The Exorcist (1973)
Okay, come on. You knew this had to be on the list somewhere. It's one of the most iconic horror films ever created. Sadly, it's been parodied so many times that people don't take it seriously anymore. And yes, perhaps it is rather over the top. In order to be satisfied with a horror film, you have to believe in it. For some people, it's hard to believe in such things. And it gets harder and harder for horror films to make an impact every single day. So many things make them in-plausible now. Lack of faith means that people don't believe in demon possession. Cell phones make it so that no one is out of communication with the outside world. People don't believe in ghosts due to lack of evidence and belief that everyone's a fraud. And so on and so forth. The Exorcist primarily works with people that already believe that there are demons or that the devil has power. For those that don't, well, they have to be convinced. And perhaps this film goes too far at time, making everything seem unbelievable, such as with the 360 degree head turn in the film. That would kill someone. Would snap their spine, even if the devil was in control of the body. After it was cast out, the girl would die, right? However, I know of some people that don't hold such beliefs that still consider it the scariest movie ever made. (I actually don't... But it is up there.)
We all know the story by now. A little girl, Regan McNeill starts acting odd a little at a time, and then starts to physically change and start doing obscene things. So her mother has medical tests done that come back negative... and she goes so far as to call a priest who's having a crisis of faith to come look at her daughter. Over time he becomes convinced that she may be possessed, and he asks the church for permission to do an exorcism, which they grant on the condition that a tried exorcist be there as well. That's the story.
What makes the film work is partially the special effects and makeup effects. With a less proficient director and production designer, this film would have been laughed out of the theater. Most of the effects still hold up today, and that's extraordinary! The makeup for Regan still kind of creeps me out when I come across it on the internet. Dick Smith did Linda Blair's makeup in such a way that she completely transformed into this evil, demonic character while still having us know it's a child. The makeup wasn't unrealistic, basically being composed of various bruises, cuts, shadows under the eyes, contact lenses, and clothes soiled with blood or split pea soup. Even the makeup for Max Von Sydow was amazing! The man was about 44 years old when he did this film, and yet they made him look as if he's in his 70s! Until I started watching Bergman films from the 1950s and noticed that this was the same guy that was playing Ming The Merciless in Flash Gordon seven years later, I thought he was actually a 70 year old guy at the time! It's that convincing; much better than the makeup effects in Back To The Future and most present-day tv shows where they try to make someone look much older.
Now about the special effects. They sell the film. If we'd seen the wires that make Regan levitate above her bed, if we'd seen the tubes that forced the pea soup vomit out of Regan's mouth... the movie would be forgotten by now. But we don't see the wires, we don't see the tubes... Heck, even the dummy with the rotating head doesn't look THAT fake! And remember, this was 1973! These were amazing special effects for the time. No wonder people were having trouble sleeping and fainting in the theater. It looked real. For horror to work, it has to be considered realistic.
I believe that demonic possession is possible. I know, I'm being laughed at right now. Well, I come from a very religious family. (Imagine if I was catholic! I'd be even worse!) Most often, protestants don't believe in demonic possession of those that believe, or even in that at all. Does the film exaggerate? I don't know. I'm not an expert on possession or exorcism. I'm glad I'm not. Still, even though I have the belief, sometimes I still catch myself laughing at the film's more... out there... scenes. And a lot of people don't remember, there's actually quite a bit of humor in the film. The detective character is comic relief, as is the Burk Dennings character. Even the possessed Regan is amusing at time... intentionally. Such as when Father Damian first goes to see her to find out if she's really possessed. When the demon shows off it's powers with glee and then coyness. Sometimes we laugh because we're disturbed. Many laugh now at the crucifix masturbation scene, some because of uncomforableness, some due to it being just out there, and others because they lack decency. Humor and horror are on a very fine line next to each other. I've heard this said in many scientific interviews, and indeed it's said by many directors and authors as well.
Of course the film is scary on other levels as well. There's the forced loss of innocence of a child, a molestation in many ways. One that people are forced to watch, yet powerless to stop. Some critics even considered the film a form of child pornography when it came out. I wouldn't go that far, but the fact that the Academy Award didn't go to Linda Blair for acting (I guess because it wasn't her voice that was used when she was possessed and spoke?) is a crime. The fact that she pulled this off so well is remarkable. The fact that her career went nowhere afterwards is sad. She'd been typecast. There's the almost subliminal images put in the film. The face of Captain Howdy appearing during dream sequences still give me chills. That's a damned scary image. The poster I put at the top of this blog post is of Captain Howdy. In fact, the original trailer for the film was banned due to the images of Captain Howdy and of possessed Regan.
Some freaky stuff right there. And a stroke or epileptic seizure waiting to happen. This film is an example of the way horror films can work. It's stood the test of time in spite of numerous parodies and countless showings. It still effects some people. Horror films won't work for everyone, but this came damned close. For some of us it's too over the top now due to the waning of Victorian arbitrary morality. When we get to the point of laughing at a girl being forced to forcefully masturbate with a crucifix until she's a bloody mess, and it's not laughter brought by uncomfortableness, well... Wow.
And to finish up, here's a behind the scenes picture. The dummy and Linda Blair all made up. And man, that dummy is still scary as hell... and realistic!
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