“The Exorcist”
Day 1 of the 2023 31-Days of Horror
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A 12-year-old girl begins exhibiting unusual and harmful behaviors. After exhausting all avenues of psychiatric assistance, her mother, now believing her daughter to be possessed, approaches a priest for help.
The opening of the film/story with Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) at an archeological dig in Northern Iraq, aside from setting up Fr. Merrin’s hearthealth issues, does not really seem necessary to the rest of the story. Especially considering that his character does not return to the story until the last 30 minutes. Unless his discovery of the little demon statuette was supposed to indicate that he had some sort of premonition of his final exorcism and foreshadow his impending death. I thought the entire sequence haunting and beautiful . And a little insulting that The Green Man was mixed in with the other images that were supposed to be “evil.” It’s been decades since I read this book and I don’t really remember it, I should probably revisit if I really want to understand what the movie itself is struggling to convey.
Once the film gets to introducing Chris (Ellyn Burstyn) and Regan (Linda Blair) the story is very engaging. The very positive relationship the mother and daughter have is portrayed very well in their little everyday interactions and conversations. Even, or especially, as the indicators of Regan’s demonic possession move from subtle to aggravated, Chris continues to be as gentle as she can with Regan, while fighting like a mother badger to advocate for and protect her daughter. Their relationship and how it endears is probably my favorite part of the story.
Then comes Father Damian Karras (Jason Miller), a mentally and spiritually burned out psychiatric counselor for the church, who Chris eventually asks for help after she has sought help from all the other neurologists and psychiatrists she could find. He is wracked with guilt after his aged mother dies alone in her home, which spirals him further into his crisis of faith when he needs it most after meeting Chris and Regan. I think the character is well written and well portrayed, I particularly like the dynamic both the character and the actor have when Fr. Merrin is reintroduced in the story, but I still struggled to really connect with him.
Finally, Lt. Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb), the charmingly tenacious cop looking into Burke Dennings, Chris’s would-be boyfriend’s, mysterious death. Introduced at about the halfway point of the film, he focuses mostly on following and questioning Fr. Karras about the people he councils, until he finally makes the connection to Regan’s window.
It really shouldn’t need to be said, though I’ll say it, the film wouldn’t be nearly the success it is without the skill and talent of Linda Blair. She owns every scene she’s in. Even at such a young age. Even with the experienced actors around her. With the quality of screenwriting, direction, and on-screen talent, the film is one of those rare ones that hold up really well, even though it was made in the early 1970’s. The make up and effects are still good enough to be disturbing. I only watched the theatrical release, not the director’s cut, and although there’s only 11 extra minutes of footage in the director’s cut, I feel like I missed important aspects of the story, as well as missing the Regan spider-walk scene. Eventually, I’ll invest and watch it.
I’m giving it 4 glasses of rich red wine. This theatrical version is very good, but it does have some flaws.
