When it comes to scary films, the Exorcist tapped into forbidden places within the human psyche. The movie suggests that a young girl was possessed by a devil after playing with an ouiji board (which continues to be associated with witchcraft and demons to this day). Several sequels of The Exorcist have been made, some better than others, but this film is creepy, thought provoking and down-right scary enough to any occult or religiously focused individual to stand on it’s own. The film is based on a book of the same title which is (loosely) based on the account of a real-life exorcist event /phenomena involving a boy from St. Louis in 1949. The Catholic church was cooperative with the movie makers, providing details concerning exorcism ritual, even through such practices are extremely rare.
Linda Blair was ultimately chosen for the role of the demonically possessed because not only was she within the age bracket that was needed, she had actually read, and understood the novel. Stories like The Exorcist and such adult subject matter was very uncommon in the early 70s among 13 year olds (let alone 11-12 year olds, as the character was written). The director was so taken with her matter of fact demeanor that he gave up on scouting older but young looking girls to play the role. Ultimately a body double was used for the most controversial scene, (sorry no spoilers today), but in the final cut, you can’t tell that it’s not Linda Blair, so she had to know what she was getting involved in.
The Exorcist was rumored to have a cursed set. In fact it burned down delaying production by two months, but despite going over budget the movie was one of the highest grossing horror films ever. Enjoy…
