It’s that time of year folks, pumpkins start to appear in windows and porches, leaves turn orange, the weather gets colder and scary movies are on the agenda. One film that has become a staple of Halloween since its release back in 1973 and is often considered one of the scariest films ever made is, The Exorcist. Nearly 50 years on from its initial release, I’m going to argue why it is still one of the greatest and most disturbing horror films ever made.
Now this isn’t an unpopular opinion as the film is highly acclaimed among many, but I find it interesting how a film, as old as it is, has managed to garner such a taboo reputation and generate such a reaction from people to this day. My experience with the film is like many others. My parents would always talk about how The Exorcist was one of those films that is just so scary and so disturbing that I should never go no near it, especially as a kid, and I didn’t, that was until I started to watch these types of films and finally grew a pair. It wasn’t until this year that I watched it in its entirety though (I’d only ever seen clips and snippets of it through YouTube etc.) and I thought, “how scary can it be, I’ve probably seen worse”. Safe to say I was wrong and since seeing it then I’ve watched it another 4 times this year.
I recently found out that my local cinema was running the film one night and I was desperate to see it in a cinema with some friends. I asked multiple people all of which basically admitted they were too scared to watch it on the big screen. And honestly who can blame them, when the film released in the 70s it caused such a reaction among cinema-goers (my parents among them).
Fainting, vomiting, and even heart attacks were all reported at the time with some priests and religious figures claiming that evil lived in its very celluloid. Audiences of the time had never been subjected to such graphic, disturbing and provocative filmmaking. Author Paul Wells wrote on the film, “The Exorcist remains important in that it drew the horror genre into mainstream commercial cinema and found a major audience which were not merely horror fans.”
So why is it so scary? The film, as you probably know, revolves around the demonic possession of a young girl and the struggles her mother goes through to protect her and rid her of this evil. There have been thousands of demonic possession-based films since, but none have come close to dethroning The Exorcist.
For one The Exorcist is masterfully directed by veteran filmmaker William Friedkin and co-written by the author of the book the film was based on, William Peter Blatty. Friedkin manages to ground this story in reality through his signature documentary style of filming, avoiding many of the typical horror clichés in favour of a more dramatic style. The Exorcist is also expertly paced, it never gives you time to release from that dread and fear that is built up from the very first sequence. It’s a slow burn until its not. just when the film feels like it’s dragging it pulls you right back in with some of cinemas most effective scares. Every kind of horror is on show here, disturbing imagery, effective shocking jump scares, disgusting gore, subliminal imagery, unnerving tone, fear of sickness and even elements of home-invasion.
The performances in The Exorcist are also excellent, even with such a surreal supernatural plot all the acting is very pragmatic and authentic. From Ellen Burstyn as the mother of the possessed girl who must reach new levels of broken as she watches her daughter go from sweet innocent child to evil incarnate. Jason Miller as Father Karras goes underappreciated as the priest going through a crisis in faith who must fight evil head on and is essentially the hero of the film.
Then there is Linda Blair as Regan who has the weight of the film on her shoulders, if she doesn’t work, the film doesn’t work. She is terrifying as an innocent girl who before our eyes transforms into a demon. You watch this child do and say things that honestly feel wrong to watch and thanks to the brilliant special effects and the haunting voice of actress Eileen Dietz. She feels purely evil towards the end of the film and a lot of that is down to her performance.
For me, The Exorcist isn’t just one of the greatest horror films ever made, its one of the greatest films ever made. It tackles complex themes of religion and faith and sifts them through the lens of the horror genre to make a film that is deeply disturbing, provocative and surprisingly heroic in what is in its purest form a battle of good vs evil. Not everyone will be as affected by it as fear is a subjective concept and that’s ok, but if there is one film you see this Halloween, late at night with the lights off. Make it The Exorcist.
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