*Holy men tell us life is a mystery.
They embrace that concept happily.
But some mysteries bite and bark
and come to get you in the dark
--- Book of counted sorrows.
Darkness devours every shining day.
Darkness demands and always has its way.
Darkness listens, watches, waits.
Darkness claims the day and celebrates.
Sometimes in silence darkness comes.
Sometimes with a gleeful banging of drums.
Book of counted sorrows.*
Originally released in 1973 under the title “The Exorcist, ” this movie remains one of the most controversial and opposed films of the century apart from being one of the biggest box office successes. Directed by William Friedkin, if watched intensely enough this film has the power to assault your senses. It was re-released as “The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen, " with some added footage, a redone sound track and other enhancements in the year 2000. Loosely based on William Peter Blatty’s novel by the same name, the movie tells us the shocking story of a young girl Regan (played by Linda Blair in a
brilliant debut; she was supposedly only 13 years old when the movie was shot) who is possessed by demonic forces. The exorcism of these forces forms the latter part of the film.
The Exorcist is more graphic than (but by no means inferior to) other films based on similar devil themes, one example being Rosemary’s Baby based on Ira Levin’s 1967 novel by the same name, released in 1968. This film is best thought of as three separate threads running in parallel. These threads merge as the film progresses and become a single one towards the end.
The first thread opens in an archeological digging site in Iraq where Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), a catholic priest and archeologist finds a small statue made of stone resembling a demon. The Father is next shown in the curator’s office where his intent of returning home to the USA is discussed. He then goes to a distant location where there is a full sized statue of the same demon. He then gets the feeling that evil is all around him.
The film transitions to Georgetown in Washington, D.C in the second thread. We are introduced to Chris McNeil, an actress by profession and her angelic daughter Regan. We get the idea that Regan’s parents are divorced.
On yet another separate thread, we are shown Father Karras (Jason Miller), a priest who we understand to be running out of faith and feels like a fraud for his crisis of faith. Priest Karras’s mother is shown to be very ill.
Going back to the McNeil household, in a few touching scenes we are shown the tight and loving relationship that Chris and Regan share. A while later, on one occasion where Chris is hosting a party at her house, Regan walks in to the room in a trance and suddenly urinates on the floor in front of the guests. Chris, who is now really embarrassed apologizes to the guests. That same night, when Chris comes downstairs after putting Regan to sleep in her room, hears her screaming. As she rushes up the stairs, we notice the lights in the hallway flickering. She discovers that the entire bed (with Regan on it) is shaking and violently thumping for no apparent reason. We slowly gain a sense of utter terror and imminent danger.
Following this incident, Chris seeks medical attention for her daughter. We are then shown a series of really invasive medical procedures (tests) being conducted on the young girl in order to uncover brain lesions, if any. A series of different scenes depicting occasions involving doctors, both physical
and psychiatric, follow. Meanwhile, Regan is showing more and more signs of possession including speaking in a deep, guttural demonic voice. Then comes the most controversial scene involving the cross.
Around this point Chris contacts the priest Karras to whom she was introduced earlier. After a lot of convincing, the priest reluctantly agrees to see Regan. In this meeting with the now completely possessed Regan, he gets answers from her about his mother’s maiden name, some thing that Regan herself would not know.
One of the scariest effects in the flick is the voice of the demon, which was provided by Mercedes McCambridge (an amazing actress herself and winner of the Oscar in 1949 for her role in the film ‘All the King’s Men’). This voice was then remixed with various animal sounds. The Exorcist won two Oscars one of them for ‘best sound’ which was provided by Robert Knudson and Chris Newman. This is something, considering that not too many horror films are nominated for Oscars.
After a few more scenes, the priest comes to believe that it is an authentic case of possession and asks his superior for permission to perform an exorcism. Two priests need to be present for the exorcism and Father Merrin (who apparently has experience in exorcism) who has now returned from Iraq is assigned to the case.
The disturbing timbre in the film so far builds up to a dramatic finale in which the two priests perform the exorcism. Saying anymore would be to give the whole story away.
The Exorcist does provide the chills and thrills that are expected out of regular horror fare, but what makes it one of the all times greatest in its genre is its capacity to haunt one long after they have finished watching the movie. There are a number of disturbing and/or controversial scenes in the film, not the least of all being the notorious head spinning 360 degrees scene.
Contrary to what the name suggests, the ritual of exorcism forms a somewhat small part of the movie. A major part of it deals with character development (be it Regan, her mother or Father Karras), Father Karras’s faith issues and the bond between Regan and Chris. This is probably one of the reasons why the movie hits one very hard. The success of this film spawned several sequels (probably three so far) but talking about them is beyond the scope of this review.
This film is good for repeated viewings as it does not lose its edge after the first showing.
Go rent it to watch!
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