Sandy winds and hallowed ground: Father Merrin is wandering in Iraq; the skies are daunting and the old priest senses something: As he stares into the empty lands, he witnesses two dogs fighting. He casts his eyes to the statue of the demon god Pazuzu. All is not right with the world.
Enter now into the cosy family life of the McNeil's - OK, not that cosy, as Mr McNeil is truant, and Mrs is obviously doing her best to rear her only daughter and continue her career as a successful TV actress - but kinda cosy all the same, via extended family/film amigos and caring mother's helps.
Chris McNeil's daughter, Regan, is a happy-go-lucky kid, verging on her teenage years and seemingly undisturbed by the single parent family status: She's still making pretty pictures for her mother to paste on the refrigerator door, and she hasn't yet ventured into the adolescent angst that will make her question mummy's wisdom.
But this is all before she decides to play around with a Ouija board.
Post Ouija event (of which little is actually made of in the film), Regan begins to show signs that all is not well with this young girl: Her language takes a blue mouthed turn for the worse, and her behavior at a dinner party her mother holds, foresees a terrible future in store for all concerned.
Mummy hastens to the orthodox medical practice to have Regan's behavioral problems diagnosed: The medical examinations prove fruitless, and the child is past on to the psychiatrists to have a shot.
When these experiences also fail to produce results, and Regan's state is worsening, Chris McNeil ventures unwillingly into the religious realms of exorcism for her darling child.
Meanwhile, same city, different life: Father Karras struggles with his faith; a psychiatrist as well as a priest, he battles with his own guilt issues as his mother is moved into
a hospital, and dies soon after, without her beloved son at her side.
Haunted by his shortcomings and the recent loss, his entrance into Regan's scenario is more in taking with his psychiatric studies - his disbelief in her possible possession is deep: He challenges Regan's 'devil' from the debut, questioning its origins and testing it with 'un' holy water - he does, however, fall foul of its trickery, and is yanked into discussions concerning his mother...The devil knows his secret pain.
After a persuading performance by Regan, Karras is convinced that while this might not be a classic Biblical case of possession, there is a desperate need for the church to become involved. Now, if this had been reality, then that whole procedure of convincing the Vatican that this ancient rite was needed would have taken up a whole film of its own; luckily, this is celluloid religion, and the motions are made quicker than a vomitus spit in the eye - the Vatican consign the one living priest that has performed such an action before: Father Merrin.
Together, the priests embark on this harrowing mission: To rid Regan of the evil inside of her.
*The Acting.
Here lies the most contentious of issues within the film: Regan is depicted as a twelve year old child, therefore demanding an infant actress for the part. Some of the scenes are thoroughly horrific in nature, some of the words that pour forth from her mouth (via the smokingly hoarse over dubbings of...damn, can't find her name anywhere...buy the DVD and let me know :o) are truely stagnant; the acts that the young Linda Blair performs while 'possessed' are frighteningly sexual and violent - so the questions arise:
Where the parents of Linda Blair completely ignorant of the film's content, or did they willingly let her take this role, passing the responsibility buck onto the shoulders of William Friedkin?
Did Friedkin take advantage of this child by the production of this film?
How was Linda Blair effected by this experience?
Answers on a postcard, please.
Me, I definitely wouldn't have let my child partake in such a project, yet moral objections aside, Ms Blair does a damneable fine job: This role would have sapped the energy of a 'grown up' (in fact it did, in the case of Ellen Burstyn - Chris McNeil), and it indeed seems to take its toll on Linda's small shoulders. Friedkin's notorious 'bad' directorial behavior would have added to the strain, and I think the young actress deserves all the accolades possible for suffering all these distresses.
Just to add: There was a uncredited double for Regan, Eileen Dietz; I know she was used for the cut 'spider walk' scene, but I don't know how many of the more disturbing scenes were her and not Linda.
*The Direction.
Dear me, where to begin? You see there has been so much hype, scaremongering and out and out lies about this film and its director (mostly issuing forth from Friedkin himself) that it's hard to state the truth about The Exorcist anymore.
Yes, it appears to be true that he had a refrigeration unit built around the set (hence the effective blasting breath of the possessed Regan and the realistic shivering of all the actors when in that room); yes, Friedkin also caused Ellen Burstyn severe back problems when he insisted on yanking her across the room and into a wall (causing her REAL pain, which can be seen in the film as Friedkin kept the cameras rolling); no, there doesn't seem to be any REAL casualties to the film (Friedkin played up a few related deaths that occurred during filming); and pfff to William Peter Blatty's basing this story on REAL events - the reality is slightly more boring than fiction in this case.
So is the director any good? Well, yes. You see, he really pushed this movie, he really worked the actors, and he really realised a perfect horror movie - and that's what directors are supposed to do, no? So he decides to play it up a bit; he decides to report cinema goers puking in the aisles; he lets it be know that serious bad luck has been tracking the movie and its stars; so what? You have to admire him for his penny pinching insolence...and you have to admire him doing exactly the same thing twenty-seven years later.
*The Other Stuff.
The Exorcist was being filmed while I was still in the womb - frightening thought, eh? And I love it more with every watching moment. Why? Because it is correct. Sorry? Well, it's the 'most' correct horror movie I've seen to date:
It begins where it should; it depicts the devil abroad in a Biblical metaphor (dogs fighting); it piques our interest with the almost forgotten 'devil' Pazuzu; it realises the doubt within the contemporary Church for such a situation to arise; it illustrates the trickery within the devil himself; it quotes the exorcism rites word for word (no matter that the words become almost laughably ineffectual at moments); at no point can we believe that this is the DEVIL himself, yet from the mouth of Regan come the words "we are minion". Even Chris McNeil's character lives within a certain truth, as Burstyn was chosen from a million and one TV actresses (she had a role in the series The Doctors) to play this role.
There is another point to the film that I admire: Our hero (Father Merrin) is shown briefly at the beginning of the movie - and then isn't seen again until over three quarters of the way through. And this is the character of the title. I do believe that's a pretty effective character ploy to build up the tension.
As for the real reality: Young boy from brokenish home and fervent religious mother heads towards teenager-hood. Seeking attention (or possessed by the devil? I think not), he begins to act a little strangely. A few cuts and bruises appear on the boy's body; mummy parades him through the hospitals, but finally insists that he is possessed - teenage angst meets Munchausen by proxy or satanic possession of the soul?
*Conclusion.
I have failed to include some of the more disturbing of moments from this film: these are documented elsewhere in this category. Faint of heart or easily upset? Don't watch it. And the pea soup of the title is the substance used for Regan's vomitus. Yummmn.
Enjoy.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2001 - Horror - Director: Stephen Sommers - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brendan Fraser, John Hannah, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, Freddie Boath, Oded Fehr, The Rock, Tim Murdock
Production Year: 2001 - Horror - Director: Dario Argento - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Max Von Sydow, Stefano Dionisi, Chiara Caselli, Gabriele Lavia
Excellent movie. Did scare the hell out of me when i watched it as a kid. Though its funny now, especially after watching Scary Movie. jedi_kickass ( ' _ ' )
kimy 25.10.2001 17:54
Chilling film, still can’t watch it again to this day! I couldn’t even see Scary Movie two because it had scenes from this film in it!
mbmb11 12.10.2001 14:50
hmm, some interesting thoughts on the child actress there.
Perhaps her parents thought if she acted on something as shocking as this it would no doubt improve her careers prospects.
Great op -
Mel x
Director William Friedkin was a hot ticket in Hollywood after thesuccess ofThe French ... more
Connection, and he turned heads (in more ways than one) when he decided to makeThe Exorcistas his follow-up film. Adapted by William Peter Blatty from his controversi...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Director William Friedkin was a hot ticket in Hollywood after the success ofThe French ... more
Connection, and he turned heads (in more ways than one) when he decided to makeThe Exorcistas his follow-up film. Adapted by William Peter Blatty from his controvers...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The belief in evil - and that evil can be cast out. From these two strands of faith ... more
author William Peter Blatty and director William Friedkin wove The Exorcist the frightening and realistic story of an innocent girl inhabited by a malevolent entity....
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
The belief in evil - and that evil can be cast out. From these two strands of faith, ... more
author William Peter Blatty and director William Friedkin wove The Exorcist, the frightening and realistic story of an innocent girl inhabited by a malevolent entity. ...
Advantages: Great screenplay and caught Friedkin in his top form Disadvantages: remarks about the film that turn away patrons whether good or bad for its publicity
CrutcHead 06.05.2004 (07.05.2004)
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Review of The Exorcist (DVD)
![The Exorcist [DVD] [1974]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78547387.jpg "The Exorcist [DVD] [1974]")
Oct 12th, 2001
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