The Exorcist - 70s Week

Mmmmm… Boy, do I love this film. I could probably just spend this first paragraph moaning and tossing my hands into the air. It’s that good! I was thinking how to close this 1970s themed week out, and how better than with a film that has stood the test of time carrying the title as the scariest film of all time. And yes, it is still so relevant and scary even till this day. Throw out your SAWs and your HOSTELs and your RINGUs and all those flashes in the pan that only serve to startle and scare you for the moment. This is psychological. It gets under your skin. And unlike other horror films, this one is actually based upon TRUE events that did take place and have been documented in authenticity. THE EXORCIST is the granddaddy of them all and I’m so excited to revisit it and discuss it here. Hold on for the ride.

The Exorcist Trailer Here

So I’m sure that I could talk about this film for days, so I will try to just discuss key elements in this little write-up. Here’s a quick rundown on the plot – a girl get’s possessed by a demon and priests try to exorcize it out of her. There you go. That’s the main storyline and there are other subplots around that, but I’ll spare you as they pale in importance. The best parts of the movie take place during the 20-minute exorcism and the horrific events that build up to that point.

William Friedkin, director of THE EXORCIST, truly had an amazing handle on the overall pacing of this film. Even during the opening shots in the Middle east we are shockingly aware of the fact that we are in for an unpleasant ride. The hammers slamming, the demon head, the man with dead eyes, the rapid dogs fighting, and finally the demonic statue juxtaposed with the setting sun and then with Georgetown - all are there to create an immense sense of unease in the audience; and it works. And back in Georgetown the suspense continues to build ever so slightly and with perfect magnitude.

From the first time we see the mother we almost immediately hear the sounds in the attic. It’s that complete demonic dominance that surrounds this film. The demon(s) were here the entire time and rightly so, as they are the central characters in this film. The film very much is a spiritual film. From the loss of faith the one father has and how he has to overcome his own shortcomings to save the child in the end, to the Ouija board Regan uses to conjure up the demon (Mr. Howdy) in the first place.

Some of my favorite moments of this film would have to be:

- The spiderwalk down the stairs (Thankfully they could remaster that scene to include it in the “The Version You’ve Never Seen Before – because WF thought it looked too fake before)

- Any of the scenes in the bedroom towards the end. (They actually put in 4 commercial cooling units on top of the house to keep that room at -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Once when the camera crew came in to setup they said the moisture had frozen in the air and it looked as if it was snowing in that room. So amazing)

- When the mother is thrown back by Regan onto the floor. Watch closely, because she actually broke a rib in that scene due to the fact the harness pulled her too violently.

- When the priest’s mother is talking to him through Regan. So creepy

- When Regan vomits on the priest. Again, look closely to see if you can make out where the feed tube comes up from her nightgown. Supposedly if you look at the right second you can see it glimmer – I’ve never found it personally… Although it might have been touched up for the newer release.

- When Regan comes downstairs during the dinner party – we definitely know that things are ramping up then.

Probably the worst moments to take are the voice dubbing that is done over Regan's voice to make it seem like there are tons of people living inside of her. It's so hard to listen to that at a loud volume through a surround sound system. It's almost begging for someone to enter. Check out this link - this is supposedly real audio captured from the exorcism of Emily Rose: CLICK HERE IF YOU DARE. Tehehe

One of the scare tactics that I hate to see used in films is effectively used here and I give it a pass. It’s when there is a sudden cut to something or someone jumps up with the sole intention of scaring the audience – did you know what I mean? Here, they cut very harshly to a demonic face with bloodened teeth and ghostly face paint on. Once while Regan is at the doctors, and then we see the same face on the panel of the oven as the mother comes back into the dark house. It is startling, but starts to ramp up the anxiety level as we enter into the second/third acts.

The first time I watched this film was during a sleepover with a good friend from high school. I remember we started it around 2am in a pitch dark basement. (The perfect atmosphere). After we finished it we stayed awake and talked about how amazingly horrific it was. I think we didn’t get too much sleep that night, but we didn’t need to turn any lights on. I recommend that if you’ve never watched it before you watch it in a similar setting; late at night with no lights on. It’ll leave an impression, just like all the people who fainted during the initial screenings back in the 1970s – it is still as powerful today.

Rating: 10/10