Summary
- "The Exorcist" remains the scariest movie ever, maintaining its reputation for 50 years and setting the standard for other horror films.
- Director William Friedkin avoided typical horror tropes, focusing on the pain endured by the possessed girl rather than cheap scares or irrational characters.
- The film grounded its horror in realism, utilizing real-world history and mythology to make the supernatural elements feel credible and unsettling.
Director William Friedkin's The Exorcist is a horror classic, with the film forever changing horror movies in 11 major ways. 1973's The Exorcist was immediately hailed as a classic upon its release, with the controversial horror film being a huge hit. The Exorcist's legacy has continued to have a major impact on the cinema landscape, with the film influencing all kinds of contemporary horror filmmakers. So, here is how William Friedkin's masterpiece The Exorcist changed horror movies forever.
The Exorcist follows a young girl named Regan MacNeil who becomes possessed by a demon, leading to her mother seeking out two clergy that will perform an exorcism on the young girl. Screenwriter William Peter Blatty also wrote the book of the same name that the film was based on, with Blatty bringing in director William Friedkin and a variety of other talented filmmakers to bring the story to life. Upon its release, The Exorcist was a massive commercial and critical success, with it still being well ed 50 years later. The Exorcist was hugely influential, especially in these 11 ways.
11 The Exorcist Is Still Considered Horror's Scariest Movie 50 Years Later
Many audience claimed that The Exorcist was the scariest movie ever in 1973, with its ground-breaking special effects making the film a truly horrific sight to behold. While it would be expected that this honor would be given to other films as time went on, The Exorcist has managed to maintain its reputation, with viewers still calling it the scariest movie ever. For 50 years now The Exorcist has been the standard that other horror films are measured against, with many filmmakers attempting to outdo The Exorcist.
10 William Friedkin Avoided Typical Horror Tropes For The Exorcist
William Friedkin's touch is one of the things that makes The Exorcist so great, with his direction causing the film to avoid typical horror tropes. The Exorcist isn't full of jumpscares or cheap kills, with the horror of the film being the pain that Regan is put through. While worse horror movies have irrational characters make decisions so that the story can move along, The Exorcist's protagonists stay level-headed throughout, doing exactly what any audience member would do in that situation. The Exorcist proved that horror could be effective without tropes, something many movies struggle with today.
9 The Exorcist Attempted To Ground Its Horror In Realism
Despite the supernatural elements, The Exorcist is an incredibly grounded film, with the realism being one of the aspects that makes the film's horror so effective. The Exorcist slowly builds up to the supernatural elements, and by the time they get into the film, the audience's suspension of disbelief allows for the demon's powers to not seem outlandish. The lore of The Exorcist is based on the real-world history of the Catholic church as well as real-world mythology, meaning that the supernatural elements maintained an aura of realism and credibility.
8 The Exorcist Pushed The Limit On Graphic Content
At the time of its release, The Exorcist was one of the most graphic movies ever made. The violence, profanity, and sexual content pushed the limit on what could be done in a movie, with the religious aspect of The Exorcist's story making these elements even more controversial. The rating of The Exorcist was even a point of contention, with the MPAA's decision to give The Exorcist an R rating instead of an X being controversial as well. Many critics were shocked that the film only received an R rating, including the legendary Roger Ebert, proving The Exorcist's pushing of boundaries.
7 William Friedkin Hid Subliminal Imagery & Sound Effects Throughout
Interestingly, The Exorcist didn't just try and scare viewers with the film's story. In order to maximize the sense of uneasiness, William Friedkin hid subliminal imagery and sound effects throughout The Exorcist, a trick that has been copied by other horror films since. The image of Pazuzu and the sound of bees are just some examples of the terrifying subliminal elements in The Exorcist.
6 The Exorcist's Makeup & Costumes Were Revolutionary
Although it's a horror movie, one of the most praised aspects of The Exorcist was its makeup and costumes. Regan's possessed form completely transformed the child, with her absolutely horrifying appearance being burned into viewers' minds. However, the makeup most shines on Max von Sydow's Father Lankester. The actor was only 43 at the time of filming, but The Exorcist used makeup to age him up, with Father Lankester looking almost identical to how Max von Sydow looked decades later. Horror movies throughout the subsequent decades really began experimenting with makeup and costumes, and that's all thanks to The Exorcist.
5 The Exorcist Used Controversy To Help Its Marketing
The Exorcist was incredibly controversial leading up to its release, with its graphic content and religious storyline causing all kinds of outcry. Christians of all denominations explained their discontent with the film, with major figures like evangelist Billy Graham explaining that "the Devil is in every frame of" The Exorcist (via National Enquirer). This controversy actually helped the film's box office success, with the fuss around The Exorcist driving many curious viewers to check the film out.
4 The Exorcist Popularized The Exorcism Horror Subgenre
Although it's hard to believe, exorcism wasn't a super well-known practice to audiences before The Exorcist. This is why the film goes to great lengths to explain the history of exorcisms. However, due to The Exorcist's popularity, exorcisms have become commonly known. Because of this, an entire subgenre of horror movies surrounding exorcisms has popped up, with many of them attempting to capitalize off of the success of The Exorcist.
3 The Exorcist Broke Conventions By Making An Innocent Child The Main Horror Victim
Before The Exorcist, the victims in horror movies were often unsympathetic teenagers or scummy adults. The Exorcist broke this horror convention, with the main victim in the film being Regan, a young, innocent child. This made the disturbing elements in The Exorcist even more impactful, as audiences understand that these horrific acts are happening to a kid. Modern horror movies attempt to copy this trick all the time, with many films featuring young children in order to immediately raise the stakes.
2 William Friedkin Was A Risky Choice For The Exorcist That Paid Off
Before The Exorcist released, William Friedkin was seen as a risky choice. However, he was intentionally sought out by William Peter Blatty, with Blatty believing that Friedkin's history in documentary filmmaking would help to ground the film. This risk absolutely paid off, with The Exorcist's direction and tone being highly praised. Since The Exorcist, all kinds of auteur horror filmmakers have popped up, with directors like Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, and Jordan Peele bringing style and critical praise to the horror genre.