shift as she acts violently to those around her. Chris takes her to get X rays done to see if there is a tumor, along with seeing psychiatrists. Despite hearing different perspectives, neither have been able to figure out what is wrong with her. One night, when Burke babysits Regan at night, he dies falling out of a window. While Chris takes it as an accident because of his drinking habit, Lieutenant William Kinderman (Lee J Cobb) thinks that maybe Regan is responsible, but Chris defends her by saying she was sedated. Another incident occurs when Chris walks in on her daughter who is committing sacrilegious self abuse, by masturbating with a crucifix. When she is temporarily locked in the room, she witnesses her turn backwards at 180 degrees. After that event, doctors believe that Regan is possessed and performing an exorcism could bring her back. Father Damian Karras is recommended to perform the exorcism, but he finds hesitance on being involved due to the struggle of faith he's been having, blaming himself for not being there for his ill mother before her passing. However, he agrees to perform when encountering the possessed Regan, who vomited on him. He also took notice on Regan's stomach marked with the words "Help me", hoping to break free from the demons that have trapped her. When he informs the church that he agrees to do it, they insist that an experienced priest should be involved and he would be an assist, due to never performing an exorcism before. The experienced priest who joins Karras is Lancaster Merrin, who recently returned from an archaeological dig in Iraq. When Merrin arrives at Chris' home, he gives advice to his assist to not converse with the demon and to not listen to its claims. As the ritual begins, the demon inside Regan acts vulgar and targets Karras, who sense his guilt over his mother. When Merrin takes notice, he insists to finish it alone. However, Karras later checks in and discovers the priest to have died from a possible heart attack. He confronts the demon and demands to be taken in exchange of freeing Regan. The demon surprisingly agrees and quickly enters the body of the last priest standing. With little control left, he uses it to make a shocking sacrifice where he would jump out a window, and fall to his death. After the jump, the child is finally free from her spiritual imprisonment. Days later, she and Chris prepare to return to Los Angeles. Despite having no recollection of her experience, she gives a kiss goodbye to Karras' friend Father Joseph Dyer (William O'Malley), who was wearing a clerical collar. Before driving away, Chris gives him Karras' medallion and the film ends with the priest walking away from the former home of the MacNeils.
THOUGHTS
As of writing this, I have seen this film three different times in my lifetime: Once as a child, traumatized in the progress. Second as a teenager, still shocked of what transpired. And third, impressed of it all. Each viewing was a horrifying experience and the fact that it remains so decades apart from its theatrical release, I find that outstanding. This movie works so well because of how atmospheric it becomes to present evil so convincingly. Jack Nitzche's score is such a chilling score to hear every time. The fact that the practical effects that occur are about as frightening as modern visual effects says a lot. You know you truly struck a nerve when you're the first of the genre to get recognition at the Oscars, being nominated for Best Picture in the progress. I truly believe that what strongly kept this movie together among the many things was the incredible ensemble. Ellen Burstyn gives what is arguably the best performance of her illustrious career. She impresses me as Chris because despite being terrified of what is happening to her only child, she never gave up on her. She kept her cover by not telling the Kinderman that she was responsible for Burke's death because that is how far she'll go to avoid losing her. This character also deserves respect for being calm during the exorcism because at this point, she was confident that the nightmare was reaching an end. This was my introduction to the late Max Von Sydow and in his given time, he is phenomenal as Merrin. I was surprised how he appeared as an 80 year old man, despite being in his 40s at the time. I do think that the best thing about him is how based on his experience, he is fearless on what ensues and is determined to save the innocent child from the evil that is consuming her. Every time he shouted "The power of Christ compels you", you felt the power that he had in him. He knew he would encounter evil again during his archaeological dig. It was said that his last exorcism in Africa almost killed him beforehand and the one inside Regan called his name out of fear. This implies how the demon he encounters in the climax is the same from before, making it a rivalry that was able to conclude in shocking fashion. Jason Miller is also great as Father Karras. He was interesting to witness because his grief over his mother created his crisis of faith. However, his involvement with the MacNeils was able to become the unexpected path of redemption, slowly eliminating the grief he had in him deep down. With the loss of Merrin, that was the final act to restore his faith and made the ultimate sacrifice. When he shouted "No" before the jump, it implies two things: Nothing else will consume him anymore and the girl will no longer be harmed. It was very selfless of him to do what he did, but that is what happens when you have nothing to lose, making him a bigger hero one would realize. Last but not least, the true star of this film has to be breakout Linda Blair. At first, she is the happiest child who can ignore all the bad, but that is until she messes with a Ouija board. For the rest of the movie, she appears to be so diabolical and vulgar, due to the demon named "Pazuzu". With the voice role of Mercedes McCambridge, the villain couldn't be anymore terrifying. When she kissed Father Dyer goodbye, that was her way to pay respect to his friend who saved her life. This movie is about as timeless as many classics but despite the praise, there were still some things I wish were done differently. First off, why did Chris open up the attic when she thought rats were up there? We know it’s the evil spirit but if it were actual rodents, they would’ve infested the house. All I’m saying is that she should’ve thought it through if it were the case. And why the hell does the doctor ignore the shaking bed? That alone should’ve immediately declared a possession in their hands. Had we not got a late reaction, Karras and maybe Merrin would’ve eliminated the threat before it was too strong. Also, why does the demon react to tap water spilling on the body, when it wasn’t even holy as Karras claimed? That made no sense to have the villain overreact to something that wasn’t its weakness. And lastly, the length of the stairwell and the window looks pretty far when looking at the ending. Seeing how far Karras had to throw himself, it almost feels like he’d need to get shot through a cannon to reach the stairs. I don’t want to hate on this movie, but these things just didn’t make sense to me. However, I still think it can appear flawless when ignoring my said flaws. In conclusion, William Friedkin provided the best of his filmography by presenting a film that is purely terrifying, which is all that matters in the horror genre. If you think horror movies can’t scare you, good luck getting through this movie.
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