The Exorcist Turns 50
I believe that there is no person in the world who doesn't stop for a moment, from whatever they're doing, or doesn't turn to look around with caution, listening to "Tubular Bells Part 1," taken from Mike Oldfield's album of the same name, "Tubular Bells." This music immediately attracts us, whether we are part of those generations who were able to appreciate the film "The Exorcist," or whether we are so young as to have never heard of it. "Tubular Bells" is, in fact, the main theme of the soundtrack of the very famous film (with music by the American Jack Nitzsche) which returned to the limelight at the end of 2023, on the occasion of its fiftieth "birthday."
The first release of the film "The Exorcist" in American theaters was dated December 26, 1973, and since then, it has always been considered the scariest horror film in the history of cinema: as evidence of this, numerous newspapers of the time described its screenings as real and shocking shows, in which the impact on the spectators was so strong as to cause fainting and hysteria in some of them, to the point of having to provide for the presence of paramedics in the theaters. If you consider that, before then, the horror genre in films was based more than anything else on literary clichés such as vampires, mummies, zombies (and the special effects were all the same and based on these traditional symbols), you understand why this film, directed by William Friedkin, is still considered the most shocking ever.
This film genre has always been considered a "minor" genre by critics, and this explains why there have never been important awards awarded to such works, such as an Oscar. "The Exorcist" was an exception, having been the first and only horror film awarded at the Oscars for best screenplay and best sound effects.
The surprising screenplay was, in fact, taken from the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, whose charm lies in having drawn inspiration from a true story. It seems that in 1949 in Maryland (United States), a sweet and taciturn teenager, known by the name of Roland Doe, was affected by demonic possession and had to undergo an exorcism that lasted nine weeks and with the intervention of nine Catholic priests. The story reached the writer Blatty, and then to us, thanks to his novel, which served as the screenplay for Friedkin's film, through the diaries kept by the young boy's father, who described the events that occurred. From this, we can understand the reason for the incredible psychological hold on the spectator: unlike previous horror films, based on the very distinct and separate concepts of good and evil, for the first time, horror is brought on stage as it is pregnant with everyday life, which manifests itself in an innocent person who may resemble our brother, our child, our nephew, or ourselves. This supernatural realism characterized the film "The Exorcist," making it a milestone in the history of cinema and inspiring not only the vision of mystery and fear of subsequent artists but also the philosophical and spiritual reflections regarding the relationship with the intangible in modern society.
All this is further highlighted in the film due to the desire of director Friedkin himself (who, unfortunately, died in Los Angeles on August 7, 2023, just before the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of his work), to do everything possible to obtain maximum realism in the scenes. Absolute examples of this are the scenes in which Regan (the little girl possessed by the demon Pazuzu) is subjected to a series of medical tests such as arteriography, cerebral angiography, and pneumoencephalography, all depicted in the smallest details. To shoot these scenes, in fact, the director made use of the advice of surgeons (for the physical aspect) and psychiatrists (for the behavioral aspect). In short, everything had to be scientifically perfect, and clash as much as possible with the spiritual aspect, creating an unprecedented contrast.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
The film was made with experimental special effects, never seen before: in the director's vision, they had to be tangible, practical, and at the same time, crude and disturbing. This was carried out through unnatural and creepy scenes (such as Regan's famous "spider walk" on the staircase), gloomy urban atmospheres recalling Magritte's "Empire of Light" from 1954 (which inspired the iconography of the posters and not alone); abrupt sounds obtained with pistol and whip shots, fired near the microphones; bending old leather materials to get the sound of Regan's head doing a full turn; and again: a thick pea soup to convey the image of the possessed girl's vomit, which was supposed to be shot, thanks to a complicated tubular mechanism, onto the chest of the exorcist priest, but which by mistake was sprayed right in his face (making the scene even more disgusting, given the absolutely spontaneous expression of the actor, who didn't expect it). The plot, as you may have understood, does not differ much from the true story: the teenager Regan (Linda Blair), daughter of the actress Chris MacNeil, played by Ellen Burstyn, is the victim of demonic possession. The little girl begins to be restless and behave strangely, so her mother decides to have her examined by many doctors and psychiatrists. The treatments of science are of no avail and, in the meantime, the strange phenomena inside and outside Regan begin to increase, involving the entire MacNeil house, its inhabitants, and the people around them. The mother, following the advice of the scientists who have become helpless, turns to the young priest Damien Karras (played by Jason Miller), asking - with much embarrassment and desperation - to perform an exorcism on her daughter. At this point, Father Karras, being completely inexperienced in exorcisms and after having brought tangible evidence to the church to which he belongs, is authorized to proceed, but only with the guidance of Father Lankester Merrin (actor Max von Sydow). From this moment on, the real protagonist becomes the conflict between good and evil, between purification and illness, symbolized by the old and wise Father Merrin and the demon Pazuzu (the latter never really named by his name, but identified thanks to a statuette found in an archaeological excavation by Merrin himself, at the opening of the scene).
As can be seen from all this, the psychological levers used to impress the viewer are what brought great success to the film, which cost a whopping 10 million dollars and grossed 441 million. It is curious to note how the executives of the Warner Bros. Studios, who produced the film and who went once a week to watch the filming, shook their heads every time and thought it was ridiculous. Even today, 50 years after its release, we can affirm that there is nothing ridiculous in this film which has disturbed, entertained, and passionate generations of people all over the world. Despite today's special effects (no longer so special), and even AI, my prediction is that "The Exorcist" will continue to create curiosity and profound disturbance in the viewer, even in another 50 years. Its psychology, in fact, relates to our gray areas, to the virality of an "illness" that is intangible (does it remind us anything of what we have been through, regarding the Covid-19 pandemic?), which infects us beyond our control. It relates to our atavistic and ancestral fears of the dark, of mental illness, of the unknown, and also to our childish curiosity, which releases adrenaline and dopamine, amidst daily habits. The film leverages all this and our desire for escape. And, in the meantime, it leads us to the subliminal knowledge of something that is found not only outside of us but also inside us, like when as children we hid and were afraid of being discovered by others, during the "game of hide and seek."
