The exorcist

There's a lot of anxiety that goes into viewing The Exorcist, "the scariest movie ever made", for the very first time. And with that anxiety comes a lot of expectations and preconceived ideas about what The Exorcist *should* be. Especially for someone born after the film. Then on top of that waited years before finally seeing it. I love the Exorcist, and after exposure to God knows how many horror films, the Exorcist remains my favorite within the genre. And even from a die-hard fan I have to admit, I hate hearing "scariest movie of all time" associated with this movie. First of all, there's no reason to compare fright factor of films, so forget that anyone ever called The Exorcist "the scariest movie ever made." Take any movie – I don't care what movie – and stick a "greatest/scariest/best" whatever tag next to it, and you'll have audiences investing in what they *think* it should be instead of letting the film present itself for what it is. And all they see is that it is not what they expected (expectations, I might add, that are shaped by the current gimmicks and trends in Hollywood). I love the Exorcist because it dared to defy my expectations. This is not a wall-to-wall, credits-to-credits montage of scary imagery inspired by a mere scenario that's supposed to pass as a plot. This isn't a movie about that long dark corridor and something waiting to jump out of the darkness and attack (which is always preceded by a false scare featuring a cat). It's not about that ch...

• Share this article on Facebook • Share this article on Twitter • Share this article on Flipboard • Share this article on Email • Show additional share options • Share this article on Linkedin • Share this article on Pinit • Share this article on Reddit • Share this article on Tumblr • Share this article on Whatsapp • Share this article on Print • Share this article on Comment The Exorcist: Believer kicks off after the Devil takes over the bodies of two children. In the trailer, which was not released online, a father drops off his daughter at school; however, she and a friend go missing after school. When they are found in the woods, they seem changed and unaware that they were gone for three days, believing it’d been just a few hours. At another point in the trailer, one of the girls — covered in communion wine — walks into a church during Mass, screaming at the priest: “The body and the blood!” Finally, the parents call upon Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, who is reprising her role from the original film as the possessed child’s mother). She attempts to help the girls, one of whom has been carving Chris’ daughter’s name on her stomach. Blumhouse, Universal and Morgan Creek Productions are behind the project, which Universal acquired in a $400 million megadeal to make a trilogy that will be released in theaters and later appear on the streaming service Peacock. Green, who revamped Halloween with a recent trilogy, is directing. He has said he intended to leave horror behin...

Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • All • A-Z • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Featured • • About • • • • • • • • Follow • • • • • • • Facebook Icon The letter F. Facebook Email icon An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email. Email Twitter icon A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting. Twitter Snapchat icon A ghost. Snapchat Fliboard icon A stylized letter F. Flipboard Pinterest icon The letter "P" styled to look like a thumbtack pin. Pinterest Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Read in app Actor Max von Sydow performs a exorcism in a scene from the film "The Exorcist." Warner Brothers/Getty Images The film tells the terrifying story of the exorcism of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). When Regan begins to experience incredible night terrors — levitating, breaking out in sores, talking in a low demonic voice, super strength — her mother (Ellen Burstyn) seeks medical help. When that proves unsuccessful, Father Karras (Jason Miller), a local priest, believes she's possessed by the devil. With the help of Father Merrin (Max Van Sydow) the two perform an exorcism and try to save the young girl. Like every film, there are "The Exorcist" movie poster. Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images "The Exorcist" is based...

The difference, maybe, is between great art and great craftsmanship. Bergman’s exploration of the lines of love and conflict within the family of a woman dying of cancer was a film that asked important questions about faith and death, and was not afraid to admit there might not be any answers. Friedkin’s film is about a twelve-year-old girl who either is suffering from a severe neurological disorder or perhaps has been possessed by an evil spirit. Friedkin has the answers; the problem is that we doubt he believes them. We don’t necessarily believe them ourselves, but that hardly matters during the film’s two hours. If movies are, among other things, opportunities for escapism, then “The Exorcist” is one of the most powerful ever made. Our objections, our questions, occur in an intellectual context after the movie has ended. During the movie there are no reservations, but only experiences. We feel shock, horror, nausea, fear, and some small measure of dogged hope. Rarely do movies affect us so deeply. The first time I saw “Cries and Whispers,” I found myself shrinking down in my seat, somehow trying to escape from the implications of Bergman’s story. “The Exorcist” also has that effect--but we’re not escaping from Friedkin’s implications, we’re shrinking back from the direct emotional experience he’s attacking us with. This movie doesn’t rest on the screen; it’s a frontal assault. The story is well-known; it’s adapted, more or less faithfully, by It may be that the times we...

Discovery via Getty Images The St. Louis house once home to “Roland Doe” as seen in 2015. In the picturesque Bel-Nor neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, sits a beautiful, Colonial-style house on Roanoke Drive that was once the home of a boy called Roland Doe, a.k.a. Robbie Mannheim or Ronald Hunkeler. It looks normal on the outside, with an all-brick exterior and white shutters framing the windows. Huge trees and neatly manicured bushes dot the yard. Yet one of the most extraordinary horror stories turned urban legends in American history transformed this house into a landmark for the macabre and provided the true story of The Exorcist. The Troubled Life Of ‘Roland Doe’ This story, the true story of The Exorcist, begins in the late 1940s in suburban Washington, D.C., with a German-American family. Their 13-year-old boy, believed to be named Ronald Hunkeler (later referred to pseudonymously as “Roland Doe” or “Robbie Mannheim”), was despondent over the loss of his beloved Aunt Harriet. Harriet was a spiritualist who’d taught him many things — including how to use a Ouija board. Wikimedia Commons Father E. Albert Hughes, the first priest who attempted to perform an exorcism on Roland Doe in Washington, D.C. In early January 1949, shortly after Harriet’s death, Ronald Hunkeler began to experience strange things. He heard scratching sounds coming from the floors and walls of his room. Water dripped inexplicably from pipes and walls. Most troubling of all was that his mattress...