50 years since the release of The Exorcist: an enduring rampage with unforgettable horror scenes and basic special effects

On the day after Christmas 1973, movie theaters across the United States were filled with people suffering from panic attacks, others left theaters in terror, and some still vomited and fainted at the premiere of The exorcistthe film by William Friedkin that revolutionized horror cinema.

50 years after its original release (it would arrive in Argentina eight months later), the film based on the book of the same name by William Peter Blatty continues to be among the top numbers in the ranking of the best horror films in history and is one of the most remembered by audiences of different generations.

According to experts, The exorcist did for horror films what the film 2001: A Space Odyssey did for science fiction: legitimizing it in front of thousands of people who Before, they didn’t take horror films seriously.

A cocktail of terror and religion

The Reagan MacNeil StoryLinda Blair), a 12-year-old girl who experienced a violent exorcism commanded by Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), emerged from a period of cultural and social transition whose impact on cinema was reflected in the audience’s sympathy for the characters and older stories.

The end of the Vietnam War, the hippie movement, the proliferation of drugs and the Watergate scandal marked the 1970s in the United States, years in which great works such as Serpico (Sydney Lumet), The Godfather (Francis Ford Cooppola), Taxi driver (Martin Scorsese) o Star Wars (George Lucas).

Given this panorama,The exorcist transgressed in the way it treated aspects such as terror, religion and childhoodand he did it in a daily and ordinary context such as that of the difficulties that a single mother (Ellen Burstyn) had in raising her daughter.

The explicit scenes of the possession of the innocent girl who transfigured herself, desecrated Catholic symbols and used vulgar language scandalized some members of the Church, who They called it blasphemouswhile the Hollywood Academy nominated the film for ten Oscars, of which it won two.

Furthermore, the alleged paranormal events that occurred during the filming of the film, such as a fire in the furniture of Reagan’s house and the death of members of the crew or people close to the protagonists, have fueled the legend of the film up to this point. day.

Goodbye to the director

Friedkin died on August 7, at age 87 in Los Angeles, before the film hit the big screen. The Exorcist: Believerwhich, with a different plot, celebrated the anniversary of the iconic film.

The director was part of the New Hollywood Wave of the 1970s and his experience as a television documentary director gave him an avant-garde vision reflected in his artistic work.

Before The exorcistFriedkin had directed Contact in Francea suspense film that chronicled the journey of two New York detectives in their struggle to bust a heroin trafficking ring, which received eight Oscar nominations, including five.

This work fascinated the author of the story, Peter Blatty, who pressured the producers at Warner Studios to become the director of the film.

Friedkin claimed to have had direct contact with the hierarchies of the Catholic Church to advise him on the veracity of the scenes, but later assured that this did not happen until he made the documentary The devil and father Amorth (2017) who witnessed a real exorcism.

Be that as it may, the iconic scenes of Reagan’s 360-degree head rotation, crucifix masturbation, green vomit, or contortions of the girl walking down the stairs have remained captured in the collective imagination and retain his legacy of living terror. , beyond the naive and basic special effects of the time.