Like many here, I, in all my friend groups, have always been the go-to “movie person.” People have always reached out to me for recommendations or asked me if I’ve seen their favorite movies, what my favorite genre is, and the works. Though the one movie that I haven’t seen that raises the most questions is The Exorcist. It’s not just my friends or co-workers who are shocked, but my own parents, old college professors, cousins, neighbors, the list goes on and on. It’s one of the most widely celebrated horror films of all time, heck, it’s the first horror film to ever receive a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. How can I not have seen it?

Since its release in 1973, it managed to stay in the pop culture lexicon, not only generating multiple sequels (which from what I’ve heard range from decent to don’t even touch), a television series, mazes at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, parodies, internet memes (I’ll never forget you red dot maze), and a trilogy of legacy sequels in the works from the team behind the recent trio of Halloween films. How could I even consider myself a fan of horror if I’ve never seen The Exorcist? This past week, I finally corrected this, I went down to the half-finished basement of my parents’ house, the one that always gave me the creeps when I was little, turned on HBO Max, and watched William Friedkin‘s ever-iconic film.

The Exorcist

9.0/10

Release DateDecember 26, 1973

There’s Much More to ‘The Exorcist’ Than I Expected

So, for those who have never seen The Exorcist, the film opens in Iraq, where Lankester Merrin (the late, great Max von Sydow) discovers an ancient artifact of the demon Pazuzu on an archeological dig. The film then cuts to Georgetown, where famous actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is filming a movie directed by her friend, Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran). During the shoot, she and her 12-year-old daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), are residing in a seemingly nice home, but the two soon start to hear strange noises coming from the attic at nighttime. To make matters even stranger, Regan has stumbled upon a Ouija board, telling her mother all about her new friend, Mister Howdy. Soon enough, Regan starts exhibiting bizarre and erratic behavior, and a panicked Chris takes her daughter to all kinds of doctors, but none of them seem to be able to determine what’s going on. The film also focuses on Damien Karras (Jason Miller), a priest going through a major crisis of faith who is caring for his ailing immigrant mother, who ultimately passes early on in the film. Consumed by his own grief, Karras decides to take on Chris and Regan’s case and becomes petrified when the possessed Regan starts talking about his recently deceased mother.

Unlike some popular films, I didn’t know as much about The Exorcist as I thought I did. Maybe I should have expected this, considering that the film is still hailed as one of the greatest horror films ever made, but what really surprised me was how much I was drawn to the three main characters. They’re all much more different than the typical characters that we have come to expect from similar films, for example, Karras may be a priest, but through the course of the film, he starts to doubt his own faith, he’s not confident nor is he all-knowing about demonic possessions. He feels human and some of the issues that he’s dealing with are ones that many reading this have experienced or will experience in their lives.

‘The Exorcist’ Is an Examination of Both Faith and Science

Image via Warner Bros.

Probably the aspect of The Exorcist that surprised me the most was its examination of the relationship between faith and science. It’s established that Chris and Regan aren’t necessarily religious, and demonic possession doesn’t cross Chris’ mind when her daughter is first possessed. In fact, there’s a large chunk of the film that sees Chris taking Regan to several medical tests, where she’s told that there is nothing physically wrong with her daughter and that what she’s experiencing may be part of a rare brain condition. It’s not until Regan starts behaving in a way that transcends science that a doctor recommends an exorcism, but not for spiritual or god-fearing reasons, but psychological. It’s this combination of the supernatural and the scientific that help makes The Exorcist so damn creepy.

‘The Exorcist’ Leaves a Lingering Impression

Image via Warner Bros.

I’m a particularly jumpy person, especially when it comes to many modern horror films, but while these kinds of jump scares might be effective for a split second, most modern horror films don’t stick with me in a way that keeps me up at night or continuously checking my rearview mirror while driving back home from the theater at 11 pm. That’s not an insult to the genre at all, in fact, it’s become a favorite of mine. But there’s a difference between being scared while watching a movie versus still being scared long after the credits roll. When I was younger, I was fairly sheltered from horror, the “Night of the Living Dummy” episodes of Goosebumps were enough to scar me through my early years, but since then, there hasn’t been too much that has affected me in that way. The Exorcist, despite being nearly 50 years old, still holds up surprisingly well. It is a truly disturbing film; it’s the perfect amalgamation of William Friedkin’s prestigious and meticulous direction, detailed make-up, believable characters, and of course, Jack Nitzsche‘s creepy score that perfectly captures the spirit of the film. It’s enough to draw attention from even non-horror fans, even if it results in hours of lost sleep.

Some like to pass off horror as an easy genre to tackle, but one rewatch of The Exorcist proves otherwise. There’s clearly a reason that none of the sequels or the television show have garnered the same amount of acclaim and with now a little less than a year until the next installment, we’ll soon see if anybody is capable of capturing what Friedkin pulled off oh so perfectly with The Exorcist.

Rating: 10/10

The Exorcist is available to rent on Amazon in the U.S.