Running with the Devil

Movies: The Exorcist

It's unbelievable that a horror fan like me took this long to watch The Exorcist, one of the most famous--and terrifying--horror films of all time. But with so many new horror movies coming out all the time, it's easy to forget to catch up on the classics.

So I sat down and watched The Exorcist all the way through for the first time and was blown away by it. It's not the "scariest" movie I've evert seen, but it's pretty dang scary! And it's surprisingly hard-hitting in the feels!

You probably know the story: Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is an actor and divorced mother, raising her daughter Regan (Linda Blair), who is about 12 or 13 years old, in Georgetown while she films a movie. Very abruptly, Regan has a huge personality change and becomes angry and violent. Chris has her undergo a series of medical tests, but nothing seems physically wrong with her. After trying everything, and with Regan getting more and more grotesque by the day, Chris turns to the Catholic Church for help.

Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), is a priest struggling with his faith. Chris asks Father Karras about exorcisms, but Karras says that they are rarely performed in modern times. However, after he visits Regan, who is doing things like projectile vomiting, shaking the bed violently, stabbing a crucifix where the sun don't shine, etc, Karras knows something is seriously wrong. 

A more experienced priest, Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), is recruited to help Karras perform the exorcism. During the physically and emotionally exhausting process, Merrin dies and the demon enters Karras' body. In a final act of sacrifice, Karras throws himself out a window. He dies, but he saves an innocent child from the demon in doing so (and leaves the film open to a sequel!).

The Exorcist is a very interesting film because it shocked many people and royally pissed off the Catholic Church. I mean, having a 12 year old girl say "your mother sucks cocks in hell" and force her own mother's head between her legs is, uh, a hard sell to most people. But this is a fucking demon we're taking about here. Demons are not going to use PG-rated language. 

If you can get past the shock factor, The Exorcist is a story about faith. Chris MacNeil, a non-religious woman, has to take a leap of faith in order to save her daughter. Father Karras, who is haunted by his own doubts and shortcomings, still comes through when it counts and even sacrifices his own life to save a little girl. I'm not going to lie, y'all, I kind of teared up at the end. 

There is a reason why The Exorcist is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time: it is genuinely horrific, and it is genuinely good. It's shocking, but not schlocky. It's disgusting, but not (in my opinion) exploitative. All the aspects that take a movie from ok to great--acting, music, cinematography, pacing, story arc--are on point. Jason Miller's performance is especially good.

If you haven't seen The Exorcist, I highly recommend it. Even if you're not a horror lover. You might just need to step out in faith on this one.

Grade: A+