Of all the great acting in the movie, I truly find Linda Blair’s unspoken moment of “Why did I just do that?” in that scene to be one of the best little understated bits of acting in the whole film.
The "necklace" or medallion was of St. Joseph and is believed to provide protection for whoever wears it. In Father Karras' dream, you see the necklace/medallion falling. Then, in the bedroom when he pulls the Regan/demon off the bed telling it/her to take him instead, you see the Regan/demon pull it off of Karra's neck, thus allowing it to take possession of him.
I got to meet Linda Blair once when she was an adult. She sat and talked to me about The Excorcist for about 15 minutes. What a wonderful person. One of the highlights of my life.
Congratulations. You're the FIRST reactor of SO MANY that I've seen who didn't miss the fact that the reason Regan said, "You're gonna die up there." was that the guy was an astronaut.
Yeah, virtually nobody catches that. Was thinking another possibility could be her foreshadowing his death by her pushing him out of the window....room was upstairs.
if you ever rewatch this, I hope you’ll give Det. Kinderman another chance. He’s a warm-hearted, thoughtful man trying to solve a horrific crime. And he loves movies and is constantly looking for friends with whom he can share the experience. (Unfortunately, his jokes about the films’ casts are lost on viewers who don’t know the actors he’s mentioning. For example, he mentions that “Wuthering Heights,” a classic gothic romance, is starring Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball, both of whom were extremely popular comedians on TV. The idea that these two people would be starring in “Wuthering Heights” is ridiculous. So it’s a further joke when the people he’s talking to say, “I’ve seen it.”)
Plus, he's using a tactic that many police detectives do by being overly friendly and playing dumb to see what everyone knows. Being confrontational only makes people defensive, playing dumb can induce them to talk.
@@RMBittner I just keep waiting for Kinderman to say, “I’m gonna solve this case if I have to break it in two tryin’. These cases, you work your life out….” Sorry. I couldn’t help it. He’ll always be the angriest juror to me.
@@charlize1253 Exactly. I have read that the director's cut ends on a more hopeful note. Including, "New friendships are formed". I've seen very few people understand the fact that the cop is not trying to make friends - We see earlier, when he tries the same tactic on Damien- inviting him to a film. He knows something is up and wants info. The final scene shows us he is now going to focus on the second priest. Another reason he lies about the cast, is so that when they reply, "I've already seen it", he knows they are lying and being evasive. The scene at the end, is a direct follow-up to his reaction when he enters the room at the end. He is totally confused as to what just happened, and what led to it. Even the way he holds onto the priest's arm and walks him along. It is visually telling us "Now, you and I have a lot to talk about"
Can you imagine how stunning this was for those of us who saw this when it first came out? It was 1973, and I was 16. On the big screen, overwhelmed over and over with terrifying visions---and also frankly sexually shocking. Most filmgoers had never even had nightmares with little girl actresses doing scenes like that--so revolutionary (and nothing like CGI to substitute). Indeed, Linda Blair was only 13 and she often said in later interviews her life was on a different trajectory from being in this film.
This movie is perfect. You don’t even see anything spooky for the first 45 minutes, maybe an hour. But once it starts, it does not let up! It is a masterpiece!
That's also what I love about Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It starts out slow paced, just gradually building the tension, and then by the end it's pure horror and shock, like the worst acid trip ever.
@LiteWeightReacting If you haven't seen them, I would recommend "THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE" and another possession movie "PREY FOR THE DEVIL" yes, "prey" is spelt correct ! (The autopsy of Jane Doe is really atmospheric. Without giving too much away, they used an actual actress for the cadaver so the eyes/face were authentic enough to create that human connection)
I wouldn’t say *any* modern horror film. I think of “The Others,” “The Witch,” and Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” and “Hereditary” as being tense and suspenseful without anything obvious happening for some time. (I found the tension in “Hereditary” particularly unrelenting.)
@@RMBittnerI was SO close to loving Hereditary, but the last 15 minutes ruined it for me. I still think it's a good movie overall, but it could've been great :/ The only modern horror movie I find really good is The Witch.
Why Merrin, the answer is in the movie. The Bishop wanted someone with experience, his colleague mentions that Merrin had performed an exorcism that lasted months, damn near killed him. Pazuzu(the demon in the movie) was the demon Merrin exorcised. The foreshadowing of the medallion and the demon head was letting Merrin know that a reckoning with the demon was coming.
As many times as I've seen this movie I just noticed something. Right before Damien got possessed and jumped through the window a face appeared. It was brief and it looked like his mother.
I have a theory about the necklace. The type of necklace kept the demon at bay. Father Merrin removed it when he was digging for artifacts and released the demon. Father Damien had the same type medallion removed and made him vulnerable to be possessed. What do you think?
@@normanbishop4787 Pazuzu was portrayed as the antagonist in "Exorcist II: The Heretic", but that one wasn't written by the original author William Blatty. It's also widely considered to be a horrible sequel. The actual sequel, written by Blatty, is "Legion". Pazuzu is not named the culprit in either book, but he is mentioned in the context of "Evil against evil", as Pazuzu was sometimes called upon to provide protection against other dark spirits.
@@johngray1009 This is I suspect also why the upside-down walk was not in theatrical release but only added back in decades later. My personal opinion is it detracts from the film's realism which makes it so effective. In the theatrical release the truly supernatural elements were downplayed. As the demon said it didn't want to do a "vulgar display of power." There is supernatural but most of it is in the final scene of the actual exorcism.
You should watch Exorcist 3 (skip 2) while this is still fresh on your mind, don't worry it's not a rehash of the first one so no mother-child situation. It is also not like modern horror movies, It's a slow burn but tense/suspenseful with great pay offs and connections to the first. It's bit underrated/less known
It's so amazing that these are practical effects, even down to the Sounds. The sound of her head slowly turning around was done by an old dry & cracked Leather Wallet being squeezed and stretched in front of a mic!
The reason why the demon knew Merrin is because they had faced each other before in Africa, and Merrin had eventually won that battle so, the demon feared him but also wanted to beat him, it had to kill Merrin because it knew that he couldn't defeat it in a battle of faith. The demon could sense the conflict in Karras and knew that his faith was weak following his Mother's death. I hope this helps to explain things.
The demon didn’t kill Father Merrin as a matter of fact the demon was pissed that Merrin died during the exorcism! He wanted Merrin to finish the “ritual” but because of his premature passing the demon (pazuzu) couldn’t have a final “rematch” with Merrin, thus pissing pazuzu off!
@@23centsolutionI didn't know that, thank you for letting me know, I thought that he killed him because it's sniggering, obviously I knew that Merrin had a bad heart but didn't realise that it had given out.
A lot of people ignore how remarkable the makeup on Max von Sydow's face is done. He was 43 when he played Father Merrin and they made him look about 40 years older. 🙂
@@keefriff99 Thank you for mentioning Dick Smith. FX enthusiasts know his name*. Horror fans know him through the gentlemen at KNB and other make-up shops. One thing that is rarely mentioned about Dick Smith, if ever anymore, is that he made Dustin Hoffman look like a 101-year-old man in the movie Little Big Man. *and work.
This is one of the most classic of horror movies. The well written psychological horror can be much scarier than the gore that a lot of the horror movies lean on. I tried to find out about the movie you described seeing previously. The only thing I found close was a 2012 movie called "Sinister" in which a man finds old films in his family's new house and he notices images in the background of those old films. An interesting take on horror films that you might like is Tucker & Dale vs. Evil! Considering what you've said about comedies, I'll warn you that it is a comedy horror combo if that turns you away, but it is very entertaining!
@@LiteWeightReacting it is SO good. I didn't want to give it a chance when I first became aware of it, but my brother forced me to watch it with him and I was SO WRONG about that movie. It's one of my "classics".
A fascinating bit of The Exorcist lore surrounds the bearded medical technician who gets Regan from the gurney to the table, tells her to scoot down, holds down her head with both hands and the blue drape and puts the tape across her chin. He was an actual technician at New York University Medical Center, named Paul Bateson. Bateson would go on to become a convicted killer for the murder 4 years later of theater critic Addison Verrill, and the only suspect in a series of murders dubbed "the bag murders" (a.k.a. "the fag in a bag murders"), which involved a series of homosexual victims whose remains were found in trash bags. Director William Friedkin had a doctor friend who worked at NYUMC, and when he asked for a medical procedure that was really visually disturbing, the doctor replied he had just the thing. He invited Friedkin to observe his next cerebral angiography, and the director immediately knew he had his scene. Actual nurses and technicians were cast as extras, including Bateson, who scored a speaking part. It's almost as if you can hear Friedkin's direction. "Now Linda, Regan's really afraid in this scene. Try and imagine you're lying there and a serial killer is holding your head down with both hands. Action!" And the rest, as they say, is cinematic (and criminal) history.... 😎
The mother being in the room would be the worst distraction ever for the priests. She'd be flipping out, trying to stop them, being manipulated by the demon pretending to be Regan. She knew that as well.
@@LiteWeightReacting All you need to do is look it up here on YT. The crowds, people getting sick and/or leaving the theater before the movie ended. It's a trip to watch those "old" news stories about what happened when this movie first came out. I was a Sophomore in High School when this movie appeared. YES, I;m OLD!
@@LiteWeightReacting She did get typecast. In fact, the year after this one came out, she starred in a very controversial TV movie called “Born Innocent,” in which her character was sexually assaulted with a broomstick. Even though it was “just” a TV movie-at a time when such things were fairly sanitized-it was shocking enough to create considerable outrage. (And there were commentators who believed she accepted a role like that because she’d been irreparably harmed by what she’d been asked to do in “The Exorcist.”) These early roles led to her being cast in a long string of low-budget horror and exploitation movies (and TV guest spots) for the rest of her career.
The medal that Father Karras was wearing is a Medal of St Joseph. It was torn off by the unclean spirit before it could go into Karras. The dream foretold what was going to happen
I spent a weekend with actress Linda Blair about a dozen years ago as her assistant/escort at a sci-fi/media convention in Massachusetts (UnitedFanCon). She's possessed of nothing but nice things and is a great advocate for animal well-being. She hit me with an Elaine Benes-style "Get Out!" when I told her that I'd watched "The Exorcist" for the first time alone. At night. Right before going to sleep...and I slept like a baby. ("You're sick!" might have been her playful words). Your reaction was wonderful and I'm so glad that this great piece of grown-up cinema still "works". I'm a Roman Catholic and this is probably why I was as un-bothered as I was by the film's artfully-crafted manipulations. I think the necklace was a St. Christopher's medal and, as the patron saint of travelers, it makes sense that his intervention would help Regan move through her assault by an unclean spirit to a safe harbor. Great film that, in my opinion, has never been equaled. Don't bother with the sequels (though Brad Dourif is always worth watching!). And high marks for your motherly instincts! Regan could've used a more protective parent like yourself! :-))
I know the older I get, the more I always think about the classics. But this one is truly one that I think every horror fan should see. This is pretty much the foundation of every modern horror film. Love you and the channel!!
@@LiteWeightReacting Hi, could you make a reaction video about the movie "Prince of Darkness", is part of John Carpenter's apocalypse trilogy. Thanks 🙏
I just saw Linda Blair Oct 19th. I drove up to get an autographed photo of her as the demon for a friend's Christmas gift. I got my own photo when i met her and got to talk to her for a while in 2018.
The theme music *"Tubular Bells"* by British musician/composer Mike Oldfield was actually his debut album released in May of '73. It didn't sell very well until months later when it was attached to the film which was released in Dec '73. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200. The 19 year old Oldfield played nearly all the instruments on the record. piano, glockenspiel, electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, various organs, tin whistle, percussion, tympani, tubular bells, It was one of the first releases on Virgin Records and was important in establishing its reputation.
Excellent album...I liked the Tubular Bells theme,but it was the entire second side of the disc that really impressed me.Incidentally,I never found this movie terrifying or even actually scary but that's just me.."horror movies" don't work on me that way.
It's a simple thing, but I love the response to Chris McNeil's question. "Is she going to die?" Damian turns to her and says, "No." He says it with conviction and certainty and immediately gets up and goes to make sure of it. That's the restoration of faith in a single word.
If you remember the two priests thinking of who to assist with the exorcism that has experience. One priest mentions Merrin and says that he performed an exorcism in Africa that lasted 2 months and nearly killed him. That was where Merrin encountered Pazuzu and defeated the demon. So the the demon was back for revenge. That medal that was found with the idol is a protection medallion. Many wear it. When it was uncovered Merrin knew what was coming. That is why he was so shaken up in the beginning and why he immediately left Iraq and came back to the states. He was preparing and just waiting for the call. In the end when Damien says take me. Reagan/Demon rips his medal off because the demon was unable to enter Damien while he wore it. Father Dyer, the priest at the end of the movie with the medal is a real priest and actually taught at the school where many scenes were shot of the priest offices and what not. The book is based off of a true story. However, everything in the book is made up. The only truth about the book is that there was an exorcism of a child. However the original child in real life was a boy and not a girl. Blatty (the author) was never able to get any information on the real exorcism from the church. So he made everything up. BTW: The boy who had the exorcism (IRL) grew up and had/has a successful life. Even working for NASA. My fav horror movie. Best part of this time of year is seeing people experience The Exorcist. LOVE IT! Yours did NOT disappoint.
i read somewhere that it actually could have been the demon lashmatu that possessed regan. Lashmatu is an enemy of Pazuzu that prays on young children and unborn babies in the womb and Pazuzu protects those children and babies so it doesnt make much sense to possess one. Its said that pendants of Pazuzus head were worn by expectant mothers as protection from Lashmatu and the head that is found in the dig has a broken part at the top where a string of sort would loop through, and not the head of a statue with the body missing. They speculated that Pazuzu was actually warning Merrin that their common enemy has returned. Ive never read the book so i cant confirm, but i read that it isnt actually ever confirmed to be Pazuzu who has possessed Regan
3 was based on the actual sequel novel by William Peter Blatty, the original author of the novel the Exorcist was based on. The trash fire that was 2 wasn't based on the books and was misbegotten offspring of a hollywood writer's room
Not in my opinion, If you want to understand chapter one, you must watch John Boorman chapter two which is closely connected. Lankaster Merrin and Pazuzu were old acquaintences.
This is a true story. My mom and my 2 elder sisters used to bring my brother and I to watch The Exorcist when I was only 5 years old in first year of kindergarten. Most of the time I felt a bit bored and bothered my mom for snacks/drink or just to gain her attention. Only 3 scenes made me stop and watch: the opening desert archaeology scene with the red blood movie title; the crucifix masturbation scene; the final exorcism scene. My sisters were annoyed and complained to mom that I don’t know how to watch a movie in a cinema. Almost 2 decades later, I gained respect for this vintage classic as a young adult who is also a movie buff. So when it was playing on tv for its 25th anniversary close to midnight, I recorded it on vhs tape but since there were commercial ads the original duration is inflated. I let the tape continue recording the show In Living Color after the Exorcist ended until the tape ran out. One fine day, my parents were out sleeping over at my sister’s house leaving me all alone at home at night. I am not insane enough to watch The Exorcist in such situation but I needed to reel the tape fast forward in order to access and watch In Living Color. I remember of fast forwarding only about 2 hours and 7 minutes then press play on the remote control. Imagine my horror and shock when the scene that exploded on tv at cranked up volume was that of Regan roaring and sticking out and flicking her tongue at the 2 priests. That completely freaked me out; I turned off the tv and turned on all the lights that night while sleeping. It’s ok if I watched it from start to finish but not smack right in the middle of a scene from this movie.
@@LiteWeightReacting Actually the best line is the hybrid joke that my 15 year old niece (who has a learning disability) told me: "Your mother cooks socks in hell" - The Dyslexorcist
Can you imagine how terrifying this was in 1973? My oldest daughter is multi-handicapped and has had quite a few hospital times over her 40 years. My wife and I both wanted to always go in and be with her during her surgery. Not because we know best or anything, but because we felt so helpless. As far as her syndrome we do know the most as there are only around 1000 people like her on Earth. She is fairly healthy but when something happens, a hospital visit is difficult She is profoundly retarded so while she is 40, she is a toddler mentally. She won't sit still for any kind of examination and if they keep trying she will fight them. Watching this film with Reagan fighting the mother, care givers, religious people reminds me of the level of fight Amanda gives.
This was released in 1973 and is still the gold standard for demonic possession horror movies. It was mega-controversial for its time and still scares the hell out of people now. I’m an atheist and even I find this disturbing. No CGI in this at all and it has not been topped since its release. It never will be topped.
This was such a an amazing film , the long shots were great, the practical effects were wow, and the old priest , Max Von Sydow was only in his 40s when he played that part, now the aging makeup was fucking fantastic, but he was such a great actor, cause what truly sells the older age was his mannerisms, Max was phenomenal.
1) Directors Cut vs. Original Theatrical Release - Friedkin (the director) had eliminated scenes like the "Spidey Walk" from the original Theatrical release. He restored those scenes on William Peter Blatty's behalf (the original writer) in his Director's cut. Blatty thought they should have been in the original, and good thing Friedkin restored them because Blatty passed away shortly thereafter. 2) Crucifix Scene - The very point of it was to get Chris MacNeil to become so frightened/horrified that she'd seek the help of a Priest for an exorcism. Prior to that point, recall that Chris MacNeil was an "agnostic," not having any religious beliefs. The only way to get her to be so "horrified" that she would seek the help of a Priest was for Blatty to write what he did in order to "horrify" her. In fact, what you saw was only a part of what Blatty wrote. He also included a part where the demon takes the crucifix back from Chris and continues to "pleasure" Regan with it... in a "rhythmic" way that would simulate real s*x. The demon then tells Regan, "Ah, that's my sweet honey piglet.." In the novel, the demon continues to refer to Regan as "his piglet" (as referenced by the "KEEP AWAY... THE SOW IS MINE" quotation). In an interview, Linda Blair said later on that to do the Crucifix scene, they took a box with a sponge soaked with Karo Syrup and red food coloring in it and put it in between Blair's legs. So that's what she was stabbing, nothing else. She stated in that interview that she did not know what "masturbation" was at the time. Probably why the didn't include the additional "piglet" part Blatty wrote because they would have had to explain what masturbation is to Linda to be effective. 3) The Pills - The pills you see Father Merrin taking (both at the beginning in Iraq and in MacNeil's bathroom) are "Nitro Glycerin" tablets. These are often prescribed for people with chest pains (Angina) in order to relieve that pain, temporarily. It opens up the arteries and also lowers blood pressure as a result. Also, as a result, it can cause headaches at the time of administration. 4) Tubular Bells - The name of the music you hear as Chris is walking home from her movie shoot (the one everyone knows but doesn't associate with The Exorcist) is called 'Tubular Bells" by a British composer named Mike Oldfield. The composition itself is actually 26 minutes long. You don't hear all of it in the film... just the very beginning. There are a lot of transitions in it. What you may not know is that The Exorcist was not the only film that featured Tubular Bells, and I don't mean references to the opening of it. The "closing portion" at the end of the 26 minutes of Tubular Bells is also featured in a different film. The film is entitled. "Charlotte - La jeune fille assassinée" and it was written/produced/directed by Roger Vadim who also starred in it. At the onset of its release in the mid 70's, Charlotte was rated "X" which will clue you in as to what kind of film we're dealing with. It probably would be rated "R" these days with some editing, but the original release was "X." 5) Medical Procedure - Of course, in 1973, there were no such things as CT Scans or MRIs. So what you are looking at (when the doctor is injecting Regan, etc.) is a "pre-historic" CT Scan. His target is Regan's Carotid Artery as it will lead to the brain faster. It's also why you see the blood pulsating out of the catheter. You would not see that if he were shooting in the jugular vein. The blood would also be a lot darker as it is without oxygen. The point of the injection is to flood the circulatory system with contrast dye (sometimes radioactive dye) so that the pictures taken would reflect it. And the machinery of course is taking the pictures at different angles times. These days, a CT Scan or MRI would cover it without much trouble at all. BTW, I"m told that the guy doing the procedure (I.e. sticking the needle and establishing the catheter line) was a real surgeon. The "cold and wet" brown stuff he splashed on her was most likely and early form of "Betadine" (an iodine antiseptic).
I saw this in theaters in '73 at 17 years old. No other movie comes close to this for actually scaring me. Now I want to read the book again. The Omen was a good one too
Pazuzu is not the evil spirit in The Exorcist, Lamashtu is. The amulet and statue of Pazuzu at the beginning was a warning to Merrin that his and Pazuzu's enemy had returned. The Exorcist is not a movie about the possession of a young girl. It's a story about Lamashtu's revenge on the priest who performed an exorcism on her years ago.
@@drew2fast489 did he say that on the Marc Maron WTF? podcast? Or an earlier interview? I know I heard that before somewhere. I might listen to that great podcast again.
@drew2fast489 Of course from Blatty`s perspective the "demon" is nameless. Demon is a catholic word, and Blatty a devout catholic. Lamashtu is far older than catholicism, by thousands of years.
Great to see you watching and reacting to the Exorcist when it came out in 1973 I was 9 years old and I just turned 60 a couple of weeks ago and it still has me jumping when I watch it today i never saw it in the theaters since I was too young and i didn't get to see if until it came out on VHS. have a wonderful Wednesday and a great Halloween tomorrow with your family take care and thank you my friend LiteWeight.👋🎃👻🧀
One of my favorite lines in this movie, that not many people talk about and basically answers why Regan was the one possessed, when Damian is talking to the demon in the bedroom, Regan says: "what an excellent day for an exorcism", which leaves Damien surprised. He asks her: "wouldn't that drive you out of Regan?"and she says "It would bring us together, you and us". And that's exactly what happened in the end. Karras, who was struggling with his faith, let himself be possessed to save Regan, restoring his faith, but killing himself in the process.
Plus I love having more scenes of Merrin interacting with Chris. You get to see his own warmth and calmness with her before the stern seriousness of the situation with Regan. Also love that first doctor's appointment and the end with the new friendship beginning with Dyer and Kinderman.
"The soil of a man's heart is stonier Louis" --Pet Sematary, (Stephen King intentionally spelled "cemetery" wrong threefold), "You wash!!!" --Broke Down Palace, "I sure do love you", and "Do you know what she did?" --The Exorcist
It's Damien's necklace - at 39:03 you can see Reagan rip it off his neck right before the demon latches onto him. Thoroughly enjoyed the reaction! This is one of my favorite horror movies of all time!
The radiologist almost out of frame at 16:53 became a murderer after his part in the movie and was a possible serial killer in NYC. He was working as a radiologist in that hospital when the director was looking for a location and decided to use him as an extra. After the movie his life went really downhill. Linda Blair lived in my hometown growing up and went to the local high school when I was in grade school. Apparently she was really typecast and even just her presence just scared people so it was hard for her to find acting work after this. Ellen Burstyn plays another mother with a very tortured child in Requiem for a Dream but I think that movie would really upset you.
The line that gives me the creeps is when the demon says “It will bring us together” when Karras asked why it would like an exorcism. The demon knew the water wasn’t holy but it wanted Karras to still doubt if the possession was genuine so that his faith was weak during the exorcism. I think the demon wanted to kill the priests, it won 🤯
I realize it's lost on modern audiences, but the casting sgt. Kinderman mentions during his film suggestions to Father Karras and then to Father Dyer are freaking hilarious. The most unlikely actors imagiinable for the roles they play.
I love watching people discover this movie. Especially love watching people get freaked out only part way thru when I know how much worse it’s going to get.
My favorite detail in this entire film is the moment where Regan’s mother is so hesitant to go towards her after the exorcism. Through all the buildup in the film she’s been terrified and living through hell with her daughters condition being the worst case imaginable to her. Shes been tried and tested to the point to where her daughter cries out to her after all of this, seeing a dead man in her daughters room, she doesn’t even know in her heart if this is really her daughter crying out to her so she stands back in fear until she just cant stand the cries anymore and it all becomes too much for her to bear and she runs and embraces Regan.
This film was released as a horror movie, but was made to be a psychological thriller. Most horror films are made to scare you for the duration of the movie, but this was made to utterly disturb you, and have a lasting affect on the audience. You're the only person I've seen connect Regan saying 'You're gonna die up there' to the astronaut. The exorcism Merrin performed 12 years previously was also against Pazuzu. The best reaction yet to this classic. Great viewing.
What's really effective about the Exorcist is that it was written and directed as a fairly grounded drama that had supernatural horror elements. Chris exhausts every single scientific/medical explanation for Regan's condition, and Karras himself has doubts about the nature of everything related to it until he can't deny it anymore. I'd say that's why it holds up almost 50 years later because even if it's not necessarily always scary, one is still drawn in by the characters and are disturbed by what's happening to them. That slow build up in the first act allows the eventual exorcism itself to be so effective; the trauma of the scenes is rooted in the fact that a viewer deeply cares about Chris, Regan, & Karras.
Father karrus has always been one of my favourite hero's in horror. The man was written really well as a man who is struggling with his faith and feels like a failure. But he has his last chance at redemption with Regan. And the ending is a perfect closure to his character. He gave up in the end and went out on his terms. Saving the girl but at the cost of his life
I don't believe in exorcism but purely from a theoretical viewpoint, the reason you don't want family in the room during the ritual is because the demon will manipulate their emotions and feed on their weakness, making the process even more arduous. So as a mother, you'd actually be further endangering your child's life by insisting on being in the room.
It was a St. Joseph's medal. Medals like it are common among Catholics. It's supposed to provide protection against demons. When Regan pulled it off, the demon was allowed the demon to enter Damien. The sculpture the detective found was one of Regan's clay sculptures. They were on her window sill when Burke was thrown out the window. So, it meant that Burke was in Regan's room and didn't just fall from the top of the stairs. The clay may have also been connected to the clay used to deface the statue in the church. The Exorcist II really isn't worth seeing. But Exorcist III is based on the actual sequel (Legion) written by the author of the Exorcist, William Peter Blatty. Not only that, Blatty directed the film himself and does a great job.
WOW! I've watched many Exorcist-reaction videos before, but i think you're the first whom had been GENIUNIELY driven to tears. I didn't think you'd make it to the end. BUT, YOU DID!!!!! KUDOS to you!!!!!!!
I saw this on the top of my TH-cam and I thought - OMG - this made my night. Love your reactions and this was no different. Listened, mostly, as I cleaned my house. Great reaction and I hope you do more scary stuff in the next few weeks!
The greatest horror film ever made. You nailed it about why it is so good. When I was in high school we used to climb the cobblestone wall next to The Exorcist steps, there are 77 steps so it's a long way up or down as the case may be.
What a treat for Halloween! 😇 One of my favorite reactors watches one of the best and most classic horrorfilms ever! You did not disappoint, it got to you, didnt it? I feel like the structure of the movie and the first 45 minutes can be a challenge, but it all fits, as you said, in the big picture. I need to rewatch that Directors Cut. Happy Halloween! 🎃
There's a comedy sequel/parody of this called "Repossessed". It stars Linda Blair, reprising her role of Regan (changed to Nancy) as an adult, years after the ordeal. Leslie Nielsen stars as Father Mayii (pronounced like may I).
1. I was 13 when I saw this in the theater with friends. What rating system they had at the time wasn't really followed that closely. By word of mouth, I was aware of the head spinning, vomiting and language but what freaked me the most were the demon flashes.😱😱 2. When the doctor is looking at Regan's skull x-ray and says, "Nothing in there" I always🤣 3. The spider-walk down the stairs was NOT in the original release. 4. The loud banging with the medical equipment is for dramatic effect. 5. Father Merin and the demon/Pazuzu had a previous encounter where he almost killed the father. Merin doesn't acknowledge the receipt of the note and tells Karras there's no need for analysis. 6. Chris MacNeil/Ellen Burstyn actually broke her coccyx when the demon makes her hard fall. That wince of pain is the real deal. 7. The first priest Karras admits his lack of faith to/Tom, was a real priest. 8. The demon doesn't kill Merrin. From the beginning we know he has a heart problem most likely brought on by the previous encounter. 9. Karras doesn't kill the demon. He does manage to draw it out of her and sacrificed himself for her. 10. Karras is confessing and asking for forgiveness for his loss of faith. 11. RIP Willian Freidkin😇
I've just seen your reaction to "Hacksaw Ridge" and I wanted to recommend a movie that's my all time favorite movie and it's about the war unfortunately. There's a ton of twists and turns throughout the film but, I wanted to highlight this as again it's one of my all time favorites. The name of the movie is called "All Quiet on the Western Front". Whether it's a video or a private watch, it shows what they went through on the German side of the war. Hope this recommendation reaches!
The St. Joseph medal is common. The strange part is a relatively modern medal was found in an ancient dig site. After all of these years seeing this movie, I finally got why Damien saw his mother's face flash on the windows as he was being taken-over by the demon. She was showing him the way out... Through the window.
I think what makes the film stand the test of time is the phenomenal acting, legitimately great makeup and strong filmmaking. Also the core story of the film being a mother scared for the life of her young child and being powerless to help her - which is a universal fear many can relate to. Its a very human story. Ellen Burstyn who played the mother is such a good actress who I truly believe carries the film. I could feel her anxiety and frustration the longer she went to doctors and psychologists for answers and getting nowhere. It was quite a realistic turn of events as I don't think any person (even in modern day) would have automatically assumed possession and started with exorcism. If the actress didn't sell the vulnerability and desperation, we wouldn't have cared as much. Linda Blair as the wholesome innocent Regan also carried this because if it wasn't for her we wouldn't have been endeared to her as a sweet person that we want to see being saved.
From France ! I love your comments and especially how you get deeply involved in the films that you present to us, on the other hand, stop crying all the time, because you make me cry too!!! Kind regards :)
This movie and the book were based on an exorcism of a boy from Maryland performed by 2 Jesuit priests from St. Louis University - Father William Bowdern and Father Walter Halloran. The actual exorcism took place at Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis. In the book, Blatty changed the location to another Jesuit University (Georgetown) and the patient to a girl
Her daughter wasn't the one the Demon wanted. He just used her. The trials were for Damion and Murret. This was the Demon he was going up against in his Last exorcism. The Demon wanted another battle. The Demo. Was testing Damions beliefs and faith. Reagan was just a pawn. It was two separate necklaces. The one Murret found and the one Damion was wearing
Catholics are into medals or pendants. Possibly the most common is St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers. You will see Catholics wearing them as some sort of talisman, or having them hanging from their rear view mirrors in their cars. In the days before plush lined or plastic dashboards, you might see a slightly larger one with a magnetic back that would stick to your dash. They are mass produced.
Watching reactions to the Exorcist has become my hobby in the last several years. So, lucky you, here is my standard comment..... a bit of background..... The production team when in the middle east was lucky enough to find that a German archeological team was working nearby, so they arranged to film a few scenes there.... the movie opening. The nurse at 17.41 "Excuse me doctor. Chris MacNeil is on the phone. She says it's urgent". This was Linda Blair's mother, who was on the set every day. They gave her a bit part. This movie was based on a novel by William Peter Blatty which was itself based on an actual exorcism of a 14 year old boy from Maryland which happened in St. Louis, Missouri in 1948. It took several weeks, the last few of which took place in the old Alexian Brothers hospital in south St. Louis, which as since been torn down. According to the priests journals, the events were similar to those in the movie but a bit toned down, no spinning heads or floating beds. Also, the part of Father Dyer, the younger priest who gave last rites at the end, was played by Fr. William J. O'Malley, an actual Jesuit priest who was brought onto the film originally as a consultant, but then given a small part. Father O'Malley, until his recent passing, taught at Fordham Prep School in the Bronx, NY.
I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet but Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn suffered serious back injuries during filming. Linda Blair ruptured a disk in her back during the scene where she was sitting up and slamming back on the bed. Ellen Burstyn sprained her back when the demon slapped her across the room. Both have suffered for years.
One of the shadows behind you looks like that pazuzu face that's cool love watching reactions to this very hilarious movie and cool imagery like that face popping up here and there
this is a great movie, far different than the slasher type movies as this is a psychological horror movie, letting your own mind bend back on itself. As in, this unseen force can exploit you when you're vulnerable---like Regan's loneliness, her feelings about her parents divorce, and Damien's loss of faith and guilt over his mother's death. And this is also a sad ending, heartbreaking in that Damien's redemption was to sacrifice himself to save Regan. His faith was restored. But he and Merrin don't have happy endings, the heroes don't live. And the homicide detective banter about the movies was meant more as a comical relief, Kinderman's character. In the book, he's a movie buff but has no one to see movies with. And Blatty's screenplay was a nod to other films like Casablanca Humprhey Bogart and Claude Rains characters bond over their experience against the Nazis at the end. And that is sort of what Blatty did with Kinderman and Father Dyer at the end
Excellent reaction. You picked up quickly on many things. But at 37:53 I disagree. The mother being there would just be more fuel for the demon and should definitely not be present. I'm 74 years old. I saw The Exorcist first run and have read the book, watched the movie(s) many times. I am convinced everything we see is done by the demon, including the "Help Me" writing, as a means to bring the demon and Merrin together again. One thing that I have never seen a reactor comment on, even one as good as you, is near the end after Karras jumps through the window. Kinderman comes into the bedroom and takes in the dead priest, the dropped flask of holy water, the daughter crying and she and her mother embracing. In that brief scene you could see/feel the machinations of the detective's realization as he puts these random pieces together. To me it is one of the most powerful scenes in the film.
First saw this as a 14 year old, drunk on cheap white cider, so certain scenes made me laugh out loud. My other half first watched it at 10 years old and it scarred her for life. A masterpiece of cinema, let alone of horror - delightful reaction as always.
Representations of Pazuzu in Mesopotamian mythology were used to both appease him, the spirit of the west wind who could bring locusts and drought. More commonly they were used to ward off more malevolent spirits such as Lamashtu the mother of monsters and taker of children. The necklace and the statuette found together are symbolic both in their use as talismans, but more importantly to represent Merrin and Pazuzu becoming temporary allies in their fight against a greater enemy, Lamashtu. Hence the line in the opening, "evil against evil"
Classic. This is the considered the scariest movie of all time for a reason. Definitely one of my favorites. This was also one of the most cursed movie productions ever. Lots of messed up stuff happened while filming this movie. I recommend reading up on it if you get the chance.
The priest at the end is Father Dyer. He was a real Jesuit who consulted on the film. He was playing the piano when Regan came downstairs and he put Damien to bed when he was drunk. He was also the faculty in residence in my sophomore dorm in college.
The key to understanding this film is that it is actually a religious film that has horror elements. A popular trope in some catholic novelists, like Graham Greene, Georges Bernarnos and Leon Bloy, is a theme of the encounter with Evil that leads to renewed faith in God. Here themes of faith,hope and love. Chris MacNeil has no faith, is losing hope (in what to do) but persists to do anything out of love for Regan. Karras has lost faith and hope - loss of mother, guilt, problem of belief - but out of some kind of selfless love gets involved, and sacrifices himself to save a person he has never met (never the likeable child Regan but the possessed body). And Merrin is the epitome of faith, hope and selfless love who though physically should never have been involved in it, leads the exorcism. No one should imagine this is an evil wins movie. The devil loses - note that it does not even defeat Merrin because he dies of a heart attack. (The novel is very clear about this, it is raging at the corpse for cheating the devil out of winning the return fight). By the way, much of the phenomena presented - shaking objects, obscenities, enormous strength, voices, languages not known to possessed person - are documented in actual exorcism cases. I think that Regan’s rotating head should be read as in the minds of the witnesses, a trick to make them despair. The story is based on an actual reported case of alleged possession of a young boy in 1949. (A friend of mine, now dead, knew the priests who did the exorcism which lasted months).The actors playing the priests Tom (Karras provincial superior) and Dyer were actual priests, Jesuits like the fiction Merrin and Karras. And the prayers used in the film were from the then (1973) actual catholic rite of exorcism. So, is possession and exorcism real? For me the jury is out on possession - most cases can be interpreted as mental illness (a position that the Catholic Church holds to, and has noted since the 16th century), but a few …who knows? As to exorcism, it is a real practice across many cultures that whatever the case seems to work. (Thus the psychiatrist is also right from a certain point of view).
The pacing of this movie is nearly unmatched. The tension it slowly builds while unraveling the story is just amazing. It's so disturbing too. The vulgarity and physical acts that poor girl is going through..
Seldom commented on is the acting from Father Dyer as he attends Karas's final moments near the end of the film. He seems more convincingly grief stricken than almost all actors I have seen in Hollywood covering such scenes.
She kisses the priest at the end because deep down she knows another priest helped her. She sees the collar and that triggered a memory.
Of all the great acting in the movie, I truly find Linda Blair’s unspoken moment of “Why did I just do that?” in that scene to be one of the best little understated bits of acting in the whole film.
@dfa3366 I don't know how so many people do NOT get that. 🤷🤦
@@hakuna..matata correct but most do
some do
@@hakuna..matata And despite the director even emphasising the priest's collar with a close-up.
The "necklace" or medallion was of St. Joseph and is believed to provide protection for whoever wears it. In Father Karras' dream, you see the necklace/medallion falling. Then, in the bedroom when he pulls the Regan/demon off the bed telling it/her to take him instead, you see the Regan/demon pull it off of Karra's neck, thus allowing it to take possession of him.
Look closely. I'm the dream the falling medallion is falling in front of the same rub that is in Regan's bedroom. Foreshadowing.
@rromano158
St. Joseph is the patron saint of peaceful death. St. Christopher is the patron saint of protection.
I think when Father Merrin dug up the medallion he released the demon. When it was removed from Father Karras he was vulnerable to be possessed
Exactly. This seems to confuse a lot of reactors. The medallion Father Karras is wearing is different from what Father Merrin found in the beginning.
@@warriorpitbull1170 Yes, but in the Litany of St Joseph, he is referred to as "Terror of demons"
I got to meet Linda Blair once when she was an adult. She sat and talked to me about The Excorcist for about 15 minutes. What a wonderful person. One of the highlights of my life.
That’s a wonderful story!
Was her whole body facing you or just her head?
@@andreshernandez1180 .Yeah, she was facing the opposite way, and her head was turned around 180 degrees. Lmao, nice one.
I also met Linda at a FanExpo a few years ago, I agree such a beautiful person! Always loves spending time with each fan to chat 😊
@@petersonchan9250 Did she share her pea soup with you too? 🤮
Congratulations. You're the FIRST reactor of SO MANY that I've seen who didn't miss the fact that the reason Regan said, "You're gonna die up there." was that the guy was an astronaut.
Yeah, virtually nobody catches that. Was thinking another possibility could be her foreshadowing his death by her pushing him out of the window....room was upstairs.
@@Mark-ze1jq Yes, it's ruse. She was talking to Burke Denning.
@@RideAcrossTheRiver Exactly....
if you ever rewatch this, I hope you’ll give Det. Kinderman another chance. He’s a warm-hearted, thoughtful man trying to solve a horrific crime. And he loves movies and is constantly looking for friends with whom he can share the experience. (Unfortunately, his jokes about the films’ casts are lost on viewers who don’t know the actors he’s mentioning. For example, he mentions that “Wuthering Heights,” a classic gothic romance, is starring Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball, both of whom were extremely popular comedians on TV. The idea that these two people would be starring in “Wuthering Heights” is ridiculous. So it’s a further joke when the people he’s talking to say, “I’ve seen it.”)
You get more of him in exorcist 3, recommended previously, and yes, just skip 2 (forever and ever and ever).
Plus, he's using a tactic that many police detectives do by being overly friendly and playing dumb to see what everyone knows. Being confrontational only makes people defensive, playing dumb can induce them to talk.
Legion was a good book mostly about Kinderman
@@RMBittner I just keep waiting for Kinderman to say, “I’m gonna solve this case if I have to break it in two tryin’. These cases, you work your life out….”
Sorry. I couldn’t help it. He’ll always be the angriest juror to me.
@@charlize1253 Exactly. I have read that the director's cut ends on a more hopeful note. Including, "New friendships are formed". I've seen very few people understand the fact that the cop is not trying to make friends - We see earlier, when he tries the same tactic on Damien- inviting him to a film. He knows something is up and wants info. The final scene shows us he is now going to focus on the second priest. Another reason he lies about the cast, is so that when they reply, "I've already seen it", he knows they are lying and being evasive. The scene at the end, is a direct follow-up to his reaction when he enters the room at the end. He is totally confused as to what just happened, and what led to it. Even the way he holds onto the priest's arm and walks him along. It is visually telling us "Now, you and I have a lot to talk about"
Can you imagine how stunning this was for those of us who saw this when it first came out? It was 1973, and I was 16. On the big screen, overwhelmed over and over with terrifying visions---and also frankly sexually shocking. Most filmgoers had never even had nightmares with little girl actresses doing scenes like that--so revolutionary (and nothing like CGI to substitute). Indeed, Linda Blair was only 13 and she often said in later interviews her life was on a different trajectory from being in this film.
This movie is perfect. You don’t even see anything spooky for the first 45 minutes, maybe an hour. But once it starts, it does not let up! It is a masterpiece!
That’s true! I didn’t think about that!
That's also what I love about Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It starts out slow paced, just gradually building the tension, and then by the end it's pure horror and shock, like the worst acid trip ever.
@@LiteWeightReacting I would really appreciate if you could react to the movie Ninja Assassin for your next video, please take note of this
Yea, the pacing is phenomenal
@LiteWeightReacting
If you haven't seen them, I would recommend
"THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE"
and another possession movie
"PREY FOR THE DEVIL"
yes, "prey" is spelt correct !
(The autopsy of Jane Doe is really atmospheric. Without giving too much away, they used an actual actress for the cadaver so the eyes/face were authentic enough to create that human connection)
Building suspense is why older horror movies are better, nowadays, than any modern horror movies.
Exactly. It's like the old story of how to boil a frog by slowly turning up the heat. Old movies really know how to build tension.
I wouldn’t say *any* modern horror film. I think of “The Others,” “The Witch,” and Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” and “Hereditary” as being tense and suspenseful without anything obvious happening for some time. (I found the tension in “Hereditary” particularly unrelenting.)
It's the modern age of instant-gratification and only caring about a "twist".
@@RMBittnerI was SO close to loving Hereditary, but the last 15 minutes ruined it for me. I still think it's a good movie overall, but it could've been great :/
The only modern horror movie I find really good is The Witch.
@@Billinois78 Yeah there are so many twists nowadays, that they are so easy to predict. A twist is more like a cliche now.
Why Merrin, the answer is in the movie. The Bishop wanted someone with experience, his colleague mentions that Merrin had performed an exorcism that lasted months, damn near killed him. Pazuzu(the demon in the movie) was the demon Merrin exorcised. The foreshadowing of the medallion and the demon head was letting Merrin know that a reckoning with the demon was coming.
As I recall this movie never mentioned Pazuzu, but it did come up in the sequel-and maybe the book
As many times as I've seen this movie I just noticed something. Right before Damien got possessed and jumped through the window a face appeared. It was brief and it looked like his mother.
I have a theory about the necklace. The type of necklace kept the demon at bay. Father Merrin removed it when he was digging for artifacts and released the demon. Father Damien had the same type medallion removed and made him vulnerable to be possessed. What do you think?
@@normanbishop4787 Pazuzu was portrayed as the antagonist in "Exorcist II: The Heretic", but that one wasn't written by the original author William Blatty. It's also widely considered to be a horrible sequel. The actual sequel, written by Blatty, is "Legion". Pazuzu is not named the culprit in either book, but he is mentioned in the context of "Evil against evil", as Pazuzu was sometimes called upon to provide protection against other dark spirits.
@@craigreed1638it was indeed his mother
I love that shot of Father Merrin and the Pazuzu statue facing one another, symbolising the forces of good and evil facing off against each other.
MetalMike correct
Regan rips Damien's necklace off of him at 39:02, that's how it's found in her room later.
"The Exorcist" is one of the greatest movies ever made regardless of genre.
So amazing! Happy to finally have seen it!
So true. Friedkin has said himself that he never intended the movie to be a "horror" movie, but as a supernatural, psychological thriller.
@@johngray1009 This is I suspect also why the upside-down walk was not in theatrical release but only added back in decades later. My personal opinion is it detracts from the film's realism which makes it so effective. In the theatrical release the truly supernatural elements were downplayed. As the demon said it didn't want to do a "vulgar display of power." There is supernatural but most of it is in the final scene of the actual exorcism.
true that
Demons lie brother.
You should watch Exorcist 3 (skip 2) while this is still fresh on your mind, don't worry it's not a rehash of the first one so no mother-child situation. It is also not like modern horror movies, It's a slow burn but tense/suspenseful with great pay offs and connections to the first. It's bit underrated/less known
Got the best jumpscare though
It's so amazing that these are practical effects, even down to the Sounds. The sound of her head slowly turning around was done by an old dry & cracked Leather Wallet being squeezed and stretched in front of a mic!
The reason why the demon knew Merrin is because they had faced each other before in Africa, and Merrin had eventually won that battle so, the demon feared him but also wanted to beat him, it had to kill Merrin because it knew that he couldn't defeat it in a battle of faith. The demon could sense the conflict in Karras and knew that his faith was weak following his Mother's death. I hope this helps to explain things.
The demon didn’t kill Father Merrin as a matter of fact the demon was pissed that Merrin died during the exorcism! He wanted Merrin to finish the “ritual” but because of his premature passing the demon (pazuzu) couldn’t have a final “rematch” with Merrin, thus pissing pazuzu off!
@@23centsolutionI didn't know that, thank you for letting me know, I thought that he killed him because it's sniggering, obviously I knew that Merrin had a bad heart but didn't realise that it had given out.
@@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.Yeah. That was in the book.
I met Linda Blair and she autographed a picture for me and wrote, "love and you make my head spin" :)
A lot of people ignore how remarkable the makeup on Max von Sydow's face is done. He was 43 when he played Father Merrin and they made him look about 40 years older. 🙂
Dick Smith was a brilliant makeup artist. It’s amazing how well Von Sydow’s makeup has held up over 50 years later, even in scenes in bright sunlight.
Indeed. They nailed how he would actually look decades later.
It was so good, that most people were and are completely unaware he was wearing any "old man" makeup.
@@keefriff99 Thank you for mentioning Dick Smith. FX enthusiasts know his name*. Horror fans know him through the gentlemen at KNB and other make-up shops. One thing that is rarely mentioned about Dick Smith, if ever anymore, is that he made Dustin Hoffman look like a 101-year-old man in the movie Little Big Man.
*and work.
True. Max looks like he does today. It's amazing
This is one of the most classic of horror movies. The well written psychological horror can be much scarier than the gore that a lot of the horror movies lean on.
I tried to find out about the movie you described seeing previously. The only thing I found close was a 2012 movie called "Sinister" in which a man finds old films in his family's new house and he notices images in the background of those old films.
An interesting take on horror films that you might like is Tucker & Dale vs. Evil! Considering what you've said about comedies, I'll warn you that it is a comedy horror combo if that turns you away, but it is very entertaining!
Thanks for checking into the story! I haven’t seen Tucker and Dale vs evil but I’ve heard it’s really really good!
@@LiteWeightReacting it is SO good. I didn't want to give it a chance when I first became aware of it, but my brother forced me to watch it with him and I was SO WRONG about that movie. It's one of my "classics".
What an excellent day for an Exorcist review!
Ha!
A fascinating bit of The Exorcist lore surrounds the bearded medical technician who gets Regan from the gurney to the table, tells her to scoot down, holds down her head with both hands and the blue drape and puts the tape across her chin. He was an actual technician at New York University Medical Center, named Paul Bateson.
Bateson would go on to become a convicted killer for the murder 4 years later of theater critic Addison Verrill, and the only suspect in a series of murders dubbed "the bag murders" (a.k.a. "the fag in a bag murders"), which involved a series of homosexual victims whose remains were found in trash bags.
Director William Friedkin had a doctor friend who worked at NYUMC, and when he asked for a medical procedure that was really visually disturbing, the doctor replied he had just the thing. He invited Friedkin to observe his next cerebral angiography, and the director immediately knew he had his scene. Actual nurses and technicians were cast as extras, including Bateson, who scored a speaking part.
It's almost as if you can hear Friedkin's direction. "Now Linda, Regan's really afraid in this scene. Try and imagine you're lying there and a serial killer is holding your head down with both hands. Action!"
And the rest, as they say, is cinematic (and criminal) history.... 😎
The mother being in the room would be the worst distraction ever for the priests. She'd be flipping out, trying to stop them, being manipulated by the demon pretending to be Regan. She knew that as well.
Similar in medical situations, a parent in the room is actually harmful to the wellbeing of the child. Also she is being incredibly over-judgmental
It's all because of the patriarchy. She might get hurt even worse but oh well...
@@MrMpa31 In that new "Sequel", she claims that they wouldn't let her be present, because they were sexist 🙄
Another reason that they didn't want the mother in the room is that she would be another body that the demon could inhabit.
@@kevinadamson3828 And then you'd have two crazy bitches to deal with.
What a classic from the 70s,linda Blair did such an amazing job and is now running an animal rescue organization.
Can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for her as a person after this came out and acting all that stuff!
@@LiteWeightReacting All you need to do is look it up here on YT. The crowds, people getting sick and/or leaving the theater before the movie ended. It's a trip to watch those "old" news stories about what happened when this movie first came out. I was a Sophomore in High School when this movie appeared. YES, I;m OLD!
Wow! Gotta check that out!
@@LiteWeightReacting
She is also the subject of the famous Rick James song, "Cold Blooded"....they were a couple from 1982-1984
@@LiteWeightReacting She did get typecast. In fact, the year after this one came out, she starred in a very controversial TV movie called “Born Innocent,” in which her character was sexually assaulted with a broomstick. Even though it was “just” a TV movie-at a time when such things were fairly sanitized-it was shocking enough to create considerable outrage. (And there were commentators who believed she accepted a role like that because she’d been irreparably harmed by what she’d been asked to do in “The Exorcist.”) These early roles led to her being cast in a long string of low-budget horror and exploitation movies (and TV guest spots) for the rest of her career.
The medal that Father Karras was wearing is a Medal of St Joseph. It was torn off by the unclean spirit before it could go into Karras. The dream foretold what was going to happen
I spent a weekend with actress Linda Blair about a dozen years ago as her assistant/escort at a sci-fi/media convention in Massachusetts (UnitedFanCon). She's possessed of nothing but nice things and is a great advocate for animal well-being. She hit me with an Elaine Benes-style "Get Out!" when I told her that I'd watched "The Exorcist" for the first time alone. At night. Right before going to sleep...and I slept like a baby. ("You're sick!" might have been her playful words). Your reaction was wonderful and I'm so glad that this great piece of grown-up cinema still "works". I'm a Roman Catholic and this is probably why I was as un-bothered as I was by the film's artfully-crafted manipulations. I think the necklace was a St. Christopher's medal and, as the patron saint of travelers, it makes sense that his intervention would help Regan move through her assault by an unclean spirit to a safe harbor. Great film that, in my opinion, has never been equaled. Don't bother with the sequels (though Brad Dourif is always worth watching!). And high marks for your motherly instincts! Regan could've used a more protective parent like yourself! :-))
I know the older I get, the more I always think about the classics. But this one is truly one that I think every horror fan should see. This is pretty much the foundation of every modern horror film. Love you and the channel!!
Thanks for the love! I agree with everything you said. This definitely set a pretty clear standard and provided a formula for future horror movies!
@@LiteWeightReacting Hi, could you make a reaction video about the movie "Prince of Darkness", is part of John Carpenter's apocalypse trilogy. Thanks 🙏
I just saw Linda Blair Oct 19th. I drove up to get an autographed photo of her as the demon for a friend's Christmas gift. I got my own photo when i met her and got to talk to her for a while in 2018.
The theme music *"Tubular Bells"* by British musician/composer Mike Oldfield was actually his debut album released in May of '73. It didn't sell very well until months later when it was attached to the film which was released in Dec '73. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200.
The 19 year old Oldfield played nearly all the instruments on the record. piano, glockenspiel, electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, various organs, tin whistle, percussion, tympani, tubular bells,
It was one of the first releases on Virgin Records and was important in establishing its reputation.
I still listen to Tubular Bells today. Side 2 is even more intense than side 1!!!
Excellent album...I liked the Tubular Bells theme,but it was the entire second side of the disc that really impressed me.Incidentally,I never found this movie terrifying or even actually scary but that's just me.."horror movies" don't work on me that way.
It's a simple thing, but I love the response to Chris McNeil's question. "Is she going to die?" Damian turns to her and says, "No." He says it with conviction and certainty and immediately gets up and goes to make sure of it. That's the restoration of faith in a single word.
If you remember the two priests thinking of who to assist with the exorcism that has experience. One priest mentions Merrin and says that he performed an exorcism in Africa that lasted 2 months and nearly killed him. That was where Merrin encountered Pazuzu and defeated the demon. So the the demon was back for revenge. That medal that was found with the idol is a protection medallion. Many wear it. When it was uncovered Merrin knew what was coming. That is why he was so shaken up in the beginning and why he immediately left Iraq and came back to the states. He was preparing and just waiting for the call. In the end when Damien says take me. Reagan/Demon rips his medal off because the demon was unable to enter Damien while he wore it. Father Dyer, the priest at the end of the movie with the medal is a real priest and actually taught at the school where many scenes were shot of the priest offices and what not. The book is based off of a true story. However, everything in the book is made up. The only truth about the book is that there was an exorcism of a child. However the original child in real life was a boy and not a girl. Blatty (the author) was never able to get any information on the real exorcism from the church. So he made everything up. BTW: The boy who had the exorcism (IRL) grew up and had/has a successful life. Even working for NASA. My fav horror movie. Best part of this time of year is seeing people experience The Exorcist. LOVE IT! Yours did NOT disappoint.
i read somewhere that it actually could have been the demon lashmatu that possessed regan. Lashmatu is an enemy of Pazuzu that prays on young children and unborn babies in the womb and Pazuzu protects those children and babies so it doesnt make much sense to possess one.
Its said that pendants of Pazuzus head were worn by expectant mothers as protection from Lashmatu and the head that is found in the dig has a broken part at the top where a string of sort would loop through, and not the head of a statue with the body missing. They speculated that Pazuzu was actually warning Merrin that their common enemy has returned.
Ive never read the book so i cant confirm, but i read that it isnt actually ever confirmed to be Pazuzu who has possessed Regan
Movie she's trying to remember sounds like "Ghost", with Patrick Swayze.
LOL 😆
Now watch Exorcist 3, ignore 2 at all costs.
Ya, at least they redeemed (well) with 3.
3 was based on the actual sequel novel by William Peter Blatty, the original author of the novel the Exorcist was based on. The trash fire that was 2 wasn't based on the books and was misbegotten offspring of a hollywood writer's room
Not in my opinion, If you want to understand chapter one, you must watch John Boorman chapter two which is closely connected. Lankaster Merrin and Pazuzu were old acquaintences.
This is a true story. My mom and my 2 elder sisters used to bring my brother and I to watch The Exorcist when I was only 5 years old in first year of kindergarten. Most of the time I felt a bit bored and bothered my mom for snacks/drink or just to gain her attention. Only 3 scenes made me stop and watch: the opening desert archaeology scene with the red blood movie title; the crucifix masturbation scene; the final exorcism scene. My sisters were annoyed and complained to mom that I don’t know how to watch a movie in a cinema. Almost 2 decades later, I gained respect for this vintage classic as a young adult who is also a movie buff. So when it was playing on tv for its 25th anniversary close to midnight, I recorded it on vhs tape but since there were commercial ads the original duration is inflated. I let the tape continue recording the show In Living Color after the Exorcist ended until the tape ran out. One fine day, my parents were out sleeping over at my sister’s house leaving me all alone at home at night. I am not insane enough to watch The Exorcist in such situation but I needed to reel the tape fast forward in order to access and watch In Living Color. I remember of fast forwarding only about 2 hours and 7 minutes then press play on the remote control. Imagine my horror and shock when the scene that exploded on tv at cranked up volume was that of Regan roaring and sticking out and flicking her tongue at the 2 priests. That completely freaked me out; I turned off the tv and turned on all the lights that night while sleeping. It’s ok if I watched it from start to finish but not smack right in the middle of a scene from this movie.
The best Yo mama joke in history LOL
Truly haha I was not prepared for that line 🤣
@@LiteWeightReacting
Actually the best line is the hybrid joke that my 15 year old niece (who has a learning disability) told me:
"Your mother cooks socks in hell" - The Dyslexorcist
@@USCFlash that's hilarious! Now I'll get to tell people "I read this guy on TH-cam who had a 15-year-old niece…" Lol. Thanks for sharing!
@@parksnrec5476
no problem.
30 seconds in, I'm subscribed. I see a good reaction coming when I witness her personality. 😂
Well thank you very much!!
You're welcome. Have fun!
I love people's faces when they watch this movie for the first time. Priceless!
I think it’s a perfect movie to watch and to watch reactions of!
Can you imagine how terrifying this was in 1973? My oldest daughter is multi-handicapped and has had quite a few hospital times over her 40 years. My wife and I both wanted to always go in and be with her during her surgery. Not because we know best or anything, but because we felt so helpless. As far as her syndrome we do know the most as there are only around 1000 people like her on Earth. She is fairly healthy but when something happens, a hospital visit is difficult She is profoundly retarded so while she is 40, she is a toddler mentally. She won't sit still for any kind of examination and if they keep trying she will fight them. Watching this film with Reagan fighting the mother, care givers, religious people reminds me of the level of fight Amanda gives.
This was released in 1973 and is still the gold standard for demonic possession horror movies. It was mega-controversial for its time and still scares the hell out of people now. I’m an atheist and even I find this disturbing. No CGI in this at all and it has not been topped since its release. It never will be topped.
There is CGI. She watched the crappy version from 2000.
The priest will teach the detective. Every thing. 777 yup
I've watch Exorcist reactions every October for years and you're the first reactor who caught her telling the astronaut, " You're gonna die up there."
Surprised me as well - yes, first time I saw someone acknowledge he was an astronaut!
This was such a an amazing film , the long shots were great, the practical effects were wow, and the old priest , Max Von Sydow was only in his 40s when he played that part, now the aging makeup was fucking fantastic, but he was such a great actor, cause what truly sells the older age was his mannerisms, Max was phenomenal.
1) Directors Cut vs. Original Theatrical Release - Friedkin (the director) had eliminated scenes like the "Spidey Walk" from the original Theatrical release. He restored those scenes on William Peter Blatty's behalf (the original writer) in his Director's cut. Blatty thought they should have been in the original, and good thing Friedkin restored them because Blatty passed away shortly thereafter.
2) Crucifix Scene - The very point of it was to get Chris MacNeil to become so frightened/horrified that she'd seek the help of a Priest for an exorcism. Prior to that point, recall that Chris MacNeil was an "agnostic," not having any religious beliefs. The only way to get her to be so "horrified" that she would seek the help of a Priest was for Blatty to write what he did in order to "horrify" her. In fact, what you saw was only a part of what Blatty wrote. He also included a part where the demon takes the crucifix back from Chris and continues to "pleasure" Regan with it... in a "rhythmic" way that would simulate real s*x. The demon then tells Regan, "Ah, that's my sweet honey piglet.." In the novel, the demon continues to refer to Regan as "his piglet" (as referenced by the "KEEP AWAY... THE SOW IS MINE" quotation).
In an interview, Linda Blair said later on that to do the Crucifix scene, they took a box with a sponge soaked with Karo Syrup and red food coloring in it and put it in between Blair's legs. So that's what she was stabbing, nothing else. She stated in that interview that she did not know what "masturbation" was at the time. Probably why the didn't include the additional "piglet" part Blatty wrote because they would have had to explain what masturbation is to Linda to be effective.
3) The Pills - The pills you see Father Merrin taking (both at the beginning in Iraq and in MacNeil's bathroom) are "Nitro Glycerin" tablets. These are often prescribed for people with chest pains (Angina) in order to relieve that pain, temporarily. It opens up the arteries and also lowers blood pressure as a result. Also, as a result, it can cause headaches at the time of administration.
4) Tubular Bells - The name of the music you hear as Chris is walking home from her movie shoot (the one everyone knows but doesn't associate with The Exorcist) is called 'Tubular Bells" by a British composer named Mike Oldfield. The composition itself is actually 26 minutes long. You don't hear all of it in the film... just the very beginning. There are a lot of transitions in it.
What you may not know is that The Exorcist was not the only film that featured Tubular Bells, and I don't mean references to the opening of it. The "closing portion" at the end of the 26 minutes of Tubular Bells is also featured in a different film. The film is entitled. "Charlotte - La jeune fille assassinée" and it was written/produced/directed by Roger Vadim who also starred in it. At the onset of its release in the mid 70's, Charlotte was rated "X" which will clue you in as to what kind of film we're dealing with. It probably would be rated "R" these days with some editing, but the original release was "X."
5) Medical Procedure - Of course, in 1973, there were no such things as CT Scans or MRIs. So what you are looking at (when the doctor is injecting Regan, etc.) is a "pre-historic" CT Scan. His target is Regan's Carotid Artery as it will lead to the brain faster. It's also why you see the blood pulsating out of the catheter. You would not see that if he were shooting in the jugular vein. The blood would also be a lot darker as it is without oxygen.
The point of the injection is to flood the circulatory system with contrast dye (sometimes radioactive dye) so that the pictures taken would reflect it. And the machinery of course is taking the pictures at different angles times. These days, a CT Scan or MRI would cover it without much trouble at all. BTW, I"m told that the guy doing the procedure (I.e. sticking the needle and establishing the catheter line) was a real surgeon. The "cold and wet" brown stuff he splashed on her was most likely and early form of "Betadine" (an iodine antiseptic).
This reactor is so dumb
I saw this in theaters in '73 at 17 years old. No other movie comes close to this for actually scaring me. Now I want to read the book again.
The Omen was a good one too
Pazuzu is not the evil spirit in The Exorcist, Lamashtu is. The amulet and statue of Pazuzu at the beginning was a warning to Merrin that his and Pazuzu's enemy had returned. The Exorcist is not a movie about the possession of a young girl. It's a story about Lamashtu's revenge on the priest who performed an exorcism on her years ago.
That’s right. I messed that up in earlier comment. Thought P was the one in book too. Dang it.
Blatty said the demon is nameless - that he, himself, doesn't know the demon's identity. So, it's not Lamashtu, either.
@@drew2fast489 did he say that on the Marc Maron WTF? podcast? Or an earlier interview? I know I heard that before somewhere. I might listen to that great podcast again.
@drew2fast489 Of course from Blatty`s perspective the "demon" is nameless. Demon is a catholic word, and Blatty a devout catholic. Lamashtu is far older than catholicism, by thousands of years.
@stephensmith4732 The demon/spirit had no identity. And "demon" is of Greek origin.
I would love to have a Police Detective from the 1970's that wants to go to the movies with me! The Priest/Police, is the sweetest part of this movie.
Great to see you watching and reacting to the Exorcist when it
came out in 1973 I was 9 years old and I just turned 60 a couple
of weeks ago and it still has me jumping when I watch it today
i never saw it in the theaters since I was too young and i didn't
get to see if until it came out on VHS. have a wonderful Wednesday
and a great Halloween tomorrow with your family take care and
thank you my friend LiteWeight.👋🎃👻🧀
One of my favorite lines in this movie, that not many people talk about and basically answers why Regan was the one possessed, when Damian is talking to the demon in the bedroom, Regan says: "what an excellent day for an exorcism", which leaves Damien surprised. He asks her: "wouldn't that drive you out of Regan?"and she says "It would bring us together, you and us". And that's exactly what happened in the end. Karras, who was struggling with his faith, let himself be possessed to save Regan, restoring his faith, but killing himself in the process.
"Dubstep, that's something that died." Damn, Teegan. Didn't have to cut me that deep today. 😢😢
Thank you for putting “directors cut” in the title. I get really sad when people react to the exorcist without the crab walk down the stairs
Plus I love having more scenes of Merrin interacting with Chris. You get to see his own warmth and calmness with her before the stern seriousness of the situation with Regan. Also love that first doctor's appointment and the end with the new friendship beginning with Dyer and Kinderman.
The actor that played Merrin was actually 35 yrs old and not a old man. ♥️👍
Wow! Really?!
@LiteWeightReacting Yeah I'm serious
Great acting! He looks the same age in this as he did in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
He will always be Ming to me.
@@jasonward1470 Merrin looks exactly like he did in Minority Report.
"The soil of a man's heart is stonier Louis" --Pet Sematary, (Stephen King intentionally spelled "cemetery" wrong threefold), "You wash!!!" --Broke Down Palace, "I sure do love you", and "Do you know what she did?" --The Exorcist
It's Damien's necklace - at 39:03 you can see Reagan rip it off his neck right before the demon latches onto him.
Thoroughly enjoyed the reaction! This is one of my favorite horror movies of all time!
The radiologist almost out of frame at 16:53 became a murderer after his part in the movie and was a possible serial killer in NYC. He was working as a radiologist in that hospital when the director was looking for a location and decided to use him as an extra. After the movie his life went really downhill.
Linda Blair lived in my hometown growing up and went to the local high school when I was in grade school. Apparently she was really typecast and even just her presence just scared people so it was hard for her to find acting work after this.
Ellen Burstyn plays another mother with a very tortured child in Requiem for a Dream but I think that movie would really upset you.
The line that gives me the creeps is when the demon says
“It will bring us together” when Karras asked why it would like an exorcism.
The demon knew the water wasn’t holy but it wanted Karras to still doubt if the possession was genuine so that his faith was weak during the exorcism.
I think the demon wanted to kill the priests, it won 🤯
I realize it's lost on modern audiences, but the casting sgt. Kinderman mentions during his film suggestions to Father Karras and then to Father Dyer are freaking hilarious. The most unlikely actors imagiinable for the roles they play.
A dark fact about the film is that the actor playing the doctor operating on Regan turned out to be a serial killer.
I love watching people discover this movie. Especially love watching people get freaked out only part way thru when I know how much worse it’s going to get.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm not even into horror so much. I love it because it's a spectacular drama.
My favorite detail in this entire film is the moment where Regan’s mother is so hesitant to go towards her after the exorcism. Through all the buildup in the film she’s been terrified and living through hell with her daughters condition being the worst case imaginable to her. Shes been tried and tested to the point to where her daughter cries out to her after all of this, seeing a dead man in her daughters room, she doesn’t even know in her heart if this is really her daughter crying out to her so she stands back in fear until she just cant stand the cries anymore and it all becomes too much for her to bear and she runs and embraces Regan.
This film was released as a horror movie, but was made to be a psychological thriller. Most horror films are made to scare you for the duration of the movie, but this was made to utterly disturb you, and have a lasting affect on the audience. You're the only person I've seen connect Regan saying 'You're gonna die up there' to the astronaut. The exorcism Merrin performed 12 years previously was also against Pazuzu. The best reaction yet to this classic. Great viewing.
What's really effective about the Exorcist is that it was written and directed as a fairly grounded drama that had supernatural horror elements. Chris exhausts every single scientific/medical explanation for Regan's condition, and Karras himself has doubts about the nature of everything related to it until he can't deny it anymore.
I'd say that's why it holds up almost 50 years later because even if it's not necessarily always scary, one is still drawn in by the characters and are disturbed by what's happening to them. That slow build up in the first act allows the eventual exorcism itself to be so effective; the trauma of the scenes is rooted in the fact that a viewer deeply cares about Chris, Regan, & Karras.
That shocked you in 24 after years of watching horrors . Can you imagine in 73.. the shock that scene caused.
Father karrus has always been one of my favourite hero's in horror. The man was written really well as a man who is struggling with his faith and feels like a failure. But he has his last chance at redemption with Regan. And the ending is a perfect closure to his character. He gave up in the end and went out on his terms. Saving the girl but at the cost of his life
I don't believe in exorcism but purely from a theoretical viewpoint, the reason you don't want family in the room during the ritual is because the demon will manipulate their emotions and feed on their weakness, making the process even more arduous. So as a mother, you'd actually be further endangering your child's life by insisting on being in the room.
"You want a drink?""
"Please."
Yup I would too.
It was a St. Joseph's medal. Medals like it are common among Catholics. It's supposed to provide protection against demons. When Regan pulled it off, the demon was allowed the demon to enter Damien.
The sculpture the detective found was one of Regan's clay sculptures. They were on her window sill when Burke was thrown out the window. So, it meant that Burke was in Regan's room and didn't just fall from the top of the stairs. The clay may have also been connected to the clay used to deface the statue in the church.
The Exorcist II really isn't worth seeing. But Exorcist III is based on the actual sequel (Legion) written by the author of the Exorcist, William Peter Blatty. Not only that, Blatty directed the film himself and does a great job.
I really appreciate your analysis(?) of this film. You really got the mastery and incredible filmmaking of this Iconic classic.
WOW! I've watched many Exorcist-reaction videos before, but i think you're the first whom had been GENIUNIELY driven to tears. I didn't think you'd make it to the end. BUT, YOU DID!!!!! KUDOS to you!!!!!!!
I saw this on the top of my TH-cam and I thought - OMG - this made my night. Love your reactions and this was no different. Listened, mostly, as I cleaned my house. Great reaction and I hope you do more scary stuff in the next few weeks!
The greatest horror film ever made. You nailed it about why it is so good. When I was in high school we used to climb the cobblestone wall next to The Exorcist steps, there are 77 steps so it's a long way up or down as the case may be.
What a treat for Halloween! 😇 One of my favorite reactors watches one of the best and most classic horrorfilms ever! You did not disappoint, it got to you, didnt it? I feel like the structure of the movie and the first 45 minutes can be a challenge, but it all fits, as you said, in the big picture. I need to rewatch that Directors Cut. Happy Halloween! 🎃
3:30 If you ever watch Donnie Darko (and you should), please do _not_ watch the director's cut. Watch the theatrical release.
There's a comedy sequel/parody of this called "Repossessed". It stars Linda Blair, reprising her role of Regan (changed to Nancy) as an adult, years after the ordeal. Leslie Nielsen stars as Father Mayii (pronounced like may I).
1. I was 13 when I saw this in the theater with friends. What rating system they had at the time wasn't really followed that closely. By word of mouth, I was aware of the head spinning, vomiting and language but what freaked me the most were the demon flashes.😱😱
2. When the doctor is looking at Regan's skull x-ray and says, "Nothing in there" I always🤣
3. The spider-walk down the stairs was NOT in the original release.
4. The loud banging with the medical equipment is for dramatic effect.
5. Father Merin and the demon/Pazuzu had a previous encounter where he almost killed the father. Merin doesn't acknowledge the receipt of the note and tells Karras there's no need for analysis.
6. Chris MacNeil/Ellen Burstyn actually broke her coccyx when the demon makes her hard fall. That wince of pain is the real deal.
7. The first priest Karras admits his lack of faith to/Tom, was a real priest.
8. The demon doesn't kill Merrin. From the beginning we know he has a heart problem most likely brought on by the previous encounter.
9. Karras doesn't kill the demon. He does manage to draw it out of her and sacrificed himself for her.
10. Karras is confessing and asking for forgiveness for his loss of faith.
11. RIP Willian Freidkin😇
I've just seen your reaction to "Hacksaw Ridge" and I wanted to recommend a movie that's my all time favorite movie and it's about the war unfortunately. There's a ton of twists and turns throughout the film but, I wanted to highlight this as again it's one of my all time favorites. The name of the movie is called "All Quiet on the Western Front". Whether it's a video or a private watch, it shows what they went through on the German side of the war.
Hope this recommendation reaches!
The St. Joseph medal is common. The strange part is a relatively modern medal was found in an ancient dig site. After all of these years seeing this movie, I finally got why Damien saw his mother's face flash on the windows as he was being taken-over by the demon. She was showing him the way out... Through the window.
I think what makes the film stand the test of time is the phenomenal acting, legitimately great makeup and strong filmmaking. Also the core story of the film being a mother scared for the life of her young child and being powerless to help her - which is a universal fear many can relate to. Its a very human story.
Ellen Burstyn who played the mother is such a good actress who I truly believe carries the film. I could feel her anxiety and frustration the longer she went to doctors and psychologists for answers and getting nowhere. It was quite a realistic turn of events as I don't think any person (even in modern day) would have automatically assumed possession and started with exorcism.
If the actress didn't sell the vulnerability and desperation, we wouldn't have cared as much. Linda Blair as the wholesome innocent Regan also carried this because if it wasn't for her we wouldn't have been endeared to her as a sweet person that we want to see being saved.
From France ! I love your comments and especially how you get deeply involved in the films that you present to us, on the other hand, stop crying all the time, because you make me cry too!!! Kind regards :)
The patience of this movie . . . and then the pay off! Wow, It just blows me away. I also really enjoyed your reaction and review. Thank you!
Congratulations. You’ve just watched one of the few ‘perfect’ movies that’s ever been made 👌🎃
So good and perfect for Halloween tomorrow!
This movie and the book were based on an exorcism of a boy from Maryland performed by 2 Jesuit priests from St. Louis University - Father William Bowdern and Father Walter Halloran. The actual exorcism took place at Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis. In the book, Blatty changed the location to another Jesuit University (Georgetown) and the patient to a girl
Her daughter wasn't the one the Demon wanted. He just used her. The trials were for Damion and Murret. This was the Demon he was going up against in his Last exorcism. The Demon wanted another battle. The Demo. Was testing Damions beliefs and faith. Reagan was just a pawn. It was two separate necklaces. The one Murret found and the one Damion was wearing
Catholics are into medals or pendants. Possibly the most common is St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers. You will see Catholics wearing them as some sort of talisman, or having them hanging from their rear view mirrors in their cars. In the days before plush lined or plastic dashboards, you might see a slightly larger one with a magnetic back that would stick to your dash. They are mass produced.
Watching reactions to the Exorcist has become my hobby in the last several years. So, lucky you, here is my standard comment.....
a bit of background.....
The production team when in the middle east was lucky enough to find that a German archeological team was working nearby, so they arranged to film a few scenes there.... the movie opening.
The nurse at 17.41 "Excuse me doctor. Chris MacNeil is on the phone. She says it's urgent". This was Linda Blair's mother, who was on the set every day. They gave her a bit part.
This movie was based on a novel by William Peter Blatty which was itself based on an actual exorcism of a 14 year old boy from Maryland which happened in St. Louis, Missouri in 1948. It took several weeks, the last few of which took place in the old Alexian Brothers hospital in south St. Louis, which as since been torn down. According to the priests journals, the events were similar to those in the movie but a bit toned down, no spinning heads or floating beds.
Also, the part of Father Dyer, the younger priest who gave last rites at the end, was played by Fr. William J. O'Malley, an actual Jesuit priest who was brought onto the film originally as a consultant, but then given a small part.
Father O'Malley, until his recent passing, taught at Fordham Prep School in the Bronx, NY.
I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet but Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn suffered serious back injuries during filming. Linda Blair ruptured a disk in her back during the scene where she was sitting up and slamming back on the bed. Ellen Burstyn sprained her back when the demon slapped her across the room. Both have suffered for years.
One of the shadows behind you looks like that pazuzu face that's cool love watching reactions to this very hilarious movie and cool imagery like that face popping up here and there
Loved your reaction and your outro was fine. Nice and conversational, just like sitting down and discussing with a friend after watching.
this is a great movie, far different than the slasher type movies as this is a psychological horror movie, letting your own mind bend back on itself. As in, this unseen force can exploit you when you're vulnerable---like Regan's loneliness, her feelings about her parents divorce, and Damien's loss of faith and guilt over his mother's death. And this is also a sad ending, heartbreaking in that Damien's redemption was to sacrifice himself to save Regan. His faith was restored. But he and Merrin don't have happy endings, the heroes don't live.
And the homicide detective banter about the movies was meant more as a comical relief, Kinderman's character. In the book, he's a movie buff but has no one to see movies with. And Blatty's screenplay was a nod to other films like Casablanca Humprhey Bogart and Claude Rains characters bond over their experience against the Nazis at the end. And that is sort of what Blatty did with Kinderman and Father Dyer at the end
Excellent reaction. You picked up quickly on many things. But at 37:53 I disagree. The mother being there would just be more fuel for the demon and should definitely not be present. I'm 74 years old. I saw The Exorcist first run and have read the book, watched the movie(s) many times. I am convinced everything we see is done by the demon, including the "Help Me" writing, as a means to bring the demon and Merrin together again.
One thing that I have never seen a reactor comment on, even one as good as you, is near the end after Karras jumps through the window. Kinderman comes into the bedroom and takes in the dead priest, the dropped flask of holy water, the daughter crying and she and her mother embracing. In that brief scene you could see/feel the machinations of the detective's realization as he puts these random pieces together. To me it is one of the most powerful scenes in the film.
Woody from Toy Story: Hold my beer. "I see eeevverythiiing!"
First saw this as a 14 year old, drunk on cheap white cider, so certain scenes made me laugh out loud.
My other half first watched it at 10 years old and it scarred her for life.
A masterpiece of cinema, let alone of horror - delightful reaction as always.
Representations of Pazuzu in Mesopotamian mythology were used to both appease him, the spirit of the west wind who could bring locusts and drought. More commonly they were used to ward off more malevolent spirits such as Lamashtu the mother of monsters and taker of children. The necklace and the statuette found together are symbolic both in their use as talismans, but more importantly to represent Merrin and Pazuzu becoming temporary allies in their fight against a greater enemy, Lamashtu. Hence the line in the opening, "evil against evil"
"Look bro! Another TH-cam ad!"
Me: 39:14
The ads are horrors more than this film.
Classic. This is the considered the scariest movie of all time for a reason. Definitely one of my favorites. This was also one of the most cursed movie productions ever. Lots of messed up stuff happened while filming this movie. I recommend reading up on it if you get the chance.
There is a second movie that picks up from here...love watching your genuine reactions...
The priest at the end is Father Dyer. He was a real Jesuit who consulted on the film.
He was playing the piano when Regan came downstairs and he put Damien to bed when he was drunk.
He was also the faculty in residence in my sophomore dorm in college.
The actor playing the elderly priest was 42 years old. Quite a makeup job and quite a performance.
Your intro to this video has me so intrigued. We have to find out what that movie was!
The key to understanding this film is that it is actually a religious film that has horror elements. A popular trope in some catholic novelists, like Graham Greene, Georges Bernarnos and Leon Bloy, is a theme of the encounter with Evil that leads to renewed faith in God. Here themes of faith,hope and love. Chris MacNeil has no faith, is losing hope (in what to do) but persists to do anything out of love for Regan. Karras has lost faith and hope - loss of mother, guilt, problem of belief - but out of some kind of selfless love gets involved, and sacrifices himself to save a person he has never met (never the likeable child Regan but the possessed body). And Merrin is the epitome of faith, hope and selfless love who though physically should never have been involved in it, leads the exorcism. No one should imagine this is an evil wins movie. The devil loses - note that it does not even defeat Merrin because he dies of a heart attack. (The novel is very clear about this, it is raging at the corpse for cheating the devil out of winning the return fight).
By the way, much of the phenomena presented - shaking objects, obscenities, enormous strength, voices, languages not known to possessed person - are documented in actual exorcism cases. I think that Regan’s rotating head should be read as in the minds of the witnesses, a trick to make them despair. The story is based on an actual reported case of alleged possession of a young boy in 1949. (A friend of mine, now dead, knew the priests who did the exorcism which lasted months).The actors playing the priests Tom (Karras provincial superior) and Dyer were actual priests, Jesuits like the fiction Merrin and Karras. And the prayers used in the film were from the then (1973) actual catholic rite of exorcism.
So, is possession and exorcism real? For me the jury is out on possession - most cases can be interpreted as mental illness (a position that the Catholic Church holds to, and has noted since the 16th century), but a few …who knows? As to exorcism, it is a real practice across many cultures that whatever the case seems to work. (Thus the psychiatrist is also right from a certain point of view).
The pacing of this movie is nearly unmatched. The tension it slowly builds while unraveling the story is just amazing. It's so disturbing too. The vulgarity and physical acts that poor girl is going through..
Seldom commented on is the acting from Father Dyer as he attends Karas's final moments near the end of the film.
He seems more convincingly grief stricken than almost all actors I have seen in Hollywood covering such scenes.