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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]) [[ButThe ItTasteless But ReallyTrue Happened!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.
 
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...
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* [[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.
* [[Re CutRecut]]: 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 [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000922/REVIEWS/9220302/1023 review], "'The version you've never seen.' No, and you don't need to, either."
* [[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.}}
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* [[And I Must Scream]]: {{spoiler|Father Karras, due to being the host of the Gemini Killer.}}
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Kinderman is now the main character, [[Author Existence Failure|New]] [[The Other Darrin|actor]] notwithstanding
* {{spoiler|[[Back Fromfrom the Dead]]:}} Deconstructed like '''hell''' with {{spoiler|Father Karras}}.
* [[Berserk Button]]
{{quote|'''Kinderman:''' The Gemini is dead.
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[[Category:The Exorcist]]
[[Category:Film]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exorcist, The}}
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