Time to cover a true classic.
For a long time in the UK The Exorcist was only available to see in the cinema, as the head of the BBFC at the time, James Ferman, had some... interesting ideas about it. Specifically, he believed that the movie had the very real power to corrupt teenage girls and so he didn't want it ever being released on video for fear that the country would fall into a state of anarchy, with teen girls all over the country vomiting and screaming, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell!" Of course, when he finally left the BBFC this position quickly changed and in 1999 the film finally came out on video - I just wish I'd known it was going to happen earlier as I'd gone and gotten a copy in France the year before. Ah well, c'est la vie.
So, The Exorcist. Based on the book by William Peter Blatty, which in turn was based on the allegedly true story of the possession of a teenage boy in 1949, it tells the story of Regan MacNeil, a 12-year-old girl who starts to behave strangely after playing with a ouija board and apparently contacting a spirit called "Captain Howdy". At first her mother Chris believes that it is all psychological and attempts to treat it that way, but as things progress she turns to the Catholic Church in desperation. The first priest she turns to is Father Damian Karras, who is a psychiatrist as well as a priest and who is also struggling with his faith after the death of his mother. He also attempts to treat Regan's condition as psychological in nature, but eventually he realises that he is in over his head. Finally a second priest arrives, Father Merrin, who has fought with the demon in question before, and the scene is set for an exorcism that will leave no-one unchanged.
The Exorcist was nominated for eight Oscars, and won two (Best Screenplay and Best Sound, for reference), and it deserves them, because it is a spectacular film. When it was first released in cinemas it caused faintings, hysteria and one man broke his jaw and got an out-of-court settlement when he claimed it was the film's subliminal images that caused him to fall (despite what many people think, the flashes of the demon's face in The Exorcist aren't subliminal. If they were you wouldn't be able to see them at all. They're just disturbing). The film struck a chord with its audience that stayed with them for long after the film ended, to the point where churches reported an upswing in attendance afterwards and a sudden rush of people asking for exorcisms.
Everything is just put together so well, from the sound to the imagery to the story and the actors. Mercedes McCambridge, who provided the voice of the possessed Regan, gargled with whiskey and egg yolks and let herself be tied to a chair while she was performing to produce the desired effect. Max von Sydow was only 44 when he was cast as the frail and elderly Father Merrin, so they made him up to look like a much older priest. It also helps that in several scenes the actors aren't so much acting as reacting - a key example of this would be the infamous vomit scene - the "vomit" stream was meant to hit Father Karras in the chest, but misfired and scored a direct hit on his face, so his look of shock and disgust was genuine.
Another factor in The Exorcist's success was how it resonated with its audience. People would go away after watching the film thinking that if something like that could happen to a 12-year-old girl, it could potentially happen to them as well. They identified with the characters, particularly Regan and the flawed and ultimately all-too human Father Karras, well enough that it heightened the enjoyment of the film with them. Of course, things like the infamous "spider walk" scene and Regan's levitating off the bed certainly helped matters as well (although ironically, many people reported that one of the most disturbing scenes for them was the one where Regan is undergoing a battery of tests, including a spinal tap and a Pneumoencephalograph, rather than some of the supernatural elements).
Pretty much everyone who calls themselves a fan of horror should see The Exorcist. In the past few years there's been something of a spate of copycat movies, usually revolving around the medium of found footage, and back when it was originally released there were several copycats as well, including a blackspoitation version called Abby and at least one Italian version (of course). But the original is still far and away the best.
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