Regan MacNeil, the 12-year-old girl played by Linda Blair.
Robbie Mannheim, in 1949, was playing “Ouija” when he ended up having a terrifying experience: he said he was talking to his dead aunt. Shortly thereafter, this 14-year-old boy’s parents found him speaking a strange language.
The paranormal phenomena did not take long to manifest themselves. Terrified by fear, the young man’s parents decided to take him to the hospital, but the doctors contacted were unable to give them answers.
The next step was to consult a priest who, upon seeing him, assured him that the boy was possessed and that he would only be saved through an exorcism.
The MacNeil house in the film The Exorcist.
Priest William S. Bowdern could barely greet Robbie in his room, he could see some “scratches” on his chest, he had holy water in a bottle and it exploded.
The ritual lasted six weeks, at session 30 the boy said “Christus, Domini” (“Christ, the Lord”) and He woke up unable to remember something that had happened.
In 1969, twenty years later, William Peter Blatty wrote “The Exorcist,” the book in which he recreated Robbie’s story. Eventually, the novel was published in 1971 and became a resounding success, selling 13 million copies.
Big screen success
Due to popular acceptance, the Warner Bros decided to hire the creator of the story to shoot the film. Blatty was the screenwriter and William Friedkin director. But on the screen the possessed person would not have been a boy like in the true story of 1949 but Regan MacNeil, a 12-year-old girl played by Linda Blair.
Regan MacNeil, the 12-year-old girl played by Linda Blair.
The filming start date had to be postponed because a fire destroyed the sets of what would have been the home of the MacNeil family, the protagonist. The director accused a nosy animal of setting the fire. The creepy detail is that the entire venue was destroyed with the exception of the girl’s room, which remained immaculate before the flames.
The film finally began to take shape on August 14, 1972. As soon as it started, some technicians claimed to see shadows and to hear strange noises. Friedkin and Blatty tried to reassure the team that they were only imagining unreal situations, but rumors were already starting that the film was cursed.
Director Wiliam Friedkin on the set of the film.
cursed movie
Those in charge of carrying out the project wanted everything to continue with its traditional course, but on the second day Max Von Sydow who had to play Father Lankester Merrin. He asked permission to be absent: his brother was dead.
Max Von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin in The Exorcist.
Days later, Linda Blair also lost a few days, her grandfather was dead. The characters played by Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros who died in the film did not make it to the premiere in real life, both have lost their lives.
One of the technicians was killed and the night watchman in charge of taking care of the set was found dead. Death also affected Jason Miller, another of the protagonists, his son was in serious condition after crashing his motorcycle.
The film was released in theaters on August 15, 1974.
Frightening coincidence.
Satanic references and coincidences were also present. The post-production of the film took place at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York.
During the recording of the film, the two main actresses, Linda Blair (Regan) and Ellen Burstyn (her mother), were seriously injured while doing stunts, in fact, in one of the shots, Regan throws her mother to the ground and is in that moment that the actress hurts her back and the screams of pain that are seen on the screen are true.
There was a tense atmosphere on the set and due to the constant satanic coincidences, Ellen Burstyn had the idea of exorcising the recording studio, but the priest preferred only to bless it.
The film received a total of ten Oscar nominations.
During the creation of the film, the lights went out and the tapes with already recorded scenes disappeared. Suggested or not, everyone ensured that noises, footsteps, voices could be heard, that objects vanished and that if they answered the phone they could hear whispers.
Premiere and controversy.
Premiere of “The Exorcist” in a cinema in the United States
Once “The Exorcist” hit theaters on August 15, 1974, many spectators passed out, vomited and had convulsions. One woman is suing the studio for claiming she came out of the projection so terrified that she lost her balance and broke her jaw.
In a 2010 Blu-ray edition of the film, William Friedkin, the director, often fired guns or slapped actors just before the cameras started rolling.
Source: Clarin
