Horror is a funny thing, a genre with more finely pronounced tonal cycles than most, ranging from realistic to supernatural and everywhere in between, from degrees of subtlety and brutality, perceived immorality and popularity. And at the crux of all that, by reputation at the very least, is The Exorcist, often held up as the scariest movie ever made – I don’t wish to over-question that now, save to cast my lot in with The Shining. No matter, The Exorcist stands as the horror film of the ‘70s, representing the whole move to adult horror the decade is known for. I say “whole” because prior films marked the start into modern horror, arguably either Psycho or Night of the Living Dead. Still, The Exorcist is the zenith of that motion, treating the supernatural with a seriousness and realism it rarely affords, and selecting the most sacred form of supernaturalism for its subject.
The Exorcist is likewise incredibly important to the development of the film franchise, even while its own franchise is rather troubled. In that way, its closest brother is Jaws. Consider, until Jaws’ release two years later, The Exorcist was the highest-grossing film of all time – not bad at all for an off-putting, R-rated horror flick! The blockbuster mentality most attribute to Jaws, the sense which reignited a love for sequels unseen since the ‘40s, did not spring ex nihilo from that shark movie. Former towering triumphs paved the way, with The Exorcist at the top of that pack.
Like Jaws (and fellow ‘70s proto-blockbuster The Godfather), The Exorcist can be traced back to a best-selling thriller novel. William Peter Blatty’s 1971 book parallels Benchley’s “Jaws” also in how it takes inspiration from tragedy which befell a child in the 1940s. This was the apparent 1949 possession and subsequent exorcism of Robbie Mannheim by Father William S. Bowden. Whatever the facts are, it made an impression upon Blatty, who must’ve been further inspired by the success of the similarly demonic Rosemary’s Baby, leading to his own creation.
Blatty is an important figure throughout the entire Exorcist franchise, and not just for penning the inspiration novel. The script to The Exorcist is Blatty’s baby too, and informed sources suggest it thus retains a higher-than-average faithfulness to its source. In a story about faith, that’s appropriate. Perhaps this explains the inherent seriousness of tone in The Exorcist, as well as why certain plot points aren’t spelled out as clearly as you’d expect – as Blatty was over-familiar with the material.
Adding seriousness of direction to seriousness of script, The Exorcist was helmed by William Friedkin directly off his Best Picture winning success of The French Connection – a gritty Dirty Harry sibling whose only similarity to The Exorcist is its general immediate believability. This tonal matter is no small thing, for it helps to offset and augment the thing most remembered about The Exorcist – the show-stopping shock moments surrounding a demon possession. These are grand-standing bits of special effects wizardry, given weight by their proximity to low-key drama and ‘70s realism. This, I think, explains The Exorcist’s power to burrow into its audience unlike most supernatural tales, which remain at arm’s length throughout.
And there really isn’t all that much demon possession stuff on hand, certainly no more than a modern viewer anticipates through pop cultural osmosis. Hell, every moment of terror has been isolated and examined since, even some which aren’t in the original cut – such as the “spider walk” sequence. What makes these moments frightening – and here I’m assuming – is partly shock, sure, how much they’re unexpected within the film’s overall fabric. They’re not frightening for visceral reasons, in the way of most other horror, since the possessee is rarely a true physical threat. This leaves The Exorcist to create a more subconscious, cosmic horror of the psychological and spiritual. Indeed, it has been posited that one’s reaction to The Exorcist lies in one’s own sense of faith, especially in regards to Catholicism – I must say B.S. to this, since I maintain a healthy (Protestant) faith, and have nearly zero terror of this sort of supernatural oogity-boogity. On the flipside, I’ve seen many a professed non-religious person become a shivering wreck before The Exorcist, so to each his own…Let’s just agree that horror is like comedy in its subjective effect.
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The Exorcist’s first 10 minutes are something one would never expect without prior knowledge. They concern archeology in Iraq! There is nothing overtly scary here, nor even any explanatory dialogue – and what little is in subtitles. Running the excavation is the elderly Jesuit Father Lankester Merrin (cinematic badass Max von Sydow, who’d already grappled with Death himself in The Seventh Seal).
Eerie things occur at the dig site, but eerie in the most subtle, understated way – I’ll go out on a limb and call this The Exorcist’s most haunting section, as the best horror concerns dread implications of ill to come. Buried within the ancient Mesopotamian ruins is a Roman coin, a inexplicable anachronism, with St. Joseph upon it. And further in the catacombs is a tiny demonic relic. With its release, subtle hell breaks loose – a clock stops, dogs fight, the soundtrack dies. Beholding a life-sized statue of the same demon, Merrin announces his departure for the States. “There is something I must do.”
The camera soars – Is it the demon’s point of view? – to Georgetown in Washington D.C. Overlooking the river, perched beside a concrete staircase, is the temporary house of the MacNeils. Divorced mother Chris MacNeil (cinematic badass Ellen Burstyn, who was in an even more disturbing picture in Requiem for a Dream) is an actress, out East on a film shoot with pretentious hack Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) – the less said about the hyper-topical melodramatic mess that is Crash Course, the better. Chris’ rental home, meanwhile, is managed by a small staff of servants, and otherwise inhabited by Chris’ only child Regan (Linda Blair, horror icon). But she’s not all who inhabits the house…
The attic has mice – at least, that’s Chris’ assumption. More accurately, the attic has demon.
The home life between Chris and Regan is ironically normal, with Regan even more youthful and innocent than her age would suggest. We know where this is going, but the movie takes its slow time getting to Regan’s possession – and even then, it’s not wholly clear just when the possession takes place. It is a steady process. But there are early hints, such as Regan’s bird figurine which just happens to resemble the Iraqi statue, or Regan’s sudden interest in a Ouija Board and its attendant personality, “Captain Howdy.” Combine that with Chris’ unsettling autumnal walk – on Halloween – with its steady progression of Catholic sights, from the Jesuit church to eerier-than-normal nuns, and you have more of that wonderful slow dread.
Parallel to the MacNeils is the tale of Father Damien Karras (Broadway actor and Gabriel Byrne lookalike Jason Miller), the Jesuits’ resident psychiatrist, who is undergoing a crisis of faith. This dilemma is stated outright on occasion, notably to Karras’ closest associate Father Dyer (Father William O’Malley), but for the most part it’s done with that same ‘70s style of understated human drama.
Karras’ greatest trial is the failing health of his mother – and failing mental capacity, to Karras’ infinite distress. She shall be shuttled in and out of institutions, and then finally die alone at home – this being one of many, many events which we learn about through dialogue far after the fact. This in turn leads to Karras’ unworldly nightmares, grappling with his presumed abandonment. But Karras remains separate from the central MacNeil tale until well past halfway, so let us leave poor Damien wallowing in his misery.
Rather, witness the imperceptible ratcheting of tension with Regan. In a potential temporary sop to the anti-supernatural crowd (see ‘40s horror, where rational explanations are always provided for), Regan listens in to her mother’s obscene rants in the other room. This might provide an explanation for her future vulgarity, without reference to the attic spookiness still taking place.
Speaking of which, Chris decides upon finally ascending into the attic to investigate – this arguably releases the demon spirit into the house, because demons can sail from Iraq to D.C. in a single jump cut, but cannot move through floorboards. No matter, Chris sneaks around, tension builds, and a sudden jump scare relieves current stress. Astoundingly, this is the closest The Exorcist ever comes to a haunted house tale.
As a sudden contrast to modern horror, the statue of Mary at the church has been vandalized – obscenely. It’s Madonna less as the Mother of God, and more 1980s cone bra.
About now Chris starts talking about the minor behavioral issues present in Regan, which we haven’t been audience to. (Apparently, they’ve already been to a doctor.) It’s time to shatter that boundary! And in a most theatrical fashion, as Regan/whatever chooses Chris’s party full of sotted hoi polloi to act out. Beholding an astronaut, she informs “You’re going to die up there.” Then Regan pisses all over the rug like a common Shih-Tzu.
And just in case that wasn’t shocking enough, Act One officially comes to an end with Regan’s bed shaking violently. The instant things become the slightest bit intense, we cut to black. There’s something actually more disturbing about that…
…
Horror is often metaphorical, especially supernatural horror – it affords an indirect approach to iffy subject matter, like sci-fi vs. racism. Vampires = sex, zombies = conformity, the possession of a 12-year-old girl = puberty. The profusion of sexual imagery supports that. But this is all subtext, the realm of further studies. For some reason, that’s not what I’m doing…
Anyway, all this short-changed talk of pubesquent metaphors is in mighty contrast with my insistence upon The Exorcist’s fundamental realism. The next sequence tips that balance back, as it chronicles Regan’s travails in the medical field. Chris seeks a scientific explanation for Regan’s increasingly alien demeanor, which leads directly to a spinal tap! From one perspective, this is the scariest part of The Exorcist – I know I keep saying that – as the harsh details of the surgical process are documented.
Director Friedkin uses a harsh, possibly unethical tactic here, essentially doing it all for real. Kudos to Linda Blair for enduring what is obviously real pain. (Overall, Friedkin employs a forced method acting approach, torturing his cast to an extent that only Werner Herzog could surpass. Hell, he permanently injured Ellen Burstyn’s back!)
The final medical result comes in – no legion, not yet, seeing as that’s the title of Blatty’s literary sequel. But I’m rambling…How about something terrifying to get back on track?
Yeah, that’ll do.
Chris persists in struggling to find a solution to Regan’s actions, and spends her time Acting in the doctors’ presence. From a dramatic perspective, from here on out Chris’ story is one of helplessness, as she grows ever more useless in her own story. (In a way, it’s the drama of mire, like Michael’s lack of an arc in The Godfather: Part II.) In fact, so dedicated to berating the doctors is Chris, she isn’t even available to see to Regan at home – an absence which leads (off screen, of course) to the death of Dennings. (Likewise, actor MacGowran wouldn’t survive until the film’s release, which is attributed to a “curse” which all seemingly-deadly horror films possess.)
Dennings fell down the staircase near the MacNeil house, his head twisted 180 degrees. This leads to the introduction of Lt. Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb), an interesting character with his love of old movies and ephemera. Examining the murder angle, Kinderman suspects Dennings tumbled from Regan’s bedroom window – but not before his neck was already mangled. Precisely what Dennings would’ve been doing in Regan’s room is never stated, but it’s…it’s icky. No matter, though it’s not explicitly stated, we all strongly suspect Regan murdered Dennings. She practically says so herself, in her own inimitable fashion –
Chris makes the next step, to psychiatry. At last the expected freakishness comes to the forefront, as Regan answers the psychiatrist’s hypnosis with the voice of Mercedes McCambridge, increasingly resorting to numerous ancient languages – hilariously, Wikipedia considers this a multi-language movie for this reason, with Latin, Greek, French and German. Sure, guys. As the shocking climax to this latest outburst, Regan attacks the psychiatrist’s crotch. Cut.
The quacks at the Barringer Clinic devise wilder and wilder B.S. for Regan’s condition – a somnambular possession under delusions of a spirit invasion of the body. Basically, they’re at wits’ end, which leads to a final, desperate suggestion: Why not try exorcism? We know now what that means – a Catholic ritual to drive out the demon – but in 1973, The Exorcist essentially existing pre-Exorcist, it must be spelled out. And Chris is unimpressed: “You’re telling me I should send my daughter to a witchdoctor.”
The issue of religion and faith is highlighted, allowing The Exorcist to take part in a debate mainstream films rarely address. In fact, The Exorcist’s insistence upon literalizing the demonic world led many (Billy Graham) to condemn the picture as irreparably evil; I beg to differ. Infernal forces, be they Satan or merely some run-of-the-mill pagan ultra-deity, have undoubted power in this film’s world, but salvation ultimately comes from faith, and the holy power of God. In fact, The Exorcist is a profoundly moral film – hell, the title refers to the hero! But this is not a position the sensationalists like to acknowledge.
Count Chris among those sensationalists, for she is taken aback by the sudden presence of a crucifix under Regan’s pillow – put there by one of her servants, no doubt. If only she knew… The demon inside Regan steps up its offensive, utilizing the crucifix to now mock religion as it formerly mocked Regan’s body and mind. People refer to this scene as the “masturbation” scene, but it’s really more “genital mutilation.” It is tremendously filthy, and another strong contender in the “scariest scene” competition – from yet another perspective, of the purely physical and sexual. And – cut!
“That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!” Chris says (mentally). The time has come at last to find an answer in religion. More so, this leads Chris directly to Father Karras – this appears inevitable to the viewer due to Karras’ consistent presence on the sidelines. With noted awkwardness, Chris broaches the notion of exorcism. Even Karras is skeptical – he would be, spiritual crisis or no. But he’ll at least examine Regan.
Her room has undergone a physical change, just as Regan has. Now lashed, anything deadly either removed or padded, Regan’s state automatically reminds Karras’ of his mother’s former condition. Regan adds to this with her verbal torments. And since these aren’t immediately effective, she even vomits on Karras. Betcha didn’t expect that!...unless you’ve heard anything at all about The Exorcist…
Brief character-building moments aside, Karras spends a little more time interviewing Regan – who actively requests an exorcism now, to “bring us together.” Playing back his tapes, Karras even discovers Regan’s latest language: English…backwards! Buried within are requests for Father Merrin.
The religious diocese debate exorcism, it now a foregone conclusion. Merrin is summoned, but not without question of his advanced age. It’s even suggested this is the same demon he faced once before – around a decade ago in Africa, where he exorcized a young boy. Expect that one throwaway line to haunt the Exorcist franchise like nothing else.
Merrin and Karras assemble and prepare for holy battle – that the battle is wholly on the ephemeral plane is refreshing, making the aged Merrin one of moviedom’s toughest warriors in spite of his frailty. And let the wholehearted special effect extravaganza begin! The Exorcist’s realism retreats, having done its job, creating a solid foundation for all that follows. The exorcism itself, our centerpiece, is a combination of holy writ, a potty-mouthed preteen, and plentiful spooky effects such as Regan floating in mock-crucifixion.
Let’s see, how to sum up this section…
The Lord’s Prayer.
“Your mother sucks cocks in hell.”
Blessings with holy water.
Artlessly puking all over one’s own bed.
“The power of Christ compels you!”
Heads twisting around a full 360 degrees.
“God Himself commands you.”
Then this:
I’ll leave the scant remainder of the tale alone, in deference to The Exorcist’s quality and status as a classic. Rather, what of The Exorcist’s impact, and its status in the film franchise pantheon? Already we’ve noted the religious controversy it engendered, though we’re rather beyond that now in 2010. Amazingly, The Exorcist’s immediate success wasn’t simply financial, but critical. Any horror movie nominated for 10 Oscars is doing something right. Sure, it only won two, but still…
Like Jaws, The Exorcist’s lasting legacy is not in itself alone. Focusing purely on the horror realm, its influence can be seen both large and small, from the myriad of excellent, serious ‘70s horrors to the innumerable, inevitable cheap Exorcist clones – naturally, most made by the Italians. Consider, entirely off the top of my head, The Omen, Stigmata, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Carrie, The Manitou, Seytan, The Amityville Horror, I Don’t Want to be Born, Exorcismo, The Sexorcist, L’anticristo, Naked Exorcism, something with the lack of shame/legality to call itself Exorcist III: Cries and Shadows… That’s not counting the parodies or direct sequels… Or “The Version You’ve Never Seen,” the 2000 reissue of The Exorcist which was until today the only version I’d seen (“spider walk” aside, the ’73 version is better paced and more shocking). Hell, without sequels I’d say The Exorcist casts a very long shadow indeed. So long, in fact, that it’s hard to see how one could adequately follow up the story and stand out in the crowd. That is, ironically, perhaps the reason The Exorcist never became truly outstanding as a franchise – the first was too good.
Related posts:
• No. 2 Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• No. 3 Exorcist III (1990)
• No. 4 Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
• No. 5 Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
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