Even after fifty years, The Exorcist stands as the pinnacle of the horror genre. Everything about it has attained iconic status, from the acting and makeup effects to the directing and music. Mention this movie to anyone and they’ll immediately conjure images of Linda Blair, writhing and wailing like a banshee as her head rotates like an oversized devil doll. This is one of those rare movies that can provoke the willies even in people who’ve already seen it. Indeed, The Exorcist requires at least two viewings–once for the undiluted nightmare fuel and the other to appreciate the meticulous craftsmanship that went into conjuring it.
The story must be familiar to people who haven’t even seen the film: Deep in the desert, a priest (Max von Sydow) oversees an archaeological dig that accidentally unearths an ancient demon. Cut to Washington D.C., where Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is a successful film actress on a location shoot. Regan (Linda Blair), her preteen daughter, joins her. As time passes, Regan begins to exhibit strange behaviors, such as suddenly wetting herself and issuing dire prophecies to Chris’s houseguests. At first, these actions can be dismissed as the onset of puberty or tied to the stress of moving. But as things grow worse, it becomes clear to Chris that something is really wrong with her daughter.
Unfortunately, the doctors are no help. One by one, they mansplain away Chris’s mounting panic and downplay the severity of Regan’s outbursts. Hopelessness begins to settle over the MacNeil household, as Regan’s bedroom begins to exhibit supernatural phenomena. Eventually, one doctor proposes what was once unthinkable: Regan is possessed, and a exorcism is needed.
As Dr. Evil will later say, we’ll need an old priest and a young priest. For the latter, Chris turns to Father Damien (Jason Miller). Damien finds himself at a crisis of faith, with a bedbound mother and pangs of doubt. As for the old man, we get Lankester Merrin, the priest from the film’s opening reel. He’s a rare authority on exorcism, so he leads the attempt to purge the demon from Regan’s body.
From that story, director William Friedkin delivers some of the most unsettling images in cinema history. Many of them are so audaciously violent and disturbing, they could still jar an audience fifty years after their release. The special effects and makeup team (Marcel Vercoutere, Linwood G. Dunn, and Rick Smith) go above and beyond to feed our nightmares: From Regan spider-walking and retching green vomit to levitating above her bed, the practical effects in The Exorcist hold up to this day.
Underneath the film’s visceral shock value lurks a surprisingly attractive production. Famed cinematographer Owen Roizman shrouds the film in deep shadows and silver fog, thus adding a perpetual layer of eeriness to the proceedings. Mike Oldfield’s haunting, elliptical “Tubular Bells” provides a maddeningly catchy theme for the film’s mounting madness. Subtract The Exorcist‘s propulsive horror, and it would be easy to mistake this film’s underrated beauty for a prestige drama. Not surprisingly, this film was nominated for a raft of Academy Awards for its look and feel.
Those accolades also went to the onscreen talent. Burstyn is exceptional as Chris, whose amiable, refined personality slowly gets stripped down to the primal anguish of a desperate mother. Regan is two disparate roles bundled into one, and Blair brings a rare fearlessness to both. We feel real empathy for Regan and terror for the demon possessing her. Miller’s Damien brings a hint of cynicism to those sad, exhausted eyes. And then there’s von Sydow, who I’m convinced was born a middle-aged man. (Exceptional makeup makes him look just as he does in Game of Thrones, over forty years later.) His Father Merrin is stern, brilliant, and imposing–just the gravitas this event picture needed.
The Exorcist gets an easy five stars. At the same time, I’ll attach an asterisk to this otherwise perfect review. Naturally, this film is not for the squeamish, but I firmly believe that every serious movie fan should at least try to watch it. Just like every other great film, The Exorcist rises above its genre to become an enduring masterpiece.
122 min. R. Max.
