That's the Evil Spirit
Seeing a spirit is one thing. Having one camp out in your body is another.
When William Peter Blatty wrote a book based on an alleged exorcism performed in 1949, it was a startling change up for the writer. Until then, he’d mainly written screenplays for light-hearted comedies, including the first Pink Panther movie, A Shot in the Dark. Not only is the deliberately shocking and often profane novel The Exorcist (1971) as far removed from a comedy as one could imagine, it is one of the best horror tales ever written, albeit one of the most relentless depressing ones.
The book focuses on the demonic possession of Regan MacNeil, a formerly happy and well adjusted 11-year-old girl.
Blatty examines how Regan's horrible transformation from an innocent into a raving beast affects her and those around her. He delves deeply into his characters’ personalities, detailing the impact of Regan's affliction on their basic assumptions about life, the world and the nature of good and evil.
Especially piercing is his examination of Catholic priest Damien Karras, a figure who struggles with his faith and the demands of his position even before encountering the possessed Regan. Central to Karras' conflict is that, as a Jesuit priest, he has taken a vow of poverty. The vow, in part, is designed to enhance empathy and compassion for the poor. Ironically, this vow of poverty strips him of the ability to financially care for his desperately poor, aging and seriously ailing mother. The guilt of this weighs heavily on him, perhaps heightened by the fact that Karras himself is in excellent physical condition. Another source of conflict stems from Karras' training as a psychiatrist. These teachings sometimes lock horns with the traditional beliefs of his religion. Combined with other factors, Karras' faith is in crisis and he appears to be on the verge of exiting the priesthood.
When he encounters Regan's unfolding metamorphosis, he initially looks for a medical or psychological explanation. The failure of science to address the poor girl's difficulty begins to soften his spiritual skepticism. As he assists in the exorcism, Karras finds it increasingly difficult to ignore the supernatural aspects of Regan's change. At the same time, the possessed Regan seizes on Karras' guilt about the treatment of his mother and cruelly taunts the priest in an attempt to demoralize him.
Luckily for Karras (and Regan), the priest teams with an excorcist expert, Father Merrin. Notably, Merrin is the opposite of Karras: Merrin is strong in his faith but physically weak. His experience with exorcism has made him unbending in his determination to expell the demon, regardless of the physical cost it exacts on Merrin's frail body.
Then there's Chris MacNeil, Regan's mom, who suffers terribly throughout her daughter's ordeal. Besides feeling heartsick for her child, MacNeil wages an inner battle to reconcile the supernatural nature of Regan's condition with her own agnosticism. However, when science fails to heal her daughter, MacNeil finds herself looking beyond her own disbelief to embrace any hope for saving Regan from danger.
Ultimately, the helplessness expressed by this frightened mother is as much a prod for Karras to act as anything else he witnesses in the course of the novel. Blatty prefaces his book with the Jesuit quote: "What we give to the poor is what we take with us when we die." Which, given Karras' fate, leaves the reader wondering what all the priest took with him after he rescued Regan.
Part of the fascination generated by Blatty's novel is that the demon possessing Regan is not just a bad guy but a gleefully evil being incapable of redemption. Indeed, the whole dynamic of the story suggests that ultimately there is only good and evil, and most of us who believe in shades of gray are headed for a rude awakening. The possiblity of there really only being a choice between two stark contrasts is terrifying in itself to most thoughtful people.
From the Printed Page to the Big Screen
Amazingly, the film version of The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin, brilliantly captures the haunting intensity of the novel. Indeed, the movie proved too intense for many. Some walked out. Some fainted. Many complained of persistent nightmares.
The Exorcist features 13-year-old Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil. Blair was not the director’s first choice. Indeed, two actresses who were considered for the part, Dana Plato (of TV’s Diff’rent Strokes) and Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregard in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), were removed from consideration by their parents who were alarmed by the script.
When it came to casting the role of Damien Karras, Friedkin chose actor-playwright Jason Miller, even though Blatty wanted Marlon Brando for the part and Jack Nicholson let it be known he was interested in the role. Miller was the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the Broadway triumph That Championship Season.
Likewise, Friedkin chose Ellen Burnstyn over studio favorite Audrey Hepburn for the role of Regan’s mother.
Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the figure with a suitcase shown stepping out of the fog on the film's famous promotional posters.
Though wildly successful (grossing $160 million), The Exorcist failed to make lasting superstars of the actors involved. In fact, both Miller and Blair felt that being in the film damaged their careers.
The Exorcist terrified audiences when it was first released and remains today a seriously scary flick. To watch Regan transform from a pretty little girl into a leering, bloated monstrosity with open sores is almost painful for the viewer. She even bellows and growls like a monster.
Among the most chilling scenes: Regan’s head turns 360 degrees; she violently masturbates with a crucifix; she projectile vomits. Equally unnerving are the young girl’s obscenity-laced tirades (actually dubbed by veteran actress Mercedes Cambridge). Also cringe-worthy is a scene in the hospital when Regan gets a spinal tap.
Figuring prominently in the film is a set of treacherous cement stairs where two key deaths occur. In reality, these 75 steps are located at the corner of Prospect Street and 36th Street N.W. in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood. Besides drawing film buffs, the stairs are also popular with local exercisers.
The film won Oscars for best screenplay and best sound. It also received nominations for best picture, best director, best actress (Ellen Burnstyn), best supporting actress (Blair), best supporting actor (Jason Miller), best cinematography, best art direction-set direction, and best film editing. Ultimately, The Exorcist lost out to The Sting for best picture, but it was a close contest.
Unfortunately, the sequels never came close to revisiting the sheer terror of the original.
