You know the beginning scene of the Exorcist? Some excavation site in Egypt or somewhere?

It was not in Egypt, but in Iraq. Father Merrin (who will much later in the film exorcise Regan) finds a small statuette of the Babylonian/Assyrian demon Pazuzu, the entity that will possess Regan in the movie.

But how did it get to Regan. Did her mother own the statuette?

It was the lost Emmy.

I think it just meant that Pazuzu another term for The Devil, has been around forever and devil worship and demonic possession was thought of as part of ancient lore, but in fact was as real in modern day as it was then. Something like that. Shit. Use your imagination.

I hope you aren't a native English speaker, R4.

FFS [R5], what [R4] said is completely fine and makes perfect sense, what is wrong with you??

I appreciated this scene more as an adult (watched the film as a kid).

The two dogs fighting was eerie.

Also, the blind(?) woman riding in the horse carriage that almost ran over Merrin.

Is the book worth reading?

It has great atmospheric and emotional value as antiquity islamy devily scene setting alone.

Yes, R9. I read it in one sitting.

it was 1) setting up an unsettling atmosphere. 2) show that Merrin had a history (this is also further explained a bit later in the film via dialogue) with this demon.

As a note of clarification, nothing in Iraq ends up in Georgetown -- except Merrin. The idea is that the devil can strike anywhere, even a sweet-faced WASP girl in D.C.

Regan supposedly got possessed through her ouija board interactions with "Captain Howdy," who apparently splits his time between Iraq and Georgetown..

I've never made it all the way through the original Exorcist movie but weirdly I love Exorcist 3 (& Brad Dourif is fucking hot in it) One of my favourite horrors- any other fans?

I suppose Regan's crab walking was a sort of demonic Salomés dance.

An Exorcist thread a few years ago had lots of great information about the plot and action of the movie. One poster suggested that Iraq was on the exact other side of the world from Georgetown and the demon traveled straight through the Earth using the Ouija board as a portal.

Was Regan a mutant? There had to be some kind of power in her else why would the demon want her out of all people.

Pazuzu was a star-fucker. He couldn't get at world-famous actress Chris MacNeil (she was a real shrew btw) so he took the next best thing in her portly daughter..

[quote]It was not in Egypt, but in Iraq

Iraq <-- Sumer

I'm assuming there's a Christian connection since the "evil artifact" in Constantine was from Sumer.

*drawing parallels*

Why wouldn't the demon possess randomly, just to create chaos, nervous exhaustion, and destroy. Seems like every narcissist we encounter nowadays operates at random. And find victims who don't have an out but aren't special in any way.

My sister and I got high before watching it in a theatre, and we could not stop laughing.

Fortunately, it was a sparsely attended screening.

"Also, the blind(?) woman riding in the horse carriage that almost ran over Merrin."

Who looks suspiciously like the actress playing Fr. Damian's mother.

I've always thought when Merrin unearths the idol that in that second it searches for a willing host to enter- and picks Regan. Don't they cut to Georgetown right after that scene?

Friedkin is awesome: Boys In the Band; The Exorcist; The French Connection; Cruising. And they all have that creepy, gritty, dark look.

[quote] One poster suggested that Iraq was on the exact other side of the world from Georgetown and the demon traveled straight through the Earth using the Ouija board as a portal.

That's bullshit - if you look at the antipodes map you can see that Iraq isn't even remotly close to Georgetown's antipode.

antipode sounds hostile and insecty.

According to Exorcist 2,Pazuzu picked Reagan because she was destined to help others and better the world. In the movie it was called being a "good locust".

Most of the ancient city of Hatra where the opening scene was shot was destroyed by ISIL a few years ago. You can thank those islamic fuckers and the US for this great loss of cultural heritage.

Does R23's antipode stink?

I really love the opening of this movie, so mysterious and ominous. The scene after when the camera takes that long shot over Georgetown and into Reagan's house makes me think it was the devil flying right into their attic as Chris MacNeil is reading her script in bed and suddenly hears noises but as was said already, Mr. Howdy was already in the house.

The clock ticking and suddenly stopping scared the shit out of me

I agree, R28. And I'm not ashamed to admit that because of it, when I was a kid I was afraid to leave windows open for a LONG time after watching The Exorcist.

What REALLY freaks me out as an adult are the almost subliminal split-second flashes of the images of the white demon face and Pazazu. And let me tell you about the time I was an idiot and used 'Tubular Bells' as my cell phone ringtone....and then one night I got a wrong number call at 2am. Holy shit!

I thought and still believe that the Exorcist is the most frightening film ever made.

Of course, I am Italian (lapsed) Catholic, so I wonder how much that plays into it.. I have non -Catholic friends who did not think it was scary at all..

I love horror films like "The Exorcist" that have a great, strong narrative as well as being scary and while I hate that too many horror movies today are just frontloaded with jump scares (Paranormal Activity franchise, the disappointing third "Conjuring" film), R14 does have a point for Exorcist 3. Not the strongest story due to studio interference but perhaps one of THE best jump scares of any horror film ever.

Ok Ms. Rex Reed post an image or clip of the goddamned jump scare or do I have to go looking for it myself?

Here, R33.

[quote]And let me tell you about the time I was an idiot and used 'Tubular Bells' as my cell phone ringtone

My sister would always freak out when she heard that song on the radio - I was too young to see the movie but I remember how paranoid and nervous she was at the house after seeing it,

Regan contacted Pazuzu using the Ouiji board. I guess he/she is just on there all the time. My favorite detail is when we see Regan has drawn a lion with wings, and made a statue of a bird like creature. Implying that the demon has been trying to describe what it looks like to her.

Thanks doll, R34. Absolutely horrific you're right.

R12 that was hilarious!

What is the general opinion on those Dominion prequels with Stellan Skarsgard? I think I caught maybe 10 minutes of one of them with some creepy underground Byzantine church but never bothered to watch the whole thing.

Did the excavation somehow awaken Pazuzu? The statuette was on the top of a long pole--it did not look like it had just been excavated.

I get that Father Merrin saw a creepy statuette of Pazuzu in Iraq, and that then Pazuzu possessed Regan, but I do not get why Father Merrin seeing the statuette led to Regan being possessed. Would she still have been possessed had he not seen the statuette?

The younger priest is so fucking hot. Isn't the actor the father of some other actor? Jason Patric or someone?

[quote]I think it just meant that Pazuzu another term for The Devil

It doesn't mean devil. Regan was never possessed by Satan, just a demon.

R40 questions.... If I shit in a warm and virgin forest, will god know?

[quote]My sister and I got high before watching it in a theatre, and we could not stop laughing.

Thank you r21. I also laughed during this silly, silly movie.

R44, in your opinion is it possible to make a movie about demonic possession or even ANY kind of supernatural goings-on that isn't silly?

I will only answer if you provide decent popcorn.

R15, the spider walk wasn't part of the original movie and should not be mentioned in any discussion of The Exorcist, unless you're referring to the director's rerelease in 2000 with its add-ins of previously cut, lesser scenes and additional audio and digital video effects.

I get really annoyed whenever I see the spider walk used a) as a graphic that's supposed to be representative of the movie, like on a T shirt design, or b) in a list of "creepiest horror movie scenes".

The director's cut is illegitimate and best forgotten.

My mother saw the film at a drive-in in the 1970s. She was Catholic and scared out of her wits. The minute Regan said "Your mother sucks cocks in hell!" a black guy in the next car fell out and started howling with laughter. In fact, every time she cursed he was hysterical.

Great story R48. I can just picture that.

WHET Kitty Winn? Now there's someone who's had a strange career - she won the prestigious Cannes award for best actress for her film debut, made only a handful of other movies after that and then seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth.

R47 the director's cut had only one nice scene put back in and its a short dialogue scene during the actual exorcism where Merrin and Karras are taking a breather. Karras asks why her, and Merrin says there is no real reason; its meant to shake faith/cause despair. Also sort of further explans why a statuette in Iraq has consequences for a little girl in DC.

I think people laughing hysterically at Regan's profanity in the movie are just immature, right? I mean, how juvenile do you have to be to find that stuff HILARIOUS?

It shows a weak intellect, I think. Only stupid people and little kids think shit like that is hysterical. The idea was that the demon was trying to offend everyone it came into contact with, and get under the priests' skin. The appropriate response as the viewer is to understand that, and stay focused on the next thing that happens. Not fall out of your car and onto the ground laughing.

R51, yeah that scene isn't too bad. There are others that seem really awkward though. I haven't watched that version since 2000 in the theater so my memory isn't too exact.

Oh, and I was high as hell for it...

I saw the film in a re-release. I was too young to see it when it originally came out. A bunch of white summer camp counselets took their teenaged black campers (I guess it was a Fresh Air camp) to the midnight showing I attended.

I was never so entertained in my life. The girls were jumping up, yelling, "Get back, Satan!" And at one point they all jumped up and were yelling, "The power of Christ compels you!" while imitating the priests sprinkling holy water.

A friend of my sister (male) ran to the bathroom and puked. My sister was living in my grandparents' house at the time. They were old timey Irish Catholics (actually had a holy water font next to their front door) and had large crucifixes in every bedroom. Her friend -- the one who puked -- was staying with my sister and brother in law in my grandparents' house. He was so freaked out about the movie he refused to go upstairs and sleep in one of the bedrooms. He was afraid of the crucifix, but was afraid if he took it down pazuzu would enter him.

He slept on the couch for months after that. Poor guy. Had a terrible childhood, a shit mother, and he died of a heroin overdose a few years later. I remember him telling us about playing baseball with the neighborhood kids and his 15 year old sister. She fell to her knees and said she had a stomach ache. They took her to the hospital thinking she had appendicitis and she gave birth. No one, including her, knew she was pregnant. That's how sad that family was.

Me too 'tupid 2 look it upp.

Has anyone seen BOTH version of The Exorcist prequel?

Yes r56.

See, R54's story illustrates how everyone should react to the movie. It is so scary, it will fuck up your entire LIFE.

In the book the two servants (Willie and Karl) had a daughter who was a drug addict. It was suspected their daughter had something to do with the church desecrations. I think that might be why Kinderman came to the house. Can't quite remember.

Also, Merrin had exorcized the demon before in Africa. When he finds the mini pazuzu at the archeological site and hears the dogs, he looks up to see the big pazuzu statue and he knows he is going to meet the demon again.

The demon is what people know as Satan. Merrin explains this to Father Karras when Karras says that he thinks there are several manifestations he identified in the recording he made of the voices coming from Regan.

"There is only one," says Merrin.

I think r5 should just drop dead. Obviously too stupid to live.

In the film, Pazuzu's shadow falls across Merrin at the site. It foreshadows -- literally -- Merrin's death.

61 posts and no mention of Father Dyer?

I saw it on opening day, in Washington DC. Although I'd read the book, which was a huge bestseller, seeing the movie blew my mind. That was in the days before previews and ads revealed everything, so no one knew exactly what to expect beforehand. I remember exiting the theater afterward and seeing the expectant expressions on the faces of the people who were about to go into the theater.

My father knew Blatty a bit when they were both starting out their Foreign Service careers in the late 50s/early 60s. Said he was an attention whore even then.

Father Dyer, the singin', swingin' priest is the best!

R22 The actress who played Fr. Damian's mother was also Miranda's housekeeper in SATC and she had a guest part in one episode of Nurse Jackie. She is a wonderful actress.

I just read the plot synopsis of Exorcist II in Wikipedia, it does say Regan (Reagan?) had psychic powers. That's a good reason for Pazuzu to take possession of her, he could wreck havoc using her powers. Maybe her levitation and enhanced strength weren't Pazuzu's at all, maybe it was hers all along and it only manifested with the demon's help.

To whoever read the book, does it say whether Karl was a guard in a concentration camp? In the movie Burke Dennings drunkenly called him a Nazi bastard and Karl, obviously angry but also a little startled, responded he was Swiss. That seems like something a guilty German with something to hide would say.

How did the "lick me!!!" part not get the film an X rating?? It was a gory scene of forced incestual cunninglingus. That's the grossest part of the film for me, the cunty blood and he squishing sound as the mother's face was forced in there.

LOL, R65.

I agree, R66 about that gross out scene.

But I wouldn't look to Exorcist II: The Heretic for answers to questions raised by the original novel or movie. It's its own deeply flawed beast and should not be taken seriously as a continuation of the story, just because John Boorman and Warner Brothers hope people will.

R68, finishing my thought:

Did Blatty write the story for The Heretic? If not, it's nothing more than glorified fan fiction.

Seriously, just forget about it.

I wish they'd do a proper sequel, not like the other ones they've put out which are full of CGI and are supposed to make you jump. Maybe HBO will make a stab at it, I'dlike to know more about Regan and her family after the possession.

Wasn't Exorcist followed by a bunch of schlocky B-movie imitations. Even worse, like real shitty pulp and grind-house? Anyone remember titles?

Kinderman finds mini pazuzu at the bottom of the outdoor stairs in Georgetown.

Exorcist II was sooooo bad.....

I found one of the most unsettling scenes to be when Lt. Kinderman, staking out the MacNeil house from his car, sees a shadowy figure moving in Regan's bedroom

The book wasn't that great. The characters in it tended to be unbearable; dingy, foul-mouthed Chris, silent, enabling Karl (he gives his daughter money to buy heroin), miserable Father Karras, who continuously torments himself with guilt and yammering, annoying as hell Detective Kinderman.

The local Channel 5 TV station seemed to play "The Exorcist" rather frequently on Sunday afternoons, and my very Catholic mother would have none of that film playing in her house.

Of course, my brother and I had to sneak into another room and watch it.... big mistake when you're 10!

[quote]Father Merrin (who...

MERRIN!!!!!!!

MERRRRRIIIIN!!

fear the priest.

Stick your cock up your ass, you worthless mother fucking cock sucker.- Regan/Devil

Von Sydow was only 43 years old when he played Merrin. Now he's older in real life than Merrin

[quote]Wasn't Exorcist followed by a bunch of schlocky B-movie imitations. Even worse, like real shitty pulp and grind-house? Anyone remember titles?

Yes. The most famous was Beyond The Door starring Juliet Mills and its two sequels.

The Omen might or might not be considered a ripoff.

There was also Lisa And The Devil/The House Of Exorcism (the same movie edited into two drastically different releases).

Just google "1970s Exorcist rip-offs".

There was one made in Turkey that was basically a scene for scene reproduction, but it is Grade Z, utterly cheap and unwatchable. Not even good for laughs, just gives you an icky feeling because of how directly it ripped off The Exorcist.

There may have been lawsuits over some of the ripoffs, too. I can't remember.

Only 43! damn.

Did Regan, err I mean Pazuzu's pussy stink during the demonic possession?

I can't imagine that movie on a regular TV station. It must be censored and cut down to about 10 minutes.

Oh I'm sure of it, R82.

This is so weird, I started watching The Exorcist just around the time this thread started, then I put it back on from the beginning the chest of drawers is moving across the room in the film as I type this. Anyway the opening scene was mostly to establish an atmosphere and get people on edge before things move to DC. I have have several versions of The Exorcist DVD and Blu-Ray and I have watched it several times with the directors commentary on. Friedkin's reasons for the opening scene and some interesting facts are worth listening to. The old woman in the buggy was apparently the oldest woman in the world (or maybe Iraq) when they filmed the scene. I think the most chilling part of the scene is when the Father Merrin is looking inside the hole of the dig discovery. The wind blows sand, flies are buzzing, the craggy rocks at the opening of the cave the sharp tool he uses for scraping out the contents...just very spooky.

I was going to a Jesuit school when I first saw it as a teenager and it totally freaked me out.

What is a Jesuit anyway?

If memory serves me right, the Pazuzu icon didn't match the time e period of the other artifacts unearthed. It was foreshadowing that he would once again be called upon to fight the demon again. That's why he shows no surprise when he received notice of the exorcism.

I used to hate the opening scene, but now it's one of my favorites.

why do demons only possess Catholics?

Love this movie so m uch. Was scared shitless when I finally worked up the courage to watch it.

"It doesn't mean devil. Regan was never possessed by Satan, just a demon."

At one point Karras asks Merrin what they should call this demon or devil or whatever- and Merrin says, "There's only one".

R83, the movie was damn long on local LA KTLA 5 station! About 3 hours, especially with commcercials! They censored out the cussing, and a few scenes were cut... such as the crucifix masturbation.

I had only seen the censored TV version until 2000(?) when I saw the re-release in theater. Was shocked by the language and crucifix scene..

I didn't realize the significance of the "not of this period" part during the dig. That's very interesting.

Anyone want to take a stab at my question whether Karl was a Nazi?

If Willie and Karl didn't put the crucifix in Regan's room, who did? Did Regan somehow steal it from the local church? Maybe she levitated out of the window and flew there?

[quote]What is a Jesuit anyway?

Jesuits are an order of the Catholic Church, known for their intellectualism. They are famous as missionaries and educators. My own Catholic upbringing was largely with Franciscans, who were primarily focused on helping the poor. Jesuits (as far as I know) are always priests (maybe brothers, I'm not sure) but many people were educated by Jesuits, so those people hold a particular affinity to that order.

Exorcist reactions.

Somebody was also busy desecrating Catholic churches in the area... remember the desecrated Virgin Mary statue?

Are we to believe that Regan was sneaking off in the middle of the night, defiling churches in Georgetown?

Sounds to me like the Franciscans are the true followers of Christ.

[quote]Anyone want to take a stab at my question whether Karl was a Nazi?

In the book that is not confirmed. Dennings accuses Karl of it a couple of times as does the demon using Dennings voice. I got the impression it was probably true.

Pazuzu was much more talkative and interesting in the novel. He and Karras have several lively conversations. Pazuzu was quite a chatty demon. And he never said "your mother sucks cocks in hell." The only thing he said that was close to that was when he told Karras that Burke Dennings was "busy with your mother. She's sucking his cock to the bristles, to the ROOT. Marvelous tongue, your mother. Good mouth.'

Wasn't Mr. Howdy related to Mr. Hanky?

[quote]"It doesn't mean devil. Regan was never possessed by Satan, just a demon."

[quote]At one point Karras asks Merrin what they should call this demon or devil or whatever- and Merrin says, "There's only one".

The first quote is correct. It wasn't "the devil", it was a demon pretending to be Satan.

The context given for the second quote is incorrect. Karras says Regan has been exhibiting multiple personalities. "So far I'd say there seems to be three. She's convinced that she's—" Merrin cuts him off: "There is only one."

So, one personality pretending to be multiples, but it's only one, and it's a demon, not Satan. The movie is really clear about this. The demon's name is Pazuzu.

In "Julius Caesar" Shakespeare has Mark Antony say, "and Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a Monarch's voice cry "Havoc' and let slip the dogs of war.". Friedkin, in his commentary to the film, says this is a premonition of the fight between good and evil that will recur. This is the symbolism of the dogs fighting.

Catholics only believe in one devil, not multiple demons.

The desecrated statue of the Virgin Mary looks similar to Regan's arts and crafts work in the basement.

As a catholic this movie scared the shite out of me

I just find it really difficult to believe that Regan snuck out of the house to desecrate the statues in the church.

I think she teleported, or flew.

R103, so demons don't exist because Catholics don't believe in them?

(I mean, of course I don't believe in them, but this movie is a work of fiction, and there's no reason why demons can't exist in the fictional world of The Exorcist.)

Demons certainly exist in The Heretic. It's clear that the supernatural agent is supposed to be a demon, not the devil.

Once again, it's a single demon, not Satan, who possesses Regan. Here's the Wikipedia entry. If you can find Blatty talking about it being the devil himself and not just an obscure demon, post the link here.

[quote]Somebody was also busy desecrating Catholic churches in the area... remember the desecrated Virgin Mary statue? Are we to believe that Regan was sneaking off in the middle of the night, defiling churches in Georgetown?

I read somewhere that it was Fr. Karras who desecrated the statue; he mentioned to Fr. Dwyer that he was going through a major crisis of faith. Being forced to place his mother in a mental asylum was what pushed him over the edge.

Father Karras didn't put his mother in the hospital, his uncle did. Anyway, he was too intellectual and rational to do something so weird like put tits on the statue of Mary.

I think the reason Pazuzu took Karras up on his "take me!!!" offer was because Karras also was a mutant with powers like Regan. It could be the reason why he lost his faith. He clearly had psychic visions of his mother's death before it happened. And seemed to have a psychic insight into the homeless guy in the subway station, you can see him almost reading his mind.

[quote] Anyway, he was too intellectual and rational to do something so weird like put tits on the statue of Mary.

The vandal gave Mary a big long serpentine dick, too

bump

[quote]Father Karras didn't put his mother in the hospital, his uncle did. Anyway, he was too intellectual and rational to do something so weird like put tits on the statue of Mary.

[quote]I think the reason Pazuzu took Karras up on his "take me!!!" offer was because Karras also was a mutant with powers like Regan. It could be the reason why he lost his faith. He clearly had psychic visions of his mother's death before it happened. And seemed to have a psychic insight into the homeless guy in the subway station, you can see him almost reading his mind.

Your first paragraph is right-on (insane to suggest Karras did the desecrating) but your second paragraph is cuckoo!!! A mutant with powers? Psychic?

These were all supposed to be normal people. It's a supernatural horror story about entirely normal people (suffering in various ways, but normal nonetheless) beset with evil forces. What you're suggesting is not at all what Blatty conceived of.

[quote]I found one of the most unsettling scenes to be when Lt. Kinderman, staking out the MacNeil house from his car, sees a shadowy figure moving in Regan's bedroom

Same here, I think that scene gets overlooked a lot, I overlooked myself a few times but it's pretty creepy.

True story: Lucy was Friedkin's first choice to play the voice of Pazuzu, but Gary Morton talked her out of it.

Like some of the others here - I was too young to see the film when it first came out. But I remembered the ads and publicity it got - think it was even sent up of various comedy skit programs around the time as well. So was curious to see it - and went to see that digitally remastered re-release in the cinema around 2000.

Went with partner - and we were both blown away by it. Thought it was really well done - and terribly atmospheric, creepy and scary - but with a thoughtful, intelligent vibe to it that I'd not in the few schlocky horror films I'd seen. Sort of like a much harsher and scarier direct descendant of Rosemary's Baby. Both films are made for adult audiences - not teenage date nights (and luckily, the audience we saw it with was great - actual adults and no teenage hysterical laughter at swearing or sexual imagery!)

What really interests me is the way the film polarises people. I had friends - older than me - who went from one extreme to the other. All smart people, well versed in film and literature and pop culture. Some absolutely loved it - and others hated it. Their reasons for doing so were all really personal and different. There were several too who said it was rubbish and seemed to hate it - but turned out not to have ever actually seen it. Going on their friends' and some reviewers' opinions entirely. Very strange.

Clearly it provokes a lot of visceral responses in each individual - as is the case looking at the responses here so far! That alone makes it worth a viewing, surely?

I'm 49 years old and wouldn't consider watching the movie if I was by myself.

Was shitting myself when I saw it as a Catholic. Now, as an atheist, it's just laugh-out-loud campy fun.

Though I can't recall that Iraq scene at all.

Is this Father Dyer?

"Campy"?

Being an atheist has whittled away at the scare potential for me, but I don't think any of it is "campy". I have, however, on occasion thought that Burstyn's performance was a bit over the top. But then I was reassured that no, that is exactly how a mother would respond to such circumstances. Whatever.

But "campy" on the whole?

That's right; [italic]campy.[/italic]

I'm an atheist and the movie scared the shit out if me at the cinema. A few scenes that I find creepy, the scene where karas has the nightmare. The bit where the camera zooms in on regans closed door. Also the scene withe the hypnotherapist.

It was regan that kinderman sees walking around the room. That's the most creepy part of the movie the demon has so much power but for some reason chooses to stay in the room. Does anyone else agree there should have been a dialogue between the demon and Chris? That would have been so fascinating.

The nightmare scene was awful. The mother descending down the subway steps and the almost imperceptible flash of the demon's horrible face.

Oh how about the attic scene those scratchy noises were wierd. What was the demon up to?

It isn't campy. The omen and The Wickerman are campy.

Correction R116

"The voice of the demon in "The Exorcist." Gary actually wanted Lucy to do it, but Lucy refused to since she could not understand why the demon would use "cunt" as a gerund."

When Father Karras's mother goes down the subway in his nightmare, is that the entrance on the southwest corner of 49th and 8th? The one for the E and C train? I used to live in the building right above it.

I've watched the movie a lot -- when I'm channel surfing and it's on and I can't find anything else.

The parts I like are the ones without Demon Regan in them. It's a nice capture of the time period in DC, like Rosemary's Baby captured the mid 60s so well. The movie being made about campus demonstrations. The Iraq scene. The attic scene. The party.

The movie stumbles a little by having kids in trick or treat costumes when it's plainly summer with nice green leaves on the trees. And Burstyn is ridiculously out of control on the phone with the operator.

I like how Karl is a little bit sinister. I don't think he was a Nazi, but he is a bit rigid. "No rats!"

Karl's wife Willie is more lively in the book. She likes the Beatles and goes to see either Help! Or a Hard Day's Night at the movies. Kinderman suspects Karl immediately because of the fight he had with Dennings. Then Kinderman finds Karl's alibi doesn't hold up for the night Dennings was murdered.

But it turns out Karl and Willie's daughter is junkie in DC Karl visits her on the sly to give her money. Willie thinks her daughter is dead.

All of you atheists will someday meet Pazuzu face to face.

[quote]The younger priest is so fucking hot. Isn't the actor the father of some other actor? Jason Patric or someone?

Yes. He also had another actor son named Joshua Miller, who was in NEAR DARK, THE RIVER'S EDGE and TEEN WITCH.

Karras and Regan were not "mutants." They both seemed to have severe psychological problems, though, which probably made it easy for Pazuzu to manipulate them.

In the novel while at Chris's house Detective Kinderman scrapes some paint off one of Regan's art projects. The paint matches the paint on the church desecrations. He takes a sheet of paper that Sharon has thrown away after making a typewriting mistake on it. Someone had typed obscenities on a Mass card; using the paper thrown away by Sharon as a comparison Kinderman determined that it was same typewriter used to type the obscenities on the Mass card. SOMEONE in Chris MacNeil's house was doing the church desecrations. The implication is that Regan while possessed by Pazuzu, is doing it. But HOW? That is never explained.

Burstyn was perfect IMHO. She was tortured, frazzled mess, which is completely understandable.

I can't watch The Exorcist. It fucks with you psychologically and I've seen many horror films. That one is different.

[quote]How did the "lick me!!!" part not get the film an X rating?? It was a gory scene of forced incestual cunninglingus. That's the grossest part of the film for me, the cunty blood and he squishing sound as the mother's face was forced in there.

Because everyone in Hollywood and America knew the voice was Mercedes McCambridge's and that she was a champion muff diver. So it was a brave admission of lesbian sexual practices.

The desecration happened before she is bedbound so not hard for her to have done it under instruction front pazuzu. Jeez you people can't even follow simple details. Pazuzu is controlling her just before the doctors visit when he takes FULL control "the sow is mine". That line still gives me chills.

Mary Stuart Masterson's dad Peter played Dr. Barringer. I always thought Barton Heyman, who played Dr. Klein, was hot with a great ass and nice hips. You can tell in the scene where they're standing outside of Regan's room and they're explaining to Chris other options for treating her.

It's the little details that make the film so convincing. Like the fact that no one has the balls to go and try to change Regans nightie, so for days she's left in the the vomit soiled one. The novel describes how putrid she smells not having been washed, and the demon has a laxative like effect on her body. So basically she's lying in her filth and reeks. Yuck!

R121, once I realized that Burstyn was playing a dumb woman, her character made sense. Not mean necessarily or fully stupid, but just kind of vapid and under-educated.

I think she overreacted a little at her husband being in Europe and neglecting to call his daughter for her birthday. Of course Regan was going to overhear that mess.

For a long time, I would get scared walking down a dark hallway after watching The Exorcist. I would run the the washroom and run back. No other movie has had that effect on me.

Creepy. Read this thread and then did some cleaning around my closet, and found a rosary. And I haven't prayed that shit in years!

Pazuzu is a DL icon

Paul Bateson, a radiology assistant who basically plays himself in the film, later confessed to a number of serial murders of gay men in NYC. He was the (unbilled) consultant for Friedkin's movie "Cruising".

He's the bearded guy in this scene:

"The desecration happened before she is bedbound so not hard for her to have done it under instruction front pazuzu. Jeez you people can't even follow simple details."

How did little Regan get into the church, with her paints and brushes, to desecrate the statues? How could she do that without detection? How could she get a Mass card, type an imagined lesbian encounter between the Virgin Mother and Mary Magdalene (that was what was on the Mass card) on it, and then get it back into the church? HOW was she able to do all this? None of this is explained at all. I guess William Peter Blatty thought no one would think about it; they'd be too busy being revolted by Regan's increasingly bizarre and psychotic behavior as Pazuzu takes hold of her.

Sssshhh....don't tell anyone

Why are we trying to figure out a logical solution to how a demon could get a little girl to carry out church desecrations...

Marry me R146

Jesuits sprang out of the turmoil from left from the Protestant Reformation so they were basically born tough and ready to fight.

There will be a stage version of The Exorcist in London's West End this fall. I'm going over there around Christmas and will be sorely tempted to go see it.

In the book, Chris MacNeil witnesses Regan spinning rapidly on her ass on the floor "like a spinning top.". Why the hell didn't that potentially epic scene make it into the movie??

I was about 13 when the book first came out and it scared the crap out of me, yet I couldn't put it down. When I saw the movie at the theater, my mother made me bring my 10 year old sister ( I was 16) . Of course I told her I was going to some Disney movie. And don't ask me how she got in with my friends and I, given the R rating, but she did. My sister tells me to this day how that movie traumatized her.

Another scene from the book that would have been epic is Reagan arching herself into a bow and scurrying after Sharon like a spider. Sharon didn't even know Reagan was behind her until she licked her on the ankle.

I'll always remember Blatty's initial description of Regan as "slender as a fleeting hope." The same couldn't be applied to Linda Blair who was the very picture of a child with baby fat.

Pazuza, as mentiones above, was a very witty and worldly demon. He knew, for instance, that Lake Titicaca is the highest and largest alpine lake in the world or whatever!

Can you fucking imagine hearing Lucy's voice come out of Regan's mouth?! "Your mother sucks cocks in hell! Waaaaah!"

R137, Barton Heyman's ass is on display (clothed, mind you) in Let's Scare Jessica To Death in some tight early 70s jeans.

He was a hot one. Even with his balding. A very naturalistic and believable actor too—in both movies.

^^Thanks for the info! I'll have to seek that out and watch (intently).

[quote]It isn't campy. The omen and The Wickerman are campy

Thank you.

Someone here doesn't understand what "camp" is.

The Exorcist feels quite camp because it's been parodied so much.

I think the scene guest starring the gay serial killer (who at the time of filming evidently had already killed a man, according to someone on Datalounge) is so fascinating. It's one of the greatest things I've learned here on Datalounge. I had no idea. I think most people have no idea.

I remember in the last Exorcist thread we had, someone pointed out his leather wrist band in that scene in the hospital—an accessory indicating he was part of the gay leather scene, which he was.

And he's a free man in NYC today! I wonder if he's ever cruised me...

Enh, R160, that isn't what makes a movie campy though.

R150 -

Please tell me that the London stage version is a musical!!

Now that would be beyond fabulous! Camper than Speingtime for Hitler! Can you just imagine?!

Actually, I can.

I've seen an interview with Friedkin talking about the serial killer. I think it was that which got him interested in doing Cruising. It certainly adds an extra layer of horror to that arteriogram scene

Brits, please be aware that, in the US, '"campy" can mean [italic]unintentionally[/italic] campy (but just [italic]received[/italic] as campy) rather than just intentionally campy (as "camp" most often suggests in the UK).

In the US, things that were taken quite seriously when they were made (like "Johnny Guitar" and "Showgirls") are considered campy

Thus, I think it's pretty hard to deny that a film featuring a twelve-year old little girl snarling "Your mother sucks cocks in hell" in Mercedes McCambridge's voice and spewing high-pressure steams of pea-green vomit straight into other people's faces is campy in the American sense of the term.

No, R166, that is not what "camp" is.

It wasn't Reghan's shadow that the detective saw in her window-- she was strapped to the bed at the time. It was the demon.

[italic]The Omen[/italic] is essentially big budget trash with a starry A-list cast, some of whom really overdo it. I like David Warner in it-- yes, he is his usual lugubrious camp self (he always puts me in mind of some fey loping hound), but he does meet a truly spectacular end. None of it is remotely believable, and therefore it is not especially scary. I was a child when I first saw it and thought the most frightening thing in the movie was the old school paternoster elevator at the hospital.

[italic]The Exorcist[/italic] is NOT trashy or campy. It takes itself very seriously and everybody is playing it dead straight, which makes it far more frightening IMO.

[quote]The Exorcist is NOT trashy or campy. It takes itself very seriously and everybody is playing it dead straight, which makes it far more frightening IMO.

Hello, exactly! Thank you. Sadly, I still don't think our camp-confused DLer will understand.

It's a good movie with great performances but not scary at all (especially not if you're an atheist). I guess it must have been a life-changing experience to see it on the big screen back in 1973, but it seems rather tame by today's standards.

I'm a millennial and it seems to me like The Blair Witch Project was our generation's The Exorcist - ridiculously hyped movie (with reports of people fainting in the cinemas) which was later imitated by hundreds of other films. But TBWP didn't use any known faces which made it a lot scarier, in my opinion. It's kind of hard to find Regan scary if you know that's the girl from Roller Boogie you're watching being possesed.

I think if you have any imagination you find it scary....if you don't have much you won't. Simple.

One a side note I think friedkin made a huge mistake giving in to Blatty and releasing the extended cut. It is not any improvement. Batty was an uber Catholic who actually believed in this stuff. He didn't want the audience to despair, so that sugary ending was added. So annoying cause so many younger people have seen that cut instead of the proper original.

I am American and British and agree that Exorcist can be enjoyed as camp and can also be terrifying. Certainly nowadays it offers up a good dose of camp. No doubt the laughing grown up black audience at the time were sophisticated enough to enjoy the camp even if the white catholic boys like myself were mesmersied by the horror.

Season 1 of the TV show

SPOILER ALERT

Had Geena Davis playing a grown Regan. Loved that twist.

Catholics are weird. Are you brought up to genuinely believe all that stuffs? I don't see the film as camp. I think some people are confusing comical with camp. It's not the same thing. And tell me what horror film made recently would you describe as good drama? Nothing come close to the Exorcist.

Americans have a tendency to dismiss anything old. All your great works of drama or art are discarded when you see them as passe. What a shallow culture.

Going back to the OP's question, it was just a brilliant dramatic choice. Everybody going into the theater knew the general idea that the story took place in the U.S. and involved a priest and a little girl in her bedroom. To open on this strange, beautiful, exotic panorama that nobody was expecting was disorienting and intriguing and promised that even though you may have read the book you still had some big surprises ahead.

Remember, this was 1973. Location shooting like that in a Hollywood film was reserved for top of the line A pictures. People would have been like, "What? I thought this was a horror flick, not Lawrence of Arabia!" It was telling the audience right off the bat, "This is not grind house drive-in crap, this is a prestige film." And that in itself made what was coming even more horrific and shocking, because audiences were not used to seeing this kind of shit, especially in a respectable movie theater. It's hard to imagine now how transgressive this movie was at the time.

also the Islamic call to prayer was startling. They're beautiful I guess, I remember hearing various calls echoing over a valley in Turkey at prayer time and it really transported me. But on the black screen, when not expecting it, it seemed so alien and sinister. I remember the hair going up on my arms.

The sound design is really the star of the show. It won an incredibly well-deserved Oscar.

The sound is also one of the few good things in the 2000 re-release. They re-did it for Dolby and did a phenomenal job. Regan has a fish tank in her room, and even when it's not in a shot, you can hear it bubbling. Little stuff, but very immersive.

The opening sequence really set the tone for the movie. Juxtaposed with Washington in the fall was really effective and unsettling. It's a chilling nuance that I didn't really realize.

I just know Pazuzu posts on Datalounge.

Your mother sucks cocks in Hell, R182!

The Exorcist III, while flawed, has a lot going for it besides the famous, incredible jump-scare. For one thing, it has truly good performances from George C Scott and Brad Douriff.

They released a Blu Ray about a year ago that in addition to the theatrical release, also included a cut that was closer to the movie Blatty originally wanted to make, including exorcising (get it? get it?) the final, OTT, out of place exorcism scene. It also has the film's original title, Legion. Unfortunately, the original footage is long gone, and they had to rely on videotapes of the dailies, so there's a somewhat jarring drop in image quality, often within the same scene. But you can see it had a lot of potential.

The great Irish face of the late Jesuit priest Thomas V. Bermingham SJ, who played the President of Georgetown University in the movie:

r171 You cannot compare the two. No one I know has ever watched Blair Witch for a second time. Yes it set records due to its' innovative marketing campaign, but it is not a horror classic.

The marketing for Blair Witch--which is the first time anyone REALLY seemed to get what the internet could enable--was definitely a big driver, but I don't think it was the only.

Found footage movies generally work once. I know that's true of horror movies in general, especially the ones that rely on jump scares, but if something has a decent story and good performances, they can be highly re-watchable and also continue to be effective. Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist are the best examples, but I would argue so is Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 (that's due in part to the gay subtext, which would have been an interesting and unusual wrinkle even today), and so is Scream.

Anyway, found footage is easy to do and hard to do well. Blair Witch pulled it off. The first (and I would argue third) Paranormal Activity pulled it off. Very few other ones manage to, even Cloverfield which was working with a Name director and a relatively large budget.

The best example of the genre remains the early 90s British TV movie Ghostwatch, although that's hurt a bit by the silly ending.

The sequel is actually superior and expand on the metaphysical theme without adhering to tedious Christian dogma. Even Scorsese thinks the sequel is better:

Call me by my dream name

The Heretic was roundly panned. I thought it was awful. The pacing alone was horrific.

[quote]I'm a millennial

Hooo boy...

I read about the serial killer. I think he killed six gay man and he's been out of prison for at least a decade. The media called the case "fag in a bag".

Pazuzu's petals! Pazuzu's petals!

[quote] The Exorcist III, while flawed, has a lot going for it besides the famous, incredible jump-scare. For one thing, it has truly good performances from George C Scott and Brad Douriff.

AND Fabio playing an angel! I can't believe you left him out.

That's not Fabio. That's Don Draper.

[quote]The Blair Witch Project was our generation's The Exorcist

Please. The tag line for TBWP should have been "Three people get lost in the woods and spend the remainder of the movie whining and bickering."

To get back to OP's question - how did the idol end up in Georgetown? Did Father Merrin take it with him when he left Iraq? Did Regan's mother buy it on eBay? Did it fly there? Was it a cheap knock-off? Did the cop picking it up off the ground mean that someone else was about to get possessed? Is it like The Ring, where picking up the idol was like watching the videotape? Did the Precious Moments people ever make a Pazzuzu figurine?

Had I known there was a Pazuzu figurine at The Louvre I would have checked it out. Just looking at it scares me.

"Another scene from the book that would have been epic is Reagan arching herself into a bow and scurrying after Sharon like a spider."

Actually, what she did was glide after Sharon "like a snake" while flicking her tongue in and out of her mouth. There was no "spider walk" in the novel. It did mention that during one of her fits she bent her body backwards like a bow until her brow touched (or nearly touched) her feet.

A lot of things in the movie didn't happen in the book. The levitation scene, which is one of the most riveting scenes in the movie ("The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you!") , did not take place in the novel. Regan is strapped to the bed the whole time; she never floats above it after her straps are mysteriously ripped off. In fact, in the book Pazuzu asks Karras several times to undo the straps. He almost loosens one of them, but Karl stops himL "No, Father! It's is STRONG!"

I think the Pazuzu medal teleported, maybe through the portal opened by Regan via the Ouiji board.

Yes, clearly the Merrin sold Regan the Pazuzu figurine on etsy.

I think Pazuzu was headed to Capitol Hill but got lost in Georgetown. Maybe he had snagged a job as a lobbyist.

This has probably been answered, but Excorcist: The Beginning revealed that ancient Byzantine Christians discovered a cavern in Kenya which marks the spot where Lucifer was initially thrown from Heaven and cast under the earth by God.

That is where Pazuzu and other demons supposedly emanated from Hell.

I heard Pazuzu emanates from under a Panda Express in the valley.

So the serial killer guy has been out of prison for years and he has never killed again? He just stopped? What does he do to satisfy his blood lust? Kill small animals?

The press also tagged it "Looking for Mr. Gaybar".

I like the theory that "Ramblin' Man" playing in the bar was a metaphor for the demon making his way across the world to possess Reagan.

[quote]I can't watch The Exorcist. It fucks with you psychologically and I've seen many horror films. That one is different.

R134, I'm with you. I've seen "The Exorcist" exactly ONCE and that was when it aired on CBS back in the '80s. That was enough for me.

Reading this thread has been quite fascinating, however.

Reading this thread has made me want to watch it again, but I'm too skeered!!

What is the sugary ending and what was the original ending? I'm a youngin'. Sugary was when mother and daughter are leaving town and the detective and priest go to "the films"? Where did the movie end before?

I don't recall the new version of The Exorcist having a different ending from the original release. I thought the main difference between the 2 versions was the addition of the infamous spider walk scene, an extra dialogue scene between Regan's mother and Karras, and some digitally inserted flashes of the demonic entity's face in a couple of scenes. I never heard of a different ending. Am I mistaken about this?

The movie ended with Father Dyer saying goodbye to Chris and Regan (they go off in a car, presumably to live happily every after). The final scene shows Dyer holding a necklace or medallion or something like that; it had belonged to Karras.

In the book Kinderman shows up to say goodbye, but Chris and Regan have already left. Kinderman tells Dyer he gets free passes to movies and asks if he wants to go to the movies with him. The implication is that Dyer will take Karra's place; Kinderman really liked Karras a lot. William Friedkin downplayed the character of Kinderman in the movie; I guess that's why he was omitted from the end.

I think "Ramblin' Man" is played in the bar because Karras is having a crisis in faith and he wants to split, just not be a Priest anymore.

[quote]One a side note I think friedkin made a huge mistake giving in to Blatty and releasing the extended cut. It is not any improvement. Batty was an uber Catholic who actually believed in this stuff. He didn't want the audience to despair, so that sugary ending was added. So annoying cause so many younger people have seen that cut instead of the proper original.

Ugh, tell me about it. So sad. It's done a huge disservice to the film and its legacy, I think.

[quote]Catholics are weird. Are you brought up to genuinely believe all that stuffs? I don't see the film as camp. I think some people are confusing comical with camp. It's not the same thing. And tell me what horror film made recently would you describe as good drama? Nothing come close to the Exorcist.

I was raised Catholic and when I saw the movie, or I should say I tried to start watching the movie at age 8 (it was too terrifying to watch all the way until I was 12), I believed in spirits and possession and the devil and all that. I also went to Saturday cathechism (sp?) and my classmates believed it was real too. Ridiculous, yes, but it sure made for a fun time. Who doesn't love to be utterly gullible and terrified?

I agree that people don't seem to understand the difference between camp and comical. How to explain it to them? Is there any hope?

Weren't there some scenes of pre-possessed Regan bouncing around Washington locales also added to the director's cut? I seem to remember those.

"I think friedkin made a huge mistake giving in to Blatty and releasing the extended cut. It is not any improvement. Batty was an uber Catholic who actually believed in this stuff. He didn't want the audience to despair, so that sugary ending was added"

What is the sugary ending that was allegedly added to the extended cut? As far as I know, the ending in the extended cut is the same as the one in the original version of the movie.

No, R216, and the question was answered a few posts above.

The "Version Youve Never Seen" edit ends with Lt. Kinderman approaches Fr Dyer after the MacNeils ride away in their Mercedes, and invites him to go to the movies sometime with him. They walk off into the sunset, possibly arm in arm or something.

In the original edit, the Mercedes drives away, Dyer stands there looking sad, and then he turns to walk away and the screen fades to black as "Tubular Bells" starts playing and then is interrupted by another orchestral cue as the credits flash on the screen.

Sounds like a few of you are confused about the Pazuzu figurine in the opening scene and its reappearance in Georgetown later.

As far as I can recall, it DOES NOT reappear in Georgetown. Merrin & Karras see a huge statue that looks like the one (or is exactly the same one) Merrin faces off with in Iraq—it happens during the exorcism, appears on Regan's bed as a hallucination to them both.

But the figurine Kinderman finds at the bottom of the "Hitchcock" steps is NOT Pazuzu. It is one of Regan's clay figurines that she made herself. You can see more of her figurines inside the house when Kinderman is questioning Chris. "Your daughter, she's the artist?" The implication is that Regan's clay figurine was in the room with her and Burke when Burke was pushed out her window. It ties together Burke's death with Regan. The clay figurine looks like some kind of elephant or rhino or some hybrid animal similar to her drawings.

New here, R217? NO ONE on DL reads past the first 2 posts on a thread.

Also, someone upthread said the 2000 edit improved on the sound design. I thought the EXACT opposite.

Almost everything that was added to that edit was designed to keep a much younger, modern audience enthralled/interested. So what you get is much, much louder thumps and phones ringing, nearly constant musical cues involving cellos that were not there in the original classic, plus the aforementioned ridiculous superimposed images.

If you're as familiar as I am with the original release, the added sounds/musical cues are really conspicuous and, frankly, insulting. Because it's clear all along that it's a souped-up remix geared toward our much stupider 21st Century society and its Attention Deficit Disorders and resultant expectations. It's an abomination in almost every way. There isn't one added scene, sound, or visual that improves upon the original.

One last thing I need to complain about: when Friedkin did the blu ray release (or maybe it was even pre-blu ray), he and the cinematographer (?) made some drastic changes to the original color timing in the final exorcism scene. Everything in Regan's bedroom is tinted BLUE. In the original release, and on TV, and on the VHS, laser, and initial DVD releases, the final exorcism scene (which lasts maybe a half hour) had totally normal color timing. Nothing overly blue about it.

Supposedly Billy did this because he wanted the scene to look "colder". Literally. He wanted people to understand how cold it was in the room. As if the bundled up characters with visible breath coming out their mouths wasn't obvious enough.

This is what we're dealing with here, folks.

So there does not exist a single high definition version of the movie that truly looks the way it did for the first ~35 years of its existence. That goes for both versions—the original and the Version You Wish You'd Never Seen.

I hate the 2000 "Version You've Never Seen"; so dumbed-down, with the jarring music cues telling the audience when to be scared, the digital altering of Regan's face to make her look more possessed during the hypnosis scene, the stupid shots of the demon face randomly materializing on the walls, and that ridiculous "spider-walk" scene with the cgi-blood pouring out of her mouth.

All prints of that version should be destroyed.

Can we all stop talking about this movie? It's too scary!! TIA!

So glad I'm not the only one who feels that way, R222.

Unfortunately every retard and his brother now think that version of the movie IS the movie.

I actually like the Spider Walk scene, but they should have included the original version in the movie, where Regan chases Kitty Winn around the room and doesn't include that cheesy blood throwing part. But I agree, all the other Director's Cut alterations were pretty awful and remind me of Lucas massacring the original Star Wars trilogy.

I wonder what the movie would be like if the producers gave in to Audrey Hepburn's demands and shot the film in Rome with her playing Chris. I think Rome would provide a great (though not very subtle) setting for the story and seeing Audrey smeared with her daughter's menstrual blood all over the face would make for a nice break from the usual squeky clean characters she played. She'd also be a lot more believable playing a huge movie star - Ellen was great in this, but I didn't buy her as some huge actress not even for a second.

I don't think Chris MacNeil was really supposed to be a "huge actress"; I got the impression she was sort of on the same level as Ellen Burstyn herself. What have you that idea?

And one other thing, sorry to be nit-picky: it wasn't menstrual blood on Chris's face. Regan was stabbing herself in the crotch (it's frequently referred to as masturbation, and it may have been depicted as such in the book, but in the movie she's clearly brutally stabbing herself). The blood is from torn outer skin tissue and probably her broken hymen. She wasn't menstruating.

What gave you that idea*

Ugh, fucking autocorrect is worthless since the last iPhone update, especially typing on Datalounge.

Why does anyone care about this homophobic Catholic propaganda?

Oh fuck off, R229.

You fuck off, you fucking papist scum.

Papist? I'm an atheist. Blatty was indeed a homophobic superstitious idiot. But the story he created led to one of the most iconic and popular movies of all time. Even if it has a propagandist bent to it.

Enjoying it, as it can be on many levels, does not require one to buy into the Catholic church's bullshit. I was raised Catholic and I will never go back, in fact I think organized religion should be banned—or at the very least they should pay taxes.

[quote]One last thing I need to complain about: when Friedkin did the blu ray release (or maybe it was even pre-blu ray), he and the cinematographer (?) made some drastic changes to the original color timing in the final exorcism scene. Everything in Regan's bedroom is tinted BLUE. In the original release, and on TV, and on the VHS, laser, and initial DVD releases, the final exorcism scene (which lasts maybe a half hour) had totally normal color timing. Nothing overly blue about it.

Friedkin screwed up "The French Connection" the very same way. Originally the film had that early-70s brownish tint to it, which made it look more gritty and realistic. Friedkin, however, felt the exact opposite, saying it looked phony and over-saturated. So for the blu ray release, he took the print, removed all the color, and replaced it with what he calls "pastels", making everything look blue. He received a lot of backlash not only from fans, but from the original cinematographer himself, who said that that wasn't the film he shot.

[quote] I don't think Chris MacNeil was really supposed to be a "huge actress"; I got the impression she was sort of on the same level as Ellen Burstyn herself. What have you that idea?

Well, the character was based on Shirley MacLaine who was certainly a bigger name than Ellen Burstyn. And in that scene where they are filming the movie there's a huge crowd of people watching them - I always thought they were trying to catch a glimpse of Chris.

Friedkin is overrated except for [italic]The Boys in the Band[/italic].

What was the point of making Jason Miller's character Greek - 99 % of Greeks belongs to the orthodox church and that's an important part of their national identity. I've never met a catholic Greek before in my life.

[quote]Friedkin is overrated except for The Boys in the Band.

Hmm.

Nah, I'm gonna go ahead and say The Exorcist is a greater accomplishment. Most people agree.

I've always wondered about the Greek/Catholic thing too. They're such a minority in Greece, it almost seems like we need a subplot in the movie to justify why we're using a Greek Catholic. It would have made more sense if the character was Italian. He could still have the heavily accented old mother in Hells Kitchen.

Maybe Karras and his mother are Grikos, a small community of ethnic Greeks that live in Southern Italy.

The Greek Catholic Church started in Istanbul according to Wikipedia, interesting.

Woman who did the Spiderwalk scene speaks out. She's fucking pissed.

[quote]Friedkin is overrated except for The Boys in the Band.

The French Connection is fabulous in so many ways.

& I usually hate those sorts of movies.

I'm sensing a thread going off the rails. Please let's skip any discussion of Greek-Catholics or Norwegian-Catholics.

The book is quite different from the film in that it really never really answers definitively whether it was a possession or not. That final conflict between Father Karras and Pazuzu happens "offscreen." The focus is on Chris downstairs waiting and then Father Karras falls out the window.

[quote] I'm sensing a thread going off the rails. Please let's skip any discussion of Greek-Catholics or Norwegian-Catholics.

There are Catholics in Norway?! Sorry, but I think I'm gonna need some more information about that - how many of them are there? Do they get along with the Protestant majority? What do they think about "Song of Norway" starring Florence Henderson?

Doesn't Norway also have its own Bible Belt which is full of crazy fanatics?

Do a Google search for "Peggy Olsson" and "DataLounge," R244.

*Sorry, that should be OLSON.

I love in the last season (or was it the one prior) Peggy is on the phone with some priest and she explains how she's Norwegian and Catholic. It was totally Weiner throwing a bone to a everyone on the internet who questioned the whole thing.

"real" exorcists say that you can't do what Karras did. If you invite the demon to take you instead then it simply has the means to possess both of you.

Pazuzu DJs these days

May I ask who the fuck is Peggy Olson?

I watched the original on Cinemax yesterday. I had only seen edited-for-broadcast versions before, and years ago.

A bit disjointed in places as it turned out, but all in all a very good movie (though I prefer The Omen with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, which is sometimes seen as a knockoff but shouldn't be).

What I appreciated in The Exorcist this time was the brilliant Ellen Burstyn (sp?), and the foul mouth, great wardrobe and badass attitude of her character, Chris.

One of the great things about the first season of the (renewed) Exorcist cable series was DL fave Sharon Gless in a few episodes as an older Chris MacNeil, mother of Regan and semi-famous actress.

In Omen 2 wasn't a teen Damien in a gay affair with his cousin?

Only in subtext, r252.

The Omen was also a quality horror film. Elevated by Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Both great actors.

You can't speak about The Omen and not mention Jerry Goldsmith, you cunts. His music totally made that whole film.

[quote]In Omen 2 wasn't a teen Damien in a gay affair with his cousin?

The cousin penetrated the crack, certainly. To Goldsmith heart-pounding music.

Lucy as Pazuzu: "Ya call this hot??? I married a loser!!!!"

[quote]Well, the character was based on Shirley MacLaine who was certainly a bigger name than Ellen Burstyn. And in that scene where they are filming the movie there's a huge crowd of people watching them - I always thought they were trying to catch a glimpse of Chris.

I've only read the book once, so I don't remember it that well, but I always had the impression that Chris was supposed to be more in the mold of the New Hollywood stars like Burstyn herself. In the book, in addition to be distracted from Regan by filming the movie, she's also prepping to direct for the first time. That seems like something a Shirley MacLaine-type would be less likely to do.

Shall we summon the writer?

I don't like to mess with the Occult. Although I did watch the Exorcist and read the book, and I watched all the Omen movies too. But I find them to be the scariest movies.

Here are your daggers, Richard.

Come, Father Lamont, ride on the wings of the demon!

[quote] she's also prepping to direct for the first time. That seems like something a Shirley MacLaine-type would be less likely to do.

I may be wrong but I believe Shirley DID direct a film a while ago.

The book terrified me as a child, but I loved the movie. I felt very safe watching the film because it follows rules / laws I understand and learned as a kid in catachism / religion class etc. The devil can't affect you if your faith is unshakable. A lot of what the devil did even in the movie was terrifying, but not dangerous if you had enough faith. That's the premise, anyway. Of course even staunch Catholics have weaknesses and are susceptible, but if you stick to the idea that you are safe if your faith is strong, you can feel pretty secure watching the film. The movie was controversial when it came out, but I believe adhered to Catholic doctrine so strongly that the Catholic ratings agency gave it a good rating - of course adults only, but did not condemn it, because all the content was framed per Catholic doctrine and how evil and good act when pitted against each other. It's a really good movie - has some anachronistic attributes but overall still holds up.

William Peter Blatty knew Shirley MacLaine; I think he actually said that Chris MacNeil was based on her. The original cover of the novel featured a distorted picture of MacLaine's daughter Sachi; at least that's what I heard. And the piicture does bear a resemblance of her. The Chris MacNeil character does seem a lot like MacLaine; she's redheaded, outspoken, not very bright, something of a kook. Sounds like MacLaine to me.

My mother told me that in the original Frankenstein movie, people were screaming and passing out in the scene where Boris kills the little girl. She said they took that scene out of the film for most showings after that.

She also said that in the movie Sabotage the audience was outraged when SPOILER --- the little boy takes the bomb on the bus and it explodes. She said people screamed and wept and some people angrily left the movie and demanded their money back.

Shirley MacLaine has said that Chris McNeil was based in her. She seems annoyed

[quote]The book terrified me as a child

You read The Exorcist as a child????

Why was Fr. Karras' mother sent to a mental hospital (Bellevue?) when she was not insane? Just because the family was cash-strapped? Were there no other facilities where she could be accommodated?

R267, a lot of us read it as children. A friend of mine read it when she was 12; she was also Catholic and instead of worrying she would become possessed, she worried that God would choose to impregnate her with his Son.

[quote]It's a really good movie - has some anachronistic attributes but overall still holds up.

Which anachronisms?

There's one scene that always annoys me because the rhythm is off...it's just the editing.

"Shall we summon the writer? He's in Paris, I believe."

"Hiding?"

"Fucking!"

[laughter from everyone, including bystanders]

It just plays out too quickly, and the joke isn't even really funny.

I read an article in Newsweek about the Exorcist. I didn't even see the movie, I was only 9. I was so freaked out I slept with a rosary under my pillow. My parents almost took me to a therapist.

That's hilarious R270.

Does anyone know what song Fr. Dyer is playing at the piano at the dinner party? The one everyone is singing along with.

"The Omen" is full of Catholic imagery but at heart is a very Protestant, fundamentalist film about the signs of the Antichrist and how it cannot be stopped. "The Exorcist," on the other hand, is Catholic through and through.

Bellevue (both then and now) has both med/surg and psych. She had trouble with her ankle, we saw Karras was dressing her wound in her Hells Kitchen apartment. They probably brought her there and saw she had altered mental status so sent her to the psych side. Bellevue is a public hospital so it was all she could afford, Karras's uncle said "you got the money for a private hospital?" because Karras obviously didn't like the level of care there.

In the novel Karra's mother has a mental breakdown; she shrieks and screams and talks to her old plastic radio. She's penniless, so she'd taken to Bellevue. Karras wants her in a better place, but her few remaining relatives have no money for that. It compounds his guilt; if he'd become a psychiatrist instead of a penniless priest his poor mother wouldn't have had to live in a hovel and get hauled off to Bellevue when her mind started to go. Pazuzu pretends to be Karra's mother to push his buttons; he hears his mother's voice sadly imploring "why you do dis to me, Dimmy?" It works like a charm.

While I was growing up in the 70s, it was common for kids to sneak off with their parents' horror novels. I read The Omen when I was 8, and followed it up with Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Exorcist, and Audrey Rose, all courtesy of my dad's bookshelf- I even remember discussing Salem's Lot with him. The only book that didn't scare me was The Exorcist, oddly.

You had the mental capacity to read a novel at 8 years old and grasp its concepts? Were you a wunderkind or a savant?

Audrey Rose deserves its own thread. That movie was really disturbing to me, for some reason I remember they took me to see it in the movie theater when I was like seven years old or so. Not for kids, especially the scene where Audrey burns alive in the car.

I want to do some Googling about Pazuzu but I don't want to bring him into my life through my laptop.

r276 Of course I didn't fully comprehend the nuances of those books the same as adults did, but I and many of my friends still read them. I read above my grade level and understood enough to follow the basic storylines and grasp some of the emotional underpinnings. My father and uncle discussed some of them with me, because they didn't believe in dumbing down their kids.

Have you read the sequel to Audrey Rose, 277?

I read "The Exorcist" when I was 12 or 13. I read "The Godfather" when I was around that same age. I read "Hollywood Babylon" when I was 14 or 15. I think I understood them all, but as an adult I re-read them from a different perspective.

^^^no, and didn't read the original novel either. Just saw the movie. Does Audrey get reincarnated again?

Is that you Paul A? What is it with their Excorcist obsession?

R146 is a download. Fuck the R146.

R282, she comes back as an autistic girl. Audrey's father goes insane trying to figure out who she reincarnated as. Audrey's father and Ivy's mother spend way too much of the book in India talking metaphysical bullshit, then end up running a center for Ivy/Audrey/Whatever her new name was and other autistic children.

Oops, it was Ivy's dad who went nuts while looking for her.

R180, they used the sound of bees buzzing in the background sounds and that's what left a lot of people feeling ill.

R186, Blair Witch is a horror classic.

R195, Hamm has a slit for a mouth. Big turnoff on a guy. Only a female can pull it off and that's a long shot. Jon Hamm, treat yourself to some lips this coming holiday season. I've always believed his mealy looking mouth arrested a bigger career. The weak lips always seem to advertise a weak character. After all, you've just a hole in your face you call a mouth. Leeches laugh at you.

[quote]Audrey Rose deserves its own thread. That movie was really disturbing to me, for some reason I remember they took me to see it in the movie theater when I was like seven years old or so. Not for kids, especially the scene where Audrey burns alive in the car.

I remember that I found the ending so sad.

The scariest thing about Audrey Rose was that creepy short TV ad, with the image of Brooke Shields on the tombstone. The movie itself was pathetic and the girl playing Audrey was really annoying. But the guy who played the father was pretty hot and he had some nice pornstache.

The actress who played Audrey is the mother of 7 and a complete conservative nut.

R293 Wow, you weren't kidding. Just another reason for me to hate this cunt.

She still has those ugly buggy eyes.

The genius behind Blair Witch is that you never know who the evil being is.

Best part is their tent being slapped about on the outside. Hearing a baby cry. The rock piles. The tree branched figures hanging from the trees.

Best line "There's no baby in the woods!"

the best part of Blair Witch was when it was over and you got to leave. The movie sucked.

Agreed R296. An utterly stupid movie, a total waste of time.

R296 Shut up, cunt. The Blair Witch Project was awesome and even the critics loved it (it even has a "certified fresh" rating on rottentomatoes, which is extremely rare for a horror film). I can't imagine watching that film on the big screen (or any other shaky cam, found footage film for that matter) but if you watch it at night on your TV when you're home alone (possibly even with headphones) it makes for a truly terrifying experience. One of my favorite parts is that weirdo woman telling the story about seeing the witch when she was girl - both the woman and the story she told were scary as hell.

More horror films shoud take a cue from TBWP and apply the "less is more" principle - floating people, furniture moving by itself, creepy dolls, small Asian girls with hair over their face...just aren't scary anymore.

Your mother sews socks that smell!

Was that an actual line used in a parody, R299? I keep coming across it. It's really lame.

Let's talk some more about the Blair Witch in a thread about The Exorcist!

I don't want to derail this thread even further, but The Blair Witch Project was indeed a really stupid movie. Nothing is ever explained, it gets away with a lot of plot holes and bad acting because it presents itself as unadulterated "found footage". No movie should be able to do that.

Nobody is here for discussion about Blair Witch in The Exorcist thread.

Remember that scene in "Can't Stop The Music" where they had little kids playing Village People? I read that two of them were portrayed by the male cast members of the Blair Witch Project-a far scarier movie than the Exorcist. "Can't Stop The Music" is like comfort food for me.

[quote]William Peter Blatty was friends with Shirley MacLaine, and had visited her at her estate, raising her daughter Sachi Parker by herself, surrounded by an entourage of nannies and tutors helping with the process, taking time out here and there to film a movie. This became the inspiration and prototype for Chris and Regan. ( "Maclaine" isn't that far off from " Macneal").

-Trivia section on IMDB

So why didn't Shirley do the film if it was based on her? (I think she had directed some sort of documentary early in her career.)

I think Chris is supposed to be quite famous. In the scene where she meets Father Karris on a bridge she first brushes him off like he is a fan. The way it is played (she's all wrapped in scarves and hats like she doesn't want to be recognized) and the way Burstyn says please leave me alone sort of implies that she has had fan encounters a lot in her life. Plus when Karris is watching her filming at the beginning he seems sort of star struck like he is seeing a famous person.

I read adult smutty and pulpy books when i was a preteen, too. Biographies of famous people. Harold Robbins, Jacqueline Susann. Horror books. I didnt like the spy thriller books and I didn't like Agatha Christie. Mostly in summer because those were the books in the summer houses and nobody was really watching what any of us kids were doing anyway.

I read classics too. I would read short story anthologies as well.

Also the most tedious reading experience was forcing myself through Lord of the Rings.

no one cares r308.

Now back to the Exorcist please.

"Karras - give my daughter the shot!!!!"

"I did NOT lift my skirt...Pazuzu made it TWIRL UP!!!"

I've read Carol Burnett was actually offered the role.

People probably would have gone expecting a comedy. I wonder if that would have made it scarier or just campy.

(I don't think Burnett had done serious roles much at this point)

I remember in the novel Chris was in DC filming a musical version of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. In the film it looks like she's playing some kind of protest rebel rouser. I love it when Burstyn's Chris, with a wave of her hand, gets a hair/make up gal to back off right before she does a take.

Interesting interview with Friiedkin, whose new documentary includes a real exorcism:

Maybe not in third grade, but certainly by fifth, I was reading my mother's paperbacks at night in bed. Among those I remember are, yes "The Exorcist," along with "Jaws," "The Other Side of Midnight," "Rogue Roman" (hot, with what I only vaguely understood to be gay sex, at least implied) and the "Jackie, Oh!" trash bio by what's-her-name.

I felt so sophisticated. If there had been a phone in my bedroom I'd have wanted a pencil to dial it.

"The genius behind Blair Witch is that you never know who the evil being is."

WHAT "genius?" The evil being is the BLAIR WITCH. See the title? It says "The BLAIR WITCH Project."

I was completely underwhelmed by this movie. All the fuss about THIS? A rip off of "Cannibal Holocaust", which did the "found footage" plot first and better? The shaky camera, which was supposed to be SO original and authentic seeming, was just nauseating. I was not scared at all by this movie. All I could think while watching it was: "what a bunch of loser idiots." The famous scene where the camera is right up to the girl's face and she's sniveling with the snot coming out of her nostril incited laughter from the audience in the theater where I saw it. And it WAS funny. Not scary. Funny.

NO ONE GIVES A SHIT WHAT ANY OF YOU DOPEY FUCKS THOUGHT OF "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT"!. I heard that Janet Jackson was offered the role of Regan, but she was locked in to her "Good Times" contract. I think she would have been phenomenal and probably could have written an Oscar caliber opening theme as well.

A black chick as Regan? That would be interesting, with Diana Ross playing Chris MacNeil. Unfortunately Katherine 'I Love Jehovah' Jackson would never have let Janet play a role involving evil spirits and any version of god except Jehovah. Interesting though. They could have set it in the projects!

It would have been interesting if they had kept the possessed child a teenage boy, as the original "case" was based on a boy.

In the original case, the teen boy had to be 'taken to the rectory' to live with the priests for long overnight sessions. By the end of the first week he was calling his parents begging them to come claim him and swearing he'd never act out again!

"NO ONE GIVES A SHIT WHAT ANY OF YOU DOPEY FUCKS THOUGHT OF "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT"!."

Obviously YOU do, because you're having a hissy fit. Anyway, "The Blair Witch Project" was an overrated piece of shit. If hearing that unhinges you, I suggest you got see a good therapist.

Back to The Exorcist

Have any of the studios done an Exorcist porn parody?

I was reading and translating ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics when I was three and a half.

Sexorcist

[quote]It's a good movie with great performances but not scary at all (especially not if you're an atheist). I guess it must have been a life-changing experience to see it on the big screen back in 1973, but it seems rather tame by today's standards. I'm a millennial and it seems to me like The Blair Witch Project was our generation's The Exorcist

Honey, I'm a Millennial and "The Exorcist" scared the living shit out of me when I saw it. Don't dare put "The Exorcist" in the same category as the lame "Blair Witch Project". No one saw, not even to this day, a child on-screen performing the shit Linda Blair did. They wouldn't get away with it. I have no problem watching it now, but the scenes that really bothered people and made them sick/faint were the scenes in the hospital where she's getting medical tests done.

Catholics have always had the biggest reaction to "The Exorcist" for obvious reasons. If you're not Catholic or didn't grow up around them you'll never it.

"Have any of the studios done an Exorcist porn parody?"

I think there was some porn movie called "The Sexorcist" I've never seen seen it. But it has one of the best titles of a porn movie ever.

They should do a new one. Maybe Johnny Rapid as the possessed. Will Braun as the young priest. Now we just need an 'old' priest!

Regan had her own hi nrg dance theme. Imagine Linda Blair in a cloud of coke at Studio 54 dancing to this one

I was 9 when The Exorcist was released and when my family was at another movie I saw the poster for it and I was fascinated. I asked my father to take me to see it and he said he would. My mother looked at him and said, "George, if you take my son to see that movie you will never see him or me or any of your other children again."

Over 300 posts and no mention of the 1974 blaxploitation film "Abby" (a/k/a "Black Exorcist")?

Ooooh, is he the fella who starred in Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream as well?

I was offered the role of Regan, but ABC wouldn't let me out of filming for EIGHT IS ENOUGH. Plus, Barbra Streisand warned Ellen Burstyn that I would steal the picture right from under her. Elle couldn't bear the thought. Women are so evil and envious in Hollywood..

Lol R332!!

r332 is as unoriginal and unfunny as the M posts.

LOL R316!

Remember REPOSESSED? A hilarious EXORCIST parody starring Linda herself...

Linda's way older than Janet

We once had a fun thread about how The Exorcist would have been different if Barbra was cast as Chris. Someone wrote it would probably feature a cheesy theme song called "The Demon Behind Your Eyes".

Regan introduces Chris to Captain Howdy

And for being a world-famous actress (remember, Lt. Kinderman asks Chris for an autograph for his daughter), why the hell were the MacNeils living in such a dumpy place?

Dunno. They have help and she's going to buy Regan a horse.

Yes - but rats in the attic? No central heating?

Could you imagine Meryl f'ing Streep putting up with such conditions??

Audrey Hepburn looked surprisingly worn out by 1973 -it's hard to believe Wait Until Dark (in which she still looked very youthful) was made only a few years before that. Anorexic women always age like shit.

It was a rental for a location shoot, it seems. It was probably already furnished too, Regan found a Ouiji board in the basement probably left behind by the other owners.

[quote] R146 is a download

I read R146 without downloading it.

Several years ago I saw The Exorcist performed on stage. It was directed by John Doyle and starred Brooke Shields and Richard Chamberlain. It was one of the worst plays I've ever seen in my life. My friends and I couldn't stop laughing on our way out of the theatre. Shockingly, it never made its intended Broadway debut!

OP, you didn't get what this

Had to do with this?

Give a break to OP, R348 - she's a lil bit slow on the uptake

I remember how it was emphasized over and over that Linda Blair was totally unaffected by playing the demon-possessed child, and how normal and well-adjusted she was. HAH! She became a druggie groupie; clubbing and drinking and snorting coke before she was 18 years old. Seems like after doing that movie she REALLY got "possessed."

I was suspended for a week for reeding Tropic of Cancer to my kindergarten classmates.

[quote] She became a druggie groupie; clubbing and drinking and snorting coke before she was 18 years old. Seems like after doing that movie she REALLY got "possessed."

She also did Roller Boogie - no unpossessed person would be able to pull a movie like that off.

So sad that Linda had to go and reveal her lack of acting talent in subsequent movies. She should've just taken her money and lived a quiet life. She'd be more respected now.

I thought she looked really pretty in her post Exorcist years. She probably got a lot of dick (or puss, depending on her pleasure) and she had name recognition for days, even if every movie she did after The Exorcist was a turkey.

Ugh, she's had some bad work done though. Looks like she's got smokers teeth too.

All y'all have terrible f'ing taste if you can't appreciate the acting chops of Miss Linda Blair in such dramas such as "Stranger in our house!"

That Exorcist tv show starring DL fave Geena Davis was the most boring thing ever.

I snoozed through four episodes and finally decided, why bother?

Linda should have had the Oscar for Caged Heat.

"Repossessed" was about as funny as stepping in dog shit, R336.

R358, I agree completely, the broom-handle rape scene alone should have gotten her a sweep of all the critics' awards that year!

R359, what's wrong? you mean you don't appreciate the high comedy of adult Regan dressed as an icecream cone, saying "lick me! lick me!?"

R346, do you know if the upcoming production in London has the same script as the one starring Brooke Shields?

Linda hot prime Rick dick--Springfield...

And James...

RJ wrote Coldblooded about Linda

Rick Sprinfield was a near pedo. He liked to hear bones crunch.

Speaking of bones,the crucifix that Regan uses to masturbate with is described in the novel as "bone white."

[quote]Speaking of bones,the crucifix that Regan uses to masturbate with is described in the novel as "bone white."

R367, Geez, I don't want to derail this thread, but that reminds me of the ending of 'The Devils', when Vanessa Redgrave is given Oliver Reed's charred femur, after he's been burned at the stake, and proceeds to masturbate with it.

Anyhoo, carry on!

Exactly, R340. It was just a rental.

The real house doesn't have that added wing by the steps and is across the street from the bar that was used for St. Elmo's Fire in the eponymous film.

One thing I like about the film is that that, despite being set in DC, you see no second unit establishing shots of monuments, landmarks, reflecting pools, anything. Just Georgetown. Exorcist III took the other route.

I think there's restored footage of Chris taking Regan sightseeing in D.C. I don't recall exactly but I think it's by the monument.

Thank you, R371! I mentioned this earlier but everyone ignored the fuck out of me. I appreciate you.

I got to suck Rick Springfield's dick!!!

Jealous, bitches??!

Poor Linda tried to reinvent herself as a sex symbol. She did nude photos but nobody took her seriously as a sexpot, probably because she was such a porker. Look at her in that photo at R364; what a chunk she was.

She had a REAL body, not an emancipated one.

"I got to suck Rick Springfield's dick!!!

Jealous, bitches??!"

No. He has a face like a horse. And that feathered hair! Nope, no jealousy here.

^Emaciated.

The scariest movie I ever saw was on TV. The Other. It was shot in Black & White, even though I think it came out in the 60's or the 70's.. It starred Uta Hagen. Fantastic movie. Based on a book by Thomas Tryon. He used to be an actor but started writing novels and he was good at it. Anyone else remember it?

At least her body is finally emancipated from the demon Pazuzu..

R376 would have been on her knees for '80s Rick

the other is a great movie but it was filmed on color.

The Other is a great movie. The novel was written by very handsome (and gay) Tom Tryon. Really worth looking up. Its cast includes a very young John Ritter.

Now, back to The Exorcist. R370, R371, R372, Thanks!

[quote] do you know if the upcoming production in London has the same script as the one starring Brooke Shields?

It's John Pielmeier's adaptation, but I hope he did significant re-writes since the Los Angeles run a few years ago, or else there will be a horror unleashed on London like never seen before.....meaning, a really terrible play.

Both her tits and her snatch are a solid B+

That photo at R384 is obviously fake. Even if it wasn't, her tits and ass sure as hell wouldn't have rated a "solid B +." More like a C -.

she did lots of the devil's whore shots.

I remember "The Other." It wasn't a possession movie, it was a mental illness movie. The boy, Niles, is completely off his rocker. Anyway, the movie had some good things about it, but there some drastic plot changes that fucked it up. And the ending was very confusing. I think a remake that is more faithful to the book is in order. It could be really something if done right.

She's got fat labias, do guys get into that?

Linda's body was just fine. She was thick and had great boobs. Not every woman is built like a skeleton.

Girls with fat labias are whores because they like sex more because it's easier to orgasm. Even Pazuzuz would worship Rick Springfield's ginormous cherry busting cock.

You know he was slapping that ass when he was doing her doggie style.

Her parents allowed his fine ass to stay with them when she was still a teenager.

They probably listened at the door while he was banging the shit out of her. I would have. I would have taken my meat out and jerked off and shot all over the orange shag carpet.

Rick briefly talked about their relationship in his salacious tell all several years ago. He really was a FREAK. Probably still is.

I've already done more than my fair share to derail an Exorcist thread...sorry...but yeah Rick was a freak because he was battling mental illness while he was popular. He didn't drop from the scene for lack of offers or being dropped from a contract. He dropped out. He had to or he would have killed himself. His book is a great read. He doesn't hold much back. He did tear through the young pussy back in the day though..

I love the moment when Chris asks Kinderman if he would like more coffee - not serious but to be polite - and he responds "Yes". I love the look on Burstyn's face and she pauses to stare at him.

Didn't Chris offer Father Merrin coffee spiked with some brandy?

Was that a thing back then?

I love all the scenes of hospitality in The Exorcist.

I just remembered a detailnive always wondered about and have never sought an answer for: in the "oh Mom, can't we get a horse?" scene after Chris walks home among the trick-or-treaters and sees Karras looking very intense talking to another priest, WHAT in god's name is the thing that Regan pulls out of the jar and runs away with? And then Chris chases after her and tackles her at the bottom of the staircase and says "Give it up! Give it up! You'll be sorry!" while Regan laughs and yells "Nooooo!"

What on earth was the thing she had in her hand?! I know it's just meant to be a playful scene establishing their loving relationship, but WTF?

[quote]I just remembered a detailnive

Ugh. That was, "a detail I've..."

What is up with the worsening of iPhone's autocorrect?

She grabbed a cookie.

I remember that scene R396. We watched the movie on TV in the mid 80s and my mother and my grown up sister both said "ooo I like those cups!" They were unusual, almost like octangal instead of round.

Ew, R393. That's a bit much, don't you think??? I mean, really.

[quote]She became a druggie groupie; clubbing and drinking and snorting coke before she was 18 years old.

No she didn't. Stop.

I wonder when Ronald Hunkeler, the real possessed boy this was based on, will come out and tell the story about his bullshit possession. From the great research that was done a few years ago, the conclusion was he was molested by female family member and that's where this stemmed from. He went on to work for NASA.

[quote] The Other. It was shot in Black & White,

No, it wasn't. It was in color, like every movie n those days.

Mama, make captain Howdy stop hurting me

I have a Linda Blair movie night every one in a while - it's hard to believe how many crappy movies she managed to make in only a decade: Chained Heat, Night Patrol, Savage Streets, Exorcist II, Roller Boogie...

Chained Heat features what is probably my all-time favorite movie quote:

[quote] Don't you walk away from me, you chalk-faced whore!

"No, she didn't. Stop."

Yes, she did. She got started with Rick Springfield. She got into a club despite being underage and met him there. Her indulgent parents were of the "anything your little heart desires" school of parenting; they allowed their little movie star darling to have a live-in lover. He was 24; she was 15. She went on to be a groupie; the writer Lisa Robinson said that "it wouldn't be a rock concert" without the presence of Linda Blair. She partied with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Moon and Linda Lovelace. She was particularly attached to the wild southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. She was the super freaky Rick Jame's lover for a time. She eventually got busted for coke possession. She was a druggie groupie, alright.

Rick Springfield barely mentions her in his memoir. He does say that he introduced her to sex and that she was "eager" pupil. Obviously the relationship was of mnor importance to him.

So you old queens think this is a game?

Well R405, turning himself over to the priests stopped molestation by his female family member I guess. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire though!

Possession is not real. Exorcisms are nonsense and more a psychological response than a spiritual one.

"Didn't Chris offer Father Merrin coffee spiked with some brandy?

Was that a thing back then?"

In a different era it seemed that people drank "cocktails" in the middle of the day or just whenever they needed a drink. It was kind of a cliche; hubby comes home from work and wifie would bring him a nice cocktail to take the edge off after a hard day at the office. You'd see it happen a lot on tv shows and in movies. In the novel Chris MacNeil has a fully stocked bar in her house. When her friend the director Burke Dennings comes over (he's an unpleasant lush) comes off the first thing he does is demand a drink. Chris also has a drinkie-poo whenever the urge hits her. She even offers to spike elderly Father Merrin's coffee with brandy. I always thought that odd; why would she think the priest would want a shot in his coffee? But the novel seemed to present it as perfectly normal.

Brandy-spiked coffee does sound like a good pick-me-up for the early morning, though!

Who wouldn't want to get their cherry busted by a 24 year old Rick Springfield? I hope he fucked her up the ass and that she hated every second of it. I hope he made her do ass to mouth to lick her shitter off his dick before he went back into her pussy.

R415 = The demon Pazuzu!

[quote]Rick Springfield barely mentions her in his memoir. He does say that he introduced her to sex and that she was "eager" pupil. Obviously the relationship was of mnor importance to him.

Probably thought it was best to not dwell on it, other than to say, she was totally into it! Can you imagine that happening today? He would have been drawn and quartered in the twin square.

*town

Poor Linda. In some interview she said that when she and Rick Springfield laid eyes on each other "it was love at first sight for both of us." I seriously doubt that. When he saw her he probably thought "oh, it's that little girl who puked green pea soup and fucked herself with a cross in "The Exorcist."

One time Linda had her back to Rick and was riding his cock, and he asked her to spin on it. She misunderstood and only spun her head around, and then she puked on him.

Freak he was he probably gobbled it all while he was shooting his load.

Fortunately, ISIS didn't do as much damage to Hatra as they did Nimrod and Palmyra.

Jesus Christ, ENOUGH with the Springfield/Blair sex bullshit.

In the movie you can see Chris has a fully stocked bar in the scene when Karras comes over and sits in the study while Chris is on the phone with her ex husband. It's not just in the book. Then she joins Karras in the study and she offers to get him ice but he declines.

As I said, I love the scenes of hospitality.

If it's just a cookie that Regan grabs from the jar, WHY in god's name does Chris make SUCH a big deal of it?

If it's only a cookie that Regan takes in the "Give it up! Give it up! You'll be sorry!" scene, WHY in god's name does Chris react so hysterically?

R423 - I misread your other post the first time. When you said you loved the "hospitality" scenes, I misread that you loved the brutal hospital scenes.

Sorry for the double posts. I have somehow blocked MYSELF, and cannot see my own posts. Does anyone know how I can undo that, apart from clearing my cookies which I don't want to do?

r426 that's right, don't you DARE touch those cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote]If it's only a cookie that Regan takes in the "Give it up! Give it up! You'll be sorry!" scene, WHY in god's name does Chris react so hysterically?

Because it wasn't just any cookie. It was the cookie that Chris had baked for them to leave out for Pazuzu on Halloween Eve.

LOL, R427.

That made my day. Really!

But seriously, can someone please help explain how I can unblock myself? When I go to the sidebar (this is using Safari on my iPhone), the "Ignore" function only shows entire threads that I've blocked, not certain DLers (like myself).

Prunes

I'm assuming she wasn't supposed to snack between meals. It also displays the bond they had so that the speech Chris makes about "that thing is not my daughter" has more context.

I've figured out how to unblock myself. It wasn't intuitive at all, by the way.

^ Sounds like a therapy breakthrough.

Here is the original Exorcist spider walk scene, without the blood in mouth.

BTW, did they give Linda Blair a long, prosthetic tongue for all of her tongue wiggling scenes?

Yes they did R435. There is behind the scenes footage on YouTube (taken from the most recent blu ray) of Blair in the makeup chair, getting it fitted, and rolling it out for the 8mm camera.

[quote]She even offers to spike elderly Father Merrin's coffee with brandy. I always thought that odd; why would she think the priest would want a shot in his coffee? But the novel seemed to present it as perfectly normal.

Many Catholics and Protestants of that era enjoyed their tipple without remorse, regardless of whether they were laity or in leadership. It was the more extreme Fundamentalists who eschewed drinking, dancing, and playing cards. I remember my Presbyterian auntie taking a bottle of wine to an informal dinner with her pastor and his wife.

It's one of Chris' Quaaludes that Regan steals from the jar.

In the book the demon calls Regan "piglet" and "sow." He also calls Chris"sow." Did the demon do that in the movie? I can't remember

I thought the "cookie" scene was as excruciating to watch as any of the possession scenes. Or the hospital scene where she gets a needle stuck in her throat. I guess the scene was meant to show how much Chris and Regan loved each other, but it just looked really stupid. Both mother and daughter are acting like rambunctious toddlers; it makes both of seem kind of mentally challenged. And all throughout the movie Regan acts much younger than 12; I guess that was to contrast with the way she was after being possessed. But it makes her seem downright retarded.

Who was worse: Regan O'Neil or Tommy Hyatt?

Demons still possess folks, y'all. Remember Minga back in the early 90s???

And R441, my vote goes to Regan. There were moments when Tommy was actually funny. Plus, with Tommy we got Audrey (Doris). Score!!!

Regan and Chris had the cookies. Alice and Tommy had the coke which led to waterfight which was much funnier.

The book was stealth marketing for the old restaurant chain, The Hot Shoppe. I swear they go to eat there (and ONLY there) every chapter. I remember eating there as a kid on a trip to visit relatives down South in the mid-70s.

[quote]Catholics only believe in one devil, not multiple demons.

NOT TRUE. There is an entire field of Catholic study devoted to demonology, as well as to its counterpart, angelology. This is based on the the scriptural descriptions of Jesus having driven out multiple demons.

And here's a little trivia regarding Vasiliki Maliaros, the actress who played Father Karras' mother. She died on 02/09/1973 (89 years old). The movie was released 12/26/1973. For me, this lends an extra sense of eeriness to those scenes discussing and portraying the death of Karras' beloved mom knowing that she was [italic]actually dead[/italic].

That's too bad about the woman who played Karras' mother, word on the street was that after seeing the daily's Lucy really wanted her to replace Madeline Kahn as Gooch in Mame, as she felt she was closer to the right age for the part.

Is the Exorcist III really scary?

I swear, I'm afraid to watch ....should I watch it?

Not really. I didn't even react to the hospital scene that seems to scare most DLers, although I am usually a scaredy cat.

lol.

"In the book the demon calls Regan "piglet" and "sow." He also calls Chris"sow." Did the demon do that in the movie? I can't remember."

In the movie he said "the sow is mine" in reference to Regan once, I think. In the book he refers to her as "the sow" once but usually calls her '"the piglet." When he shoves Chris's face into Regan's torn up vagina he croons "ahhh, little pig mother....lick me, lick me, lick me!" Later he calls her the "sow mother" or "the mother of the piglet."

INnthe movie there'a a line that was changed from the book. Karras asks Pazuzu how long he intends to stay in Regan and he snarls "until she rots and lays stinking in the earth!" In the book he simply says "until the piglet DIES!" I thought the latter was much more effective.

[quote]Not really. I didn't even react to the hospital scene that seems to scare most DLers, although I am usually a scaredy cat.

If you watch that scene with the sound off it's nothing. Really reveals how music directs our responses.

R451, there is no music in that sequence.

I was talking about the scene with the guy about to chop off the nurse's head with hedge clippers.

R452, I believe R451 is referring to the hospital/nurse sequence in Exorcist III.

Oh! Okay. Carry on then.

Can anyone explain to me the significance of the word 'pearl' as used by the demon in Blatty's novel? It refers to Regan as 'my pearl', and one or more of the adults in the story (Chris, for sure) reacts horrified and perplexed by Regan's choice of words.

What is it about 'pearl'? Is it a euphemism for a clitoris? (And if so, is that what Jill Sobule meant by "They can have their diamonds / and we'll have our pearls" in her song 'I Kissed A Girl'?)

"Demey, why you do dis to me Demey?"

[quote]BTW, did they give Linda Blair a long, prosthetic tongue for all of her tongue wiggling scenes?

No, Rose, they stretched it out with pliers and pained it black.

Pearls before swine" and "casting pearls" refer to a quotation from Matthew 7:6 in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.". I assume that is what was meant.

You mean that wasn't Linda's tongue?

Linda had a pretty long fucking tongue rimming my hole!

Debunking the myths of Catholic demonology:

There is no such thing as demonic possession. There IS very profound mental illness, though, and that's what caused people to act "possessed." Karras told Chris that possession doesn't exist and she says what about Christ driving out all those demons and Karras tells her that if Christ had said those people had schizophrenia, which was most likely the case, he would have been crucified three years earlier.

I don't remember him saying that at all in the movie. He mentions mental illness, but not that quote about Christ.

Chris: How do you go about getting an exorcism?

Karras: I beg your pardon? Well, the first thing - I'd have to get into a time machine and get back to the 16th century...Well, it just doesn't happen any more, Mrs. MacNeil...since we learned about mental illness, paranoia, schizophrenia...Since the day I joined the Jesuits, I've never met one priest who has performed an exorcism. Not one.

R464, you missed including Chris saying "I don't getcha." Burstyn is so good in that scene.

People should watch the dvd's and blu-rays with the director commentary turned on. So many questions are answered and he does a good job of explaining things with some behind the scenes stories.

R462, the point of that scene between Karras and Chris is to highlight the fact that many priests do not believe (or choose not to believe) in demons. As it becomes obvious in the movie, however, Karras comes to experience things during Regan's exorcism that simply cannot be explained by science and he ends up realizing that demons are quite real. In fact, he dies after this epiphany.

That is absolutely the case with documented exorcisms performed by the Catholic Church. Scientists and medical experts have given testimony to things that cannot be explained by their corresponding areas of expertise. The Catholic Church is very careful about labeling someone as being possessed and only does so (often reluctantly) after exhausting all other possible avenues and explanations.

"You TELL me that an exorcism won't help her!!! For God's sake will somebody help her???"

Does anybody else remember watching a 20/20 episode from the early 90s that supposedly showed a "real life exorcism?". It was a great, big girl and she was possessed by a spirit called Minga, who was a little old lady from Greece? LOL - I know I am not making this up...

"I don't remember him saying that at all in the movie. He mentions mental illness, but not that quote about Christ."

This is from the novel:

Chris: If a person's possessed by some kind of demon, how do you go about getting an exorcism?

Karras: Well, first you'd have to put him in a time machine and get him back to the sixteenth century.

Chris: What do you mean by that? Didn't get you.

Karras: Well, it just doesn't happen anymore, Miss MacNeil.

Chris: Since when?

Karras: Since we learned about mental illness; about paranoia; split personality; all those things that they taught me at Harvard.

Chris: You kidding?

Karras: Many educated Catholics, Miss MacNeil, don't believe in the Devil anymore, and as far as possession is concerned, since the day I joined the Jesuits I've never met a priest who's ever in his life performed an exorcism. Not one.

Chris: Are you really a priest or from Central Casting? I mean, what about all those stories in the Bible about Christ driving out all those demons?

Karras: Look, if Christ had said that those people who were supposedly possessed had schizophrenia, which I imagine they did, they probably would have crucified him three years earlier.

One of the motifs of the book/film was going from doubt and scepticism to belief.

I remember reading the list of visitors to Roman Polanski while he was in jail in the 1970s, and Linda Blair was on the list. I'm drawing the conclusion that they had some sort of sexual relationship.

Linda was a mainstay of the gossip mags of the 1970s and 1980s. I was a big fan of Miss Rona Barrett's magazines, and she had the true dirt on people It was the 1970s and Linda was cavorting around like it was an acceptable thing to be a groupie. I remember seeing a picture of her in Rolling Stone where she was driving a van or RV and had a bottle of Kahlua and a pack of cigarettes on the dashboard. Then in the mid 1980s I had a friend who'd spent some time in Hollywood, and he said that she had been used up by so many people that she was treated like a joke. Her parents are to blame, since she had been supporting them for years with her modeling and then acting (Mom was her manager), and they would let her do anything she wanted, no parental control whatsoever. Much later I saw a documentary about her in which her father said he regretted giving her so much autonomy, and he should have protected her more. Sad!

The Exorcist II: The Heretic has to be the most bizarre film ever made... still, it has its moments. When will you ever see James Earle Jones ever dressed up as a huge bumblebee? And the aerial views of Africa from a locust(?) perspective was pretty trippy stuff.

Exorcist II was doomed as soon as Burstyn said no to it. Among the many things that don't work in the movie is that Chris has apparently just up and left her beloved daughter all alone in NY while she shoots a film. I mean after all the went thru in the first movie she just lets a teenager take care of herself and the doctor is responsible for her.

Plus it is so odd that Louise Fletcher is in it. People used to get her and Burstyn confused and Burstyn infamously tried to get the Academy to not give out the Best Actress Oscar the year Fletcher won because of the lack of good roles for women. Fletcher was not pleased with her.

Richard Burton is supposed to have been severely depressed on this film and practically drank himself to death while making it. His appearance is said to have deteriorated so much over the shoot that they had trouble piecing his scenes together.

The CBS censored version of this film is hilarious. I can't get over it.

Judas Priest!

What drugs was Boorman on when he made Exorcist II, and can I please have some?

"The Exorcist II: The Heretic has to be the most bizarre film ever made... still, it has its moments. When will you ever see James Earle Jones ever dressed up as a huge bumblebee? And the aerial views of Africa from a locust(?) perspective was pretty trippy stuff."

I may have seen a few minutes of this film. I remember Linda Blair, plump Linda Blair....tap dancing. I seem to recall she was in some kind of show, in a glittery costume, doing her dance, and far, far away Richard Burton (was it Burton? Or somebody else? I can't remember) was in some kind of physical agony and poor Regan feels it too, collapsing in pain and ruining the show. Did I remember that right? That movie was so bizarre, truly one of the worst movies of all time.

Poor Richard Burton. Such a talented man and he was doing a movie like that. He'd fallen so far and was so mired in alcoholism. What a waste.

Yes you are remembering that scene correctly R478. It is indeed an awful movie. It has its fans though. Which is bizarre. I can't imagine ever wanting to watch it a second time.

Do you know what your cunting r393 did?

Oh yeah, wasn't Regan hooked up to some weird telekinetic device that was supposed to bring back repressed memories of her demonic possession? Exorcist II was so weird.

Can nothing help you? Once you have been brushed by the demon's wings?

Well... can you really blame Burton for being drunk during the entire filming of that shitfest, Exorcist II?

Mmmm! The guy @ R410 has a *nice* bulge. I"d suck it! I'd just need to strap him down first.

Isn't being a priest in itself a profession? Why did the Jesuits send Karras to medical school and Marrin to (presumably) archaeology school?

Ouch! From a review of Exorcist II:

[quote] Linda Blair may be the least fleet-footed actress Hollywood has produced since the incomparable Joan Crawford attempted to keep up with Fred Astaire in "Dancing Lady." Seen tap-dancing, as she is on two occasions in "Exorcist II: The Heretic," the chubby-kneed Miss Blair appears to be stomping on live cigar stubs. The rest of the movie is even heavier and more lugubrious.

This is hilarious (but RIP Dana Plato).

Why is this not a DL classic??

My favorite clip is where Burton goes to visit James Earl Jones dressed as a giant locust

Linda looks like Any Schumer in that clip. Jesus. She was a shit actress.

I think that clip is interesting though R487. It shows Regan using her powers to psychically heal the autistic girl. I though Burton's wan expression was him acting, but in this thread it's claimed he was suffering from depression and alcoholism so it makes sense.

"She's.....talking!!!"

Exorcist is a shit-astic camp classic and here is Linda's response to everyone criticizing her acting!

I love how she says she was possessed by a demon as casually as if she was asking for change for the bus.

Lol, R492.

Regan's theme stands as a camp classic on its own. This needs to be some gymnast bitch's floor routine music in the next summer Olympics.

r494, I adore that. Exorcist 2 is a fucking masterpiece.

"You know Regan, it's really dangerous to fool around with other people's heads."

LOL, R496.

r494 I think Regan's Theme is absolutely beautiful. One of Morricone's best, and that is saying a lot considering how great this catalogue is.

*his

R487=proof that Dana Plato's acting talent peaked at 8 years old.

Anyone remember how they got Sharon (Burstyn's assistant in the first film) back into the story? Then at the end when she is killed or sacrifices herself or something I just remember Blair's insincere fake sounding "Oh Sharon!"

Sharon is a major plot hole - was she bad from the beginning or only just right before her untimely demise?

Sharon is not killed or sacrificed in any way in the movie-where the hell did you get that?

in the second film she is r503

Loving this thread.

Re: Linda Blair I went down an internet rabbit hole about her. Read about a cocaine bust in 1980, where both she and her then "rock and roller " boyfriend were charged. Was curious who the hell this guy was. Had trouble digging up the info, but he was a guitar player in a small town band. Not famous in the least. The only info I could find on the band was on a message board where people from that local music scene were reminiscing about the band. Several mentioned how weird it was to have Blair showing up at all these shitty local clubs to see him.

Searched and searched and finally found a picture of the guy. He was hot. So funny that Linda Blair descends on this small town from Hollywood, gets involved with a local boy, and winds up getting him arrested on a fairly serious coke charge.

Was able to track him down today. Of course, he's a minister. And he's now hideously ugly.

Linda even had Pat Benatar's hot hubby Neil "Spyder" Giraldo way before he took up with Pat.

The photo at r384 is obviously photoshopped. Linda's thighs were never that skinny.

Another pic of serial killer Paul Bateson.

Anybody remember "Summer of Fear?" Blair looked awful in that with her frizzy, permed disco hair and baby fat face doing her no favors. Leigh Taylor-Young was so much prettier.

Summer Of Fear was actually very good, I believe it was directed by Wes Craven? Based on a young adult novel by Lois Duncan (I loved her stuff as a kid).

"Anybody remember "Summer of Fear?" Blair looked awful in that with her frizzy, permed disco hair and baby fat face doing her no favors. Leigh Taylor-Young was so much prettier."

Actually the actress in that was Lee Purcell. And yes, she was much prettier than Blair, tall and slim, with a beautiful face. One critic compared her looks to Jane Fonda's. Poor Linda looked like a sack of potatoes next to her.

Lick my pussy, you jealous bitches!

I am the prettiest girl in the room!

When "Exorcist II" came out People magazine did a cover story on Linda Blair with this caption: "Repossessed? No, at 18 she's cut loose for a year with her horses and rocker lover." In the article she comes across as a total idiot; she was quoted as saying in reference to her preference for musicians "they’re sensitive, and though their heads might be all messed up, they are more screwed on than other people." The article claimed that after Rick Springfield she fucked "Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple and maybe a couple members of the randy Black Oak Arkansas Band." The local "rocker" she was currently involved with was some guy named Ted Harlett. I guess he's the guy R505 is talking about. They lived together in a room in the family home; her mother approved of the arrangement. Blair burbled " Mom says nothing stands in the way of love,” and calls her relationship “a beautiful thing, even with Mom hanging around. We share the same bed as natural as cake and icing.” So her former lover is a minister now? Maybe being involved with a slutty coke head like Linda Blair made him take stock of his life and turn totally in the opposite direction.

Eating disorder?

R513 this is him.

I swear to God, he was hot when he was with Linda Blair.

He looks special.

I want to see "Abby" now! Its an Exorcist rip off from 1974.

If this thread makes it to 600 replies can the new thread be renamed to "...the opening scene in 'The Exorcist'"? Please?

I fell into a Linda Blair google rabbit hole last year and read some story about cops in Florida who found her coked out and topless on the street. I'd love to read her memoirs.

R517, it's on YouTube.

Linda Blair and DL fave Pia Zadora both had the chubby chipmunk face. Linda lost hers though, now she has the skeleton look of a former coke whore- which of course she is. I love that she's so passionate about animals though, seems to be the real deal too- she's been doing it for years.

Seriously damaged people are often passionate about animals

So true, R522.

r396, Ellen Burstyn was brilliant in that scene with Kinderman. Chris' annoyed reaction when Kinderman accepts her offer for more coffee, she stares at him because she was only being polite. And there's that look on her face when she walks away with the the cups-and-saucers, they clank and she nervously cringes. She doesn't want him to see how anxious she is. Her hands are shaking because at that moment she realizes her daughter killed Burke Dennings.

Linda did coke in her trailer with Vanity during the filming of Savage Streets.

r218 is correct. The figurine that Kinderman finds at the bottom of the stairs is NOT Pazuzu. It is one of Regan's arts-and-crafts figurines. When Chris and Kinderman are having coffee, he notices other figurines, picks one up and asks "your daughter, she's the artist?"

It's hard to see in this pic, but Chris is holding the figurine that Kinderman was asking about. It looks like the Pazuzu figurine, but it's a turtle or other animal.

La plume de ma tante.

They should do a remake of "The Exorcist" except make it an Italian-American boy and family this time.. imagine the comedic possibilities....

So Regan got away with it? It seems like there was enough evidence to make her the suspect in Denning's murder. Yet her only punishment was Exorcist II: The Heretic!

I've seen interviews with an older Linda Blair and she really came across as well adjusted. I hope she got her shit together and is not in fact a coke whore as someone suggested upthread. Too many child star casualties as it is!

Coke whore THEN, not now. She might have the haggy look but we never see mugshots or reports of recent crazy behavior. I think she just got caught up in 70s druggy stardom, a la Fleetwood Mac.

Linda is really petite in person. Minuscule. I've met her.

I know you all hate the Exorcist tv series, but I liked it in a weirdly compelling way.

At the end of season one Pazuzu had left Regan's daughter and was back possessing Regan (surgically-altered Geena Davis). Regan demon had thrown Chris down the stairs (sad to see DL fave Sharon Gless written out). The plot lines around the imminent arrival of the Pope and the satanists vying for power are new and different.

Star Trek hottie John Cho joins the cast for season two, premiering later this month.

Just so you guys know, "camp" can be either unintentional OR intentional.

Brits usually use the word "camp" to describe when someone is DELIBERATELY trying to be funny and over-the-top, such as a movie like Austin Powers or from John Waters.

But, as Susan Sontag explained in the 1960s, naiive camp is a thing, too. It's when a deadly serious artist produces poor or mistaken artwork that's only funny to observers — or it becomes funny over time because of changing tastes and attitudes.

So THE EXORCIST is indeed "campy" to me, because I'm not religious and religious priests are not supposed to "suck cocks in hell" and heads don't revolve in their sockets spewing green paint.

R534, I believe Sontag called that "pure camp" or "true camp" or something like that. Great example would be the film "Valley of the Dolls."

bump

R528 there was a "documentary" about the real case with a re-enactment of the teen boy standing on his bed laughing and urinating on the priests kneeling bedside praying. It was unintentionally hilarious.

R535 - "high camp"

that sounds hilarious, R537.

.

R528, that would turn into a satire!

Glad to see the TV show returning. I found it fun.

I'm reading the book now that someone up thread posted. Lord, the misspellings!

[quote] They should do a remake of "The Exorcist" except make it an Italian-American boy and family this time..

That would be a great Datalounge satire thread.

Still a classic!

Still shocking.

Here is a video of the opening scene.

More.

The frightening music of Krzysztof Penderecki really added to the ambience of the opening sequence.

Got scared just reading this thread! Read the book when I was in high school and couldn't sleep without the light on for months afterward. Then saw the movie, which was terrifying. I was raised Catholic (now lapsed) but the idea that this was a true scary was part of what scared the hell out of me. However, my daughter, who is now 21, laughs hysterically when she watches the movie; she finds it silly and ridiculous, and the special effects (of that time) unconvincing. So, for her, it's totally hokey and campy. After reading this thread when it was first started, I was in DC for Labor Day weekend and drove past the famous Georgetown steps (which I had seen several times before). Still creepy after all these years!

^^^ Meant true STORY not true SCARY!

Book Of Love, "Tubular Bells / Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls (Regan's House Medley)" (1988)

R549, tell you daughter this movie is NOT camp and if I hear any more sass from her, I'm going to try some real 21st century style special effects on her jaded little keister!

Did everyone get the message about the Linda Blair horror TV movie Summer of Fear coming to blu ray soon?

[R552] Ha ha! I'll send you her address and let you take care of it!

I love high camp

"Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield

The song was a Top 10 hit in the USA. The single peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Mike Oldfield's album "Tubular Bells" was also a hit, peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The Exorcist Soundtrack.

bump

bump in the night

I was inspired to rewatch the movie and as an answer to the original question... When the priest is in the antiquities office he picks up the small deamon head he found and says evil to fight evil. I took this to mean that the village called on Pazuzu to fight what ever problem they had. Which links back to Regan using the ouija board to call on Pazuzu when she was unhappy about her parents not getting along.

Did she specifically call on Pazuzu and ask for anything, though? I thought she had her oujia chats with Captain Howdy, not realizing who he really was?

As a former Catholic schoolboy, I found the vandalized statue of Mary in The Exorcist more scary than Pazuzu or the spiderwalk.

This is an old thread with a lot of replies that I did not read so forgive me if I repeat something that already has been posted. OP, if you are still here, here is a video which does a great job of examining/explaining/expounding the opening Iraq scenes from the film. There is more going on in the opening than you can imagine.

I'm just unable to focus when ruminating on this or thinking about the movie, on anything else other than that over-the-top outfit that Ellen Burstyn's character donned as she prepared to leave Georgetown with Regan to the airport.

Why would the devil go down to Georgia when he could go to Georgetown.

I may have posted this already but if not:

My favorite part of the film is when Ellen Burstyn is walking home from work on Halloween and the wind blows and the nuns habits flap in the breeze and tubular bells starts playing. I always thought that this meant the demon had arrived.

then

I went to a TCM screening of The Exorcist with William Friedkin there and a woman in the audience asked if that moment was to symbolize when evil entered into the picture. Much to my shock Friedkin said he'd never been asked that before and hadn't thought about it. And I thought it was so brilliant but it was just an accident.

Here's the scene:

Still gives me chills.

If (heaven forbid) the original film of The Exorcist were to be remade, you do do a lot worse than casting from the TV show Alphonso Herrara as Father Karras and Ben Daniels as Father Merrin. Were she 15 years younger, Geena Davis could play Chris MacNeil.

I love the Shirley MacLaine theory! McNeil / MacLaine, both actresses, McNeil/Burstynn plays an activist in the movie she's making in Georgetown / MacLaine was an activist and very politically aware. But the most telling of all is that they both had only one child, female, around same age, with the farther mysteriously not in the picture.

I don't think the MacLaine thing is a theory. She was friends with Blatty and has said the character was based on her.

Not sure why she didn't play it though.

Chris MacNeil just seemed like a generic actress and single mother, not at the very top of her game commercially nor a great glamorous beauty but successful and engaged in that the 1970s way. She didn’t have any special qualities that made me think she was based on Shirley MacLaine.

My fave.

Shit.