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{{work}}{{Multiple Works Need Separate Pages}}
[[File:The-Exorcist-A-Novel.jpg|thumb|350px]]
[[File:b5182t.jpg|frame]]
Based on a novel by William Peter Blatty, [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story|and inspired by]] what was supposedly ([http://www.examiner.com/history-in-baltimore/the-not-so-real-life-story-that-inspired-the-exorcist it's been disputed]) [[The Tasteless But True Story|an actual documented exorcism]] from 1949, '''''The Exorcist''''' is the terrifying, shocking tale of an originally rather cute 12-year-old girl named Regan and the efforts of her mother, a famous ex-actress, her mom's secretary Sharon, and a pair of priests to save the poor girl's soul from the ravages of a powerful, malign entity called Pazuzu.
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Initially manifesting as strange behavior in little Regan and her Ouija-board trysts with an [[Imaginary Friend|invisible companion]] calling itself Captain Howdy, the being's infiltration is at first dismissed as Regan acting out frustrations after her mother's divorce. As the demon takes hold of Regan, however, she undergoes drastic changes in appearance and behavior, manifesting physical symptoms and incredible strength that cannot be explained by medical science. After Regan starts gliding around the house on all fours ''face up'', licking Sharon's ankles, her mother decides that it is time to consult a higher authority...
The original movie is considered one of the best horror movies of all time, and was followed by two sequels and (for complicated reasons) two versions of the same prequel, with varying levels of quality and success from each of them. However, the first sequel, ''Exorcist II: The Heretic'', is [[w:List of films considered the worst#Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)|considered to be one of the worst movies of all time]].
The films were followed by a [[The Exorcist (TV Series)|TV series]], which ran from 2016 to 2017, and a new trilogy of films, starting with ''[[The Exorcist: Believer]]'' in 2023. The second entry in the trilogy, ''[[The Exorcist: Deceiver]]'', is scheduled for a 2025 release.
{{franchisetropes}}
== General ==
* [[Big Bad]]: Pazuzu
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* [[Brown Note]]: [http://theexorcist.warnerbros.com/cmp/silencebottom.html Many sound effects were put in (sometimes deep in the mix) to make it more unsettling] - for instance, pigs being herded for slaughter and [[Everything's Worse with Bees|angry bees]].
* [[CAT Trap]]: As one transcript puts it, "a huge machine, two pieces on either side of Regan's head and a piece above."
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Throughout the movie, Karras' has hints that he used to be a boxer in his youth. When we first meet his mother, his room has photos of him in boxing attire. When his mother is dying, he starts violently hitting the heavy bag at a gym to vent his frustration. Lastly when Kinderman first questions him he mentions that Karras was easy to spot since he looked like a boxer. {{spoiler| He puts his boxing into play when he finds Merrin dead. The first thing he does is pin the possessed Reagan on the ground and throw hooks at her in order to get the demon to possess him. It works.}}
* [[Christianity Is Catholic]]: Justified. Any reference to the original Lutheran clergy that Regan's mom consulted was left out, perhaps because Lutherans have no exorcism tradition.
* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: And how.
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* [[Groin Attack]]: Self-inflicted (sort of), with a crucifix, as Regan uses it as a dildo.
** Regan's attack of the psychiatrist.
* [[Holy Burns Evil]]: Demon-possessed Regan's reaction to what a priest says is holy water. Although it's implied the demon was faking it to further convince Damien that the possession was psychosomatic. Played with during the infamous Crucifix Masturbation scene. It's shown later on that genuine religious items such as the Crucifix and the Holy Water can harm the Demon. However if the items are defiled in one way or another, they seem to have no effect. As the demon was able to force the act on Reagan without the cross burning or subduing it in any way.
* [[Mood Motif]]: It's all about the Ominous Bells here...
* [[No Ontological Inertia]] {{Spoiler| After Karras gets the demon to leave Reagan and possess him, the decayed look is all gone from her. The only thing remaining is the cuts all over her body. However judging by the next couple of days, the cuts heal and she looks as good as new.}}
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Kinderman, in the books. He calls it "schmaltz". Everything he does has a purpose. Chris tells people she is "dumb" to get them to explain things to her.
* [[The Obi-Wan]]: Father Merrin in his mentor role to Father Karras. Subverted, in that {{spoiler|neither of them make it out alive}}.
* [[Placebo Effect]]: Subverted. Regan screams in pain when Father Karras douses her with tap water, which he claims is holy water. Later, it's implied that Pazuzu intentionally did this to fool Karras into thinking that Regan wasn't really possessed. When he douses her with ''real'' holy water in the exorcism scene, the screams are real.
* [[Playing Gertrude]]: Max Von Sydow was only 44 when he played the elderly Father Merrin.
* [[Potty Failure]]: During the after party, when Father Dyer entertains the remaining guests with his piano playing; Reagan comes down stairs. When Dyer first notices her he gets everyone's attention. She looks at the astronaut Dyer spoke to before, telling him he's gonna die in space. Which shocks the Astronaut and the guests. As things couldn't get more awkard, Regan proceeds to urinate over the carpet where she stands, while the guests look on in shock. Chris ushers her out of the room and apologizes to the astronaut on her behalf.
* [[Recut]]: An extended director's cut of the original film, marketed as "The Version You've Never Seen" and containing several minutes of additional material (including a scene of Blair's character "spider-walking" down a staircase which Friedkin had [[Deleted Scene|deleted]] from the original cut due to technical problems, and which bore no resemblance to the spider walk in the book), was released to theaters in 2000.
** It is generally disregarded by fans and critics. As [[Roger Ebert]] put it in his [https://web.archive.org/web/20080416170508/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
* [[Split Personality]]: As the possession starts to take hold and Regan's behavior gets more bizarre, Chris thinks her daughter might have a split personality. Later, the possessed Regan says the line "Do you know what she did, your cunting daughter?" with the voice of {{spoiler|the dead Burke Dennings.}}
* [[Stealth Sequel]]: [[Word of God]] states that ''The Ninth Configuration'' is the true sequel to ''The Exorcist''. According to [[That Other Wiki]], the astronaut in ''The Exorcist'' is Captain Cutshaw in ''The Ninth Configuration''. In the book series, several unused pieces of dialogue from ''The Exorcist'' were used in ''The Ninth Configuration'' instead.
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* [[Take Me Instead!]]
* [[That Thing Is Not My Child]]: Literally, in Chris' impassioned speech to Father Karras.
* [[Troll]]: Drunken Director, Burke Dennings full stop. At Chris' party, he's mostly seen hassling Karl, whom he accuses of Nazism. Karl tries to ignore him and even insists that he's Swiss. Eventually they somehow are alone together in the kitchen and Burke continues to prod him. Causing Karl to snap and try to strangle him. Chris and Sharon break up the fight and send an fuming Karl away. All the while Burke rather than be mad, [[For the Evulz|smiles brightly]], while saying the following line.
{{Quote|'''Burke:''' What's for dessert.}}
* [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]]: ''The Exorcist'' was inspired by an actual exorcism performed in a Jesuit hospital in St. Louis.
** Also, Pazuzu was not simply a name invented for the books/film. It's the name of an evil demigod/demon in ancient Mesopotamian mythology who ruled over [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|disease, pestilence, and the heat of the mid day sun]].
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* [[Large Ham]]. ''The Exorcist III'' has George C. Scott in his hammiest role, ever.
{{quote|'''Kinderman:''' Yes, I believe... I believe in death. I believe in '''disease''''. I believe in injustice and inhumanity and torture and anger and hate... I believe in murder. I BELIEVE IN PAIN. I believe in cruelty and infidelity. '''''I believe in slime and stink and every crawling, putrid thing... every possible ugliness and corruption, YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH! I BELIEVE...''''' in you.}}
** Meanwhile, Brad Dourif's The Gemini Killer [[
* {{spoiler|[[Little Dead Riding Hood]]}}
* {{spoiler|[[Mercy Kill]]}}
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{{reflist}}
{{Reader's Digest 56 Best Horror Books of All Time}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Drama}}
{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Heroes and Villains}}
{{Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time}}
[[Category:Academy Award]]▼
[[Category:Blaxploitation]]
[[Category:National Film Registry]]▼
▲[[Category:Horror Films]]
[[Category:Film Series]]
▲[[Category:Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]▼
[[Category:Films of the 1970s]]▼
▲[[Category:One Hundred Scariest Movie Moments]]
[[Category:The Exorcist]]▼
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
▲[[Category:Films of the 1970s]]
▲[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]
▲[[Category:National Film Registry]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exorcist, The}}
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