Keeping it cool

10 facts about The Exorcist that will possess you

The power of Christ compels you!

For many, The Exorcist is considered the greatest horror movie of all time.

When it was released in cinemas in 1973, some audience members passed out in terror, while others vomited due to their fear.

You may well have seen director William Friedkins masterpiece but how much do you actually know about this supernatural classic?

Based on a true story

The Exorcist tells the terrifying tale of young girl Regen MacNeil who becomes possessed by a demon, but did you know that the story is based on a real life possession?

In 1971, writer William Peter Blatty published his novel of the same name, which is based on the apparent possession of a 14-year-old boy from Maryland in 1949. The boy gained incredible strength, could distort his body in unexplainable ways and began to talk as if a sinister entity had taken control of him.

After doctors and psychiatrists tried and failed to relieve the boy, his parents were shocked to discover red marks spelling out the words Go and St. Louis appear on his back, and so the family moved to the Missouri city. There, they met the Jesuit priests Father Walter Halloran and Reverend William S. Bowdern who performed a three-month exorcism to free the boy from the demons grip.

Star-studded cast

While The Exorcist has a stellar cast, the picture very nearly had many of Hollywoods heaviest hitters star.

The likes of Jack Nicholson and Paul Newman were considered to play Father Damien Karras, though director William Friedkin instead cast Jason Miller because he had an instinct to not hire a star.

The filmmaker explained: I did not want to put someone like that in a priest collar.

As for Father Lankester Merrin, Warner Bros. wanted Marlon Brando to portray the character, but Friedkin refused the suggestion because he knew his casting would detract from The Exorcist story and become a Brando movie.

The priest was ultimately portrayed by Max Von Sydow.

Casting Regan

Linda Blair will forever be synonymous with her role as Regan MacNeil, but the actress wasnt always going to play the possessed young girl.

Initially, Denise Nickerson – who played Violet Beauregarde in the Gene Wilder-starring Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – was up for the part, though the actress was eventually pulled from the shortlist after her parents read and were horrified by the horror movies script.

As for Blair, it was her mother that put her forward for the role as the casting process was drawing to a close.

Director Friedkin recalled: Linda came in at the very end, when we thought we couldnt make the film. Her mother brought her in to see me without an appointment. She was so well-adjusted. She was a straight-A student in Westport, Connecticut. And she was a totally together young girl.

Blairs mother was so determined to ensure he daughter landed the part that she hired tutors so that the actress didn’t fall behind at school while she worked on the film.

Keeping it cool

In order to showcase the demonic goings-on in the movie, director William Friedkin wanted the bedroom to appear icy cold.

However, as The Exorcist was made long before CGI became common-use in Hollywood, the filmmaker had to do things the old-fashioned way.

Max von Sydow revealed the set was constantly cooled with electrical fans between takes so that the actors could have icy breath.

Voicing the demon

Dubbed the worlds greatest living radio actress by Orson Welles, Mercedes McCambridge voiced the demon Pazuzu that possessed Regan in the movie.

In order to achieve the sinister and dark timbre, McCambridge chain smoked, drank whiskey non-stop and only ate raw eggs to get a suitably raspy voice for the evil entity.

She later explained: You utilize everything, dont analyse, utilize. And I utilized the thickness all of that stuff [for] the voice of Lucifer.

As if this wasnt enough, the actress also insisted she was to be tied to a chair with pieces of a ripped sheet around her arms, legs neck and feet so she could get into the mind of the possessed Regan.

Friedkin recalled: The most curious things would happen in her throat. Double and triple sounds would emerge at once – wheezing sounds, very much akin to what you could imagine a person inhabited by various demons would sound like.

Genuine disgust

One of the most iconic scenes in The Exorcist is the vomit scene where a possessed Regan suddenly pukes on Father Damien Karras, and actor Jason Miller did not like making the sequence one bit.

In fact, the priests disgust at being hit with sick was Millers genuine reaction, as director William Friedkin started rolling without telling the actor.

The vomit itself was a mixture of oatmeal and Andersons pea soup.

Cursed production

Many of The Exorcist cast believed the movie was cursed due to the many mysterious events that occurred in and around production.

Filming had to be delayed because the set for the family house had burned down. Then, Ellen Burstyn - who plays Regans mother Chris - was injured by a harness during a scene where she is thrown backwards by the demon.

Tragically, the picture was also plagued with deaths. Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros passed away shortly before the movie premiered. Jack died from the flu in 1973, and Vasiliki of natural causes.

As well as this, both Linda Blairs grandfather and Max Von Sydows brother passed away during production.

Audience reactions

While the horror genre existed long before The Exorcist, cinema-goers in 1973 hadnt seen anything like it.

In fact, the movie proved too much for some viewers, and cinemas had to issue sick bags after it was found some audience members were vomiting during screenings, with the iconic head-spinning scene being a particular culprit for causing such strong reactions.

It had also been reported that several people had fainted during screenings of the flick, with one disgruntled viewer even suing Warner Bros. after they fainted, fell out of their chair and broke their jaw as a result of the movie!

Linda in peril

As a result of the movies subject matter, several religious zealots targeted Linda Blair who they believed was glorifying the Devil through her performance as the possessed Regan.

These criticisms eventually turned into death threats, and Warner Bros. eventually hired bodyguards to protect the young actress.

Reflecting on the controversy surrounding The Exorcist years later, Blair admitted the film was so controversial.

She added: Of course I am at the very pinnacle of all of that, so it all became my fault.

Making history

While the movie had quite the pushback from some when it hit theatres in 1973, The Exorcist made history after becoming the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

In total, the picture was put forward for 10 Oscars, and won in two categories - Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.

The Exorcist also excelled at the Golden Globes, winning in four of the seven categories it was nominated in, including Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for Linda Blair.

In terms of its box office performance, The Exorcist banked $193 million in its initial theatrical run, and has a lifetime gross of $441 million after its subsequent re-releases.

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