Loading ...The Exorcist (1973)
With The Exorcist, William Friedkin created a movie that will shake even the most unflappable horror movie viewer. The strength of the film is enhanced by the power of the actor’s performances. Once again, evil comes home to roost not at a remote camp or old house, but in a quite neighborhood of a suburb a stone’s throw from the nation’s capital. The Exorcist will rattle your soul from beginning to end.
Plot summary for The Exorcist:
A little girl Regan (Linda Blair) in suburban Washington, D.C. turns from the sweet daughter of an actress (Ellen Burstyn) into a foul-mouthed, head-twisting, backward-stair crawling, pea-vomiting body possessed by an evil demon. Her mother must turn to the Catholic Church and Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) for help in exorcising the monster from her daughter’s body.
Memorable scene from The Exorcist:
Possessed and fully under the control of the demon, Regan begins shouting obscentities at the priests who have come to exorcise the evil from her body. She ends by vomitting the now famous pea-soup mixture on them.
Memorable quote from The Exorcist:
“And I’m the Devil. Now kindly undo these straps.”
Why we love The Exorcist:
It’s impossible to deny evil when it walks through your front door, climbs your carpeted staircase and possesses the body of your adolescent daughter. The unsettling nature of the film is that we have the idea, planted somewhere deep down in our minds, that this either has happened or could happen. That out there somewhere lurks a demon waiting to find a home in each of us. Cup of creepy, anyone?
Frightening Fact:
The poor cast of The Exorcist! Ellen Burstyn had to endure a spinal injury. Linda Blair spent days in a refrigerated room. What’s more, Director William Friedkin fired guns behind the actors to achieve the startled expressions that he wanted for The Exorcist. He was said to have slapped one actor across the face before rolling the camera. He also put Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in harnesses and have crew members yank them violently.
