This is one movie I never tire of watching, though I avoid watching it at night which is actually the best time to check out this truly spooky film. The Exorcist is a horror film with depth, story, substance; a film that can sickeningly terrify the viewers. I recently watched the ’’Version You’ve Never Seen Before, ’’ which has some 11 minutes of additional footage & a digitally enhanced soundtrack; the new Exorcist was shockingly good & scared me all over again :o)
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’’Is it Captain Howdy?’’
We meet the title character priest-archeologist Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), who is in Iraq for archeological dig, here he discovers a mysterious artifact which is a demonic statue of Pazuzu, that was worshipped by ancient villagers. [This opening scene is mostly to give the viewer an idea of the character Father Merrin’s character]
Next we meet Chris MacNeil [Ellen Burstyn]a famous movie-star mother who has moved into a new house with her 12-year old girl Regan (Linda Blair). Soon Regan a smart, sweet-natured girl is troubled with ever-increasing mood swings, she starts speaking Latin, bouncing around on a shaking bed & her head swivles 180 degrees! Chris searches for answers but being a atheist doesn’t she doesn’t believe that her daughter is possessed by demons. When all medical help fail to explain this sudden illness, Chris becomes frustrated & finally she seeks the services of a priest-psychiatrist Father Karras (Jason Miller) & the legendary exorcist Father Merrin to free her daughter’s soul from the devil’s grasp. Thus begins the struggle between humans & the demonic forces.
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Scenes to watch out for:
Before she is taken over by evil, a very touching scene where a charming innocent Regan says goodnight to her mom.
A very skeptical Damien meeting the possesed Regan for the first time.
The spider walk scene: Regan descends the stairs upside down, with her arms moving about like a spider, her face smeared with blood, her mouth screaming obscenities in her demonic voice. This one is surely the film’s most disturbingly memorable scene. [Don’t blink or you might miss ’’the walk’’]
In the revised version a crucial scene between the two priests discussing the essential unanswered question: Why this girl has been selected by the demon?
And of course all the gut-wrenching scenes of the possessed Regan’s colorful exhibitions as she pukes, curses, spins her head around & her ill-mannered behavior.
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The Film:
The Exorcist was loosely based on true events that were reported in Washington DC newspapers in 1949 when novelist William Peter Blatty, a student at Georgetown University, read about this story, it stuck with him & 20 years later he fictionalized it to create ’’The Exorcist’’ but changed the lead character from a boy to that of a 12-year-old girl. Later in collaboration with Warner Brothers, Blatty produced this film, with director William Friedkin who has not only incorporated stunning visuals & memorable scenes but made the movie pack with meanings that seem to explain themselves as the movie progresses; what resulted is a truly excellent piece of work. If we ignore the sequel to this film, the other part Exorcist 3 can be called a perfect sequel; a very well made movie that keeps you on edge waiting to know about Patient X [Father Damien returns in this part]. This also explains much of the other unanswered questions from the previous two films. A tale of good versus evil, has never been any better than in The Exorcist.
The best part of the film is the gripping tension that is maintained in the whole movie, this creepy mood manipulation is sometimes more frightening than most of the blood & gore scenes of the possessed Regan. Also considering the fact that there were no computer graphics available, perhaps the most important part of The Exorcist is its special effects, which look so real even after all this time.
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Performances:
Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil: an actress & single mother who has to tries to find answers in medical & psychological possibilities concerning her daughter’s increasingly disturbing behavior but when she has to resort to priests to help her; Ellen has given a superb believable performance [especially the scene where she cries/pleads Father Karras to save her daughter] very effectively portraying the fragile state of a mother who helpless yet determined to fight for her daughter.
Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras: is my favourite character in the film. Damien is a complex individual, a priest & psychologist with a crisis of faith, a man who could have had a successful career as a boxer but chose another path & lived to question it, a son who feels guilty for the pathetic death of his mother. . . Miller is excellent as Damien Karras, a role he reappeared in ’’The Exorcist III’’ as Patient X.
Max Von Sydow as Father Merrin: a priest-archeologist whose battles with the devil have left him frail yet he is the only one whom the devil fears. Father Merrin is also a complicated character but the one who has most of the answers to the possesed girl & the beast within.
Lee J. Cobb as Lieut. Kinderman; gives a charming performance as the investigator who is also a fan of the actress Ellen & who jokes with Father Damien; Cobb brings some comic relief to the film.
Linda Blair as Regan: playing the sweet girl who becomes possessed by Satan. Even though the voice of possessed Regan belong to Mercedes McCambridge & dummies were used in some scenes, Linda is totally convincing both as the sweet little girl as well as the foul-mouthed, green puke spitting demon.
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My Word:
I first saw ’’The Exorcist’’ on a pirated video tape, sometime in 1985 & as I had already seen some really gross horror movies that didn’t scare me much, I wasn’t expecting any scare out of this movie but was in for a huge surprise! I was absolutely terrified & couldn’t sleep without the ghostly image of Regan dancing in front of my eyes, I was forever looking next to me coz it seemed she was lying there and would pounce as soon as I shut my eyes! I would keep trying to convince myself, ’’It’s only a movie’’. To this day, there is no way that I would watch this movie at night but still its one of my favourite films and for me no horror movie will ever come close to this one.
Though there have been some good horror films, The Exorcist remains the standard by which all other horror movies were & will be always be judged. To this day this film is inspiring many film makers [for eg. our very own RGV’s pathetic Bhoot] who don’t exactly succeed in portraying the same fear as the original film does, even after 30 years. Be it acting, direction, editing, or photography, after all these years & so many horror flicks, ’’The Exorcist’’ is still one hell of a movie. In the revised version ’’The Exorcist’’ still makes your head spin. & thats the only reason I highly recommend it.
Psst: watch it tonite on HBO, 9pm!