The Exorcist is the most profitable horror movie of all time, and possibly one of the most disturbing. It was released in 1973, and stars Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow and Jason Miller. It was developed from the book of the same name by William Peter Blatty, which was based on a real-life exorcism that took place in 1949.
In terms of narrative, The Exorcist tells the story of Chris McNeill, an actress, and her 12-year-old daughter, Reagan, who have always had a very nice relationship until they relocated to Washington D.C., when her mother begins to notice some very concerning changes in her daughter. At first the changes are small and mimic the moody behavior of an almost teen, but as things get worse, Chris realizes that her daughter is possessed by a demonic presence, and she turns to two priests for help. She uses expletives, speaks in tongues and has to be tied to her bed for her own safety and that of those around her. The demonic possession of a young girl causes her mother to attempt to rescue her through exorcism conducted by a pair of Catholic priests. They conduct an exorcism and in doing so, come face to face with the devil.
The movie seemed to have some kind of demonic or evil presence lurking from its early days. Several producers would not go near the production, including Stanley Kubrick, fearing that its subject matter would somehow rub off. One of Jason Miller's young sons was hit by a motorbike and hospitalized during the filming which only served to increase rumors that the entire set was cursed. The rumors may not have been entirely inaccurate; in total nine people died on set during the making of the movie, most notably Jack MacGowran who played Burke Dennings.
Theaters were initially nervous about showing the movie and it was only booked into twenty-six theaters across the whole of the United States when it was released on December 26th, 1973, not exactly the traditional Christmas movie that typically drew people into the theaters at this time of year. It became quickly apparent that people really wanted to see this film, though many had extreme physical fear reactions to seeing the make-up effects that were used on Linda Blair; it became a huge commercial hit. It also garnered an impressive ten Academy Award nominations, winning two (Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing.) Most notably it was the first horror film to be nominated in the Best Picture category. Not only did it become the highest grossing horror film ever, but also one of the highest grossing movies of any genre in history
One of the factors that contributed to the basic terror of the movie was the music, the majority of which was written by Jack Nitsche, a one-time producer for Phil Spector who went on to become one of the most successful movie theme tune composers in history. The main theme of The Exorcist seemed to people to have been far more omnipresent than it actually was, and became synonymous with demonic, devilish and disturbing scenes, despite not being featured in many of them.
The Exorcist has become the barometer by which the scariness of all subsequent horror movies is judged. Entertainment Weekly named it the scariest film of all time, a decision backed up by similar honors in Time Out magazine a few years later. In 2010, the Library of Congress decided that the film would be preserved as part of its National Film Registry. It has also been awarded with a number of spoofs and parodies, the most successful, and surely the funniest, starring Lesley Nielsen as the hapless priest conducting one of the most ineffectual exorcisms in history.
The film was actually banned in the United Kingdom in 1998, all copies being removed from stores, libraries and video stores, although it was shown occasionally in underground movie theaters, quickly building up a cult following. It remained banned for 11 years.
