The Exorcist (film series)

THE EXORCIST (18)

D: William Friedkin

Warner Bros. (William Peter Blatty)

USA 🇺🇸 1973

121 mins

Horror

W: William Peter Blatty [based on his novel]

DP: Owen Roizman & Billy Williams

Ed: Norman Gay, Jordan Leondopolous, Evan Lottman & Bud Smith

Mus: Jack Nitzsche (& Mike Oldfield)

PD: Bill Malley

Ellen Burstyn (Chris McNeil), Max Von Sydow (Father Merrin), Jason Miller (Father Karras), Lee J. Cobb (Lt. Kinderman), Linda Blair (Regan McNeil), Mercedes McCambridge (voice)

One of the most iconic horror films of all time and deservedly so, faithfully adapted by William Peter Blatty from his own best-selling novel.

Chris McNeil (Burstyn) doesn't quite know where to turn when her 12-year-old daughter, Regan (Blair) is seemingly possessed by a malicious demon. She turns to a young priest, who enlists the help of an elderly priest with experience dealing with the occult, as they both try to rid the evil manifestation from the girl's soul.

All the performances in this horror classic combine dramatic reactions with those of sheer horror, whilst technical special effects provide for the more grizzly scenes such as Regan's head turning 180 degrees and penetrating herself with a crucifix whilst her bed levitates.

Director William Friedkin expertly captures the atmosphere of the book and presents one helluva scary movie. Perhaps it's impact is lessened with the wake of the goreporn horror, but considering this film is over 40 years old, it really has to be respected. Two sequels followed, in 1977 and 1990 respectively, followed by a shambolic prequel in 2004.

9/10

It's four years later... what does she remember?

EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (18)

D: John Boorman

Warner Bros (Richard Lederer & John Boorman)

USA 🇺🇸 1977

117 mins

Horror

W: William Goodhart [based on characters created by William Peter Blatty]

DP: William A. Fraker

Ed: Tom Priestley

Mus: Ennio Morricone

Richard Burton (Father Philip Lamont), Linda Blair (Regan McNeil), Louise Fletcher (Dr. Gene Tuskin), Kitty Winn (Sharon Spencer), Max Von Sydow (Father Merrin), Paul Henreid (The Cardinal), James Earl Jones (Kokumo), Ned Beatty (Edwards)

This could quite easily be the worst sequel ever released by a major Hollywood studio. It has very little to do with events of the original story, but wants a big piece of the first film's success.

A new priest, Father Lamont, investigates the evil that manifested itself in Regan (Linda Blair) four years earlier, and makes a discovery that the demon, thought to be exorcised, is merely sleeping.

In between huge slabs of religion versus science mumbo-jumbo, there's many scenes of stock footage which are completely irrelevant to the story and not much happens for the rest. A talented cast all deliver lazy performances and the writing is even lazier. The film was a huge commercial disaster, released in two versions, neither of which make any sense.

1/10

THE EXORCIST III (18)

D: William Peter Blatty

20th Century Fox/Morgan Creek (James G. Robinson & Joe Roth)

USA 🇺🇸 1990

110 mins

Horror

W: William Peter Blatty [based on his novel "Legion"]

DP: Gerry Fisher

Ed: Tom Ramsey & Peter Lee Thompson

Mus: Barry de Vorzon

George C. Scott (Lt. William Kinderman), Ed Flanders (Father Dyer), Brad Dourif (James Venamun), Jason Miller (Damien Karras), Nicol Williamson (Father Morning), Scott Wilson (Dr. Temple)

The first (and only) true sequel to 1973's The Exorcist.

A detective investigates a series of serial killings and discovers that the young priest from the original story is now possessed with an evil spirit.

A massive improvement on the terrible 1977 film (Exorcist II: The Heretic), with a much better thought out plot and some scary moments. The biggest negative is that it probably came out a decade too late and failed to capture the audience who scared out of their wits by the original movie.

6/10

THE EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING (15)

D: Renny Harlin

Warner Bros / Morgan Creek (James G. Robinson)

US 🇺🇸 2004

114 mins

Horror

W: Alexi Hawley [based on a screenplay by William Wisher & Caleb Carr & characters created by William Peter Blatty]

DP: Vittorio Storaro

Ed: Mark Goldblatt & Todd E. Miller

Mus: Trevor Rabin

Stellan Skarsgård (Father Lankester Merrin), Izabella Scorupco (Sarah), James D’Arcy (Father Francis), Remy Sweeney (Joseph), Julian Wadham (Maj. Granville)

A prequel to The Exorcist for audiences who don’t appreciate the mystery, intrigue and ambiguity that was prevalent in the initial film (& book), filmed just a few years after the re-release of the 1973 original to capitalise on its success, which didn’t work as this film was a huge flop.

The Exorcist: The Beginning was actually repurposed from an already completed film (Legion: A Prequel to The Exorcist) that was directed by Paul Schrader, but studio executives had cold feet with that production and shelved it, only to hire Renny Harlin to reshoot some scenes so it could be released under this title.

The plot follows Max Von Sydow’s character, Father Merrin, from the original movie as a younger man, suffering a crisis of faith after World War II when he works at an archaeological dig in Kenya, where an ancient church has been discovered buried beneath the ground, with creepy happenings occurring around the nearby village as they unearth it.

Though Stellan Skarsgård delivers a fine performance as the younger Merrin, this really is a mess of a film, far too slow to get going and when it does, it chugs along to an unsatisfying conclusion, with visual effects and makeup that lack any sense of realism, especially when compared to the effects and makeup design from a film that was released three decades earlier.

Paul Schrader’s vision of the same film was released one year later, but also flopped as any potential audience was probably dissuaded to watch it due to this mess. It’s slightly better than 1977’s “The Exorcist II: The Heretic”, but that’s really not a high bar.

3/10

THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (15)

D: David Gordon Green

Universal / Morgan Creek / Blumhouse / Rough House (Jason Blum, David C. Robinson & James G. Robinson)

US 🇺🇸 2023

111 mins

Horror

W: Peter Sattler & David Gordon Green [based on the novel by William Peter Blatty]

DP: Michael Simmonds

Ed: Tim Alverson

Mus: David Wingo & Amman Abbasi

Leslie Odom, Jr. (Victor Fielding), Lidya Jewitt (Angela Fielding), Olivia O’Neill (Katherine West), Jennifer Nettles (Miranda West), Norbert Leo Butz (Tony West), Ann Dowd (Ann), Ellen Burstyn (Chris MacNeil), Linda Blair (Regan MacNeil)

Whilst I’m completely in favour of an Exorcist sequel completely retconning the events of “The Exorcist II: The Heretic”, this really isn’t an improvement. In fact, it’s an insult to the original film.

This attempts to repurpose the original plot, although it’s two girls who are possessed by a malevolent demon following their journey into the woods that sees them go missing & presumed dead for a number of days. When they are found, they believe that only a few hours has passed, but it doesn’t take long for them to start speaking with a raspy voice & appear in some rather shoddy makeup.

Ellen Burstyn pops up in a cameo to blame the events of the original film on “toxic masculinity” before the plot gives her an excuse to sit down (mostly off-screen) for the rest of a movie, before an effects-heavy finale that is more comical than it is scary, culminating in Linda Blair coming out of nowhere to accept her appearance fee immediately prior to the end credits.

Leslie Odom, Jr. is probably the film’s only saviour, delivering a good performance that the ropey screenplay did not deserve. The two juvenile actresses playing the young girl’s are also fine for the most part, but the majority of the other acting performances are quite embarrassing, especially from the legendary Ellen Burstyn, who looks as though she can’t wait to spend the appearance money on a nice holiday somewhere warm.

The 1973 Exorcist still holds up, and has plenty to analyse for multiple rewatches. Give insipid trash like this a wide berth and revisit the original instead.

2/10