Film #79: The Exorcist (1973)

Is your vomit pea green?

Does Holy Water make you “Holy Shit!”

Are you finding unconventional uses for crucifixes.

You might just be possessed!

Hi, I’m attorney Sam “Satan-Be-Gone” Bernstein. If you or a loved one is experiencing these and other symptoms of demonic possession, you could be entitled to millions in compensation from the likely witch who hexed you.

You know, that spinster old woman living with 12 cats in the run down American-Four-Square. Likely she’s a witch, and hexed a devil demon into your soul for running over Mr. Sparkles last week. Oh yes, she saw that.

Sure, we could burn her, but sue her first! Just call 1-800-HEAD-SPIN for your free consultation with one of our lawyers/exorcists.

It wasn’t a witch that did it, but Chris MacNeil would likely be calling that toll free number if given the chance in this week’s film, The Exorcist.

Chris MacNeil is your typical mom. You know, the one that orders her servants to make breakfast, buys horses for her daughter, and stars in the hottest motion pictures of the day.

Chris and her 12-year-old daughter Regan move to Georgetown from LA for a spell while Chris films her latest movie.

Oh, the divorcee and her spawn have a wonderful time playing with Ouija boards, screaming “Jesus Christ,” and partying with hedonistic Hollywood types. For awhile. But everything goes to Hell when Regan starts to show signs of demonic possession. And not the usual signs of demonic possession found in tweens, either. 

Instead of screaming in hate at her parents and blaring Miley Cyrus while snorting cinnamon to get high, Regan starts pissing on the floor, vomiting pure evil, and sexually assaulting herself with a crucifix. 

Girls will be girls I suppose, but worry wart Chris decides some psycho-analysis is needed. Geez, parents just don’t understand.

When know-it-all science can’t explain how Regan can levitate her bed or speak in multiple foreign languages at once, the scientists suggest Chris turn to spiritual cures instead --- an Exorcism.

Cue in Father Karras, a Georgetown psychologist whose job is to be a priest for priests. The burden of keeping holy men holy has emotionally rough on Karras, and he begins to lose faith in his religion. How can he convince other priests to trust in their faith if Karras doubts it himself?

Chris is desperate, and after learning of Karras through a priest friend begs Karras to perform an Exorcism on Regan before it is too late. After some debate, Karras reluctantly agrees. But he can’t do it alone. The Church decides to call in their Exorcism ace, Father Merrin, to assist Karras in the de-demoning.

 

Merrin is an old pro at removing demonic spirits from souls. Past battles in Africa and Iraq have prepared the frail old man for the task. But this just isn’t any demon possessing Regan. It might just be the Devil himself. And he's pissed off. Bad.

Can the Exorcists banish the demon from helpless Regan’s body?

Will Father Karras resort his faith in time?

Will the Cubs ever win the World Series?

Find out in the 1973 pants-peeing classic, “The Exorcist.”

RDHP Ratings and Reviews

C-Rating: 4.7

Chris Dimick spews:

“Linda Blair gives a head turning role as possessed Regan! 

Okay, there, whew, now that I got that pun out of my system I can write with a clear, untwisted head.

The late 1960s, and 1970s were a magical time for scare-pix. This era was the birth of the modern horror movie. No Frankenstein, Wolf Man and Dracula allowed. The likes of those creepers had been more overdone than a McDonald’s hamburger by the late 1960s.

The genre had devolved from the talk of the town in the 30s and 40s to a b-movie/drive in graveyard.

Then came the new breed of horror with films like Rosemary’s Baby, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead, and The Exorcist. These were films with no limits, no moral code, no social conscience. They were going to scare you, by any means necessary.

But overall, these films were also going to tell you a story. A compelling story, one that didn't just rely on spooky lab equipment and undead monsters to fill the 90 minutes. This was grade-A Hollywood storytelling that happened to be about the paranormal and horrific. And that is what made it great…the modern horror film respected its audience.

The Exorcist is as much a drama about the lengths a mother will go to care for her daughter as it is a special effects monster movie. There are dramatic, heart-tearing subplots, like that of Father Karras losing his faith while trying to care for his dying mother. 

There are cutesy heartwarming moments, like when mother Chris chats with daughter Regan about her birthday plans while putting her to bed. 

And, yes, there are seriously f-ed up gore-hound moments, like when the Devil possessing Regan spews hardcore obscenities and turns Regan’s head around 360 degrees. 

Even after 30 years, this movie is still shocking to watch. But what makes the horror scenes so horrifying is the film leading up to the showdown of Exorcist versus Demon has focused on real seeming people acting out real problems and joys. 

We, gasp, CARE about these people, and want to see them escape harm’s way. 

They are not just a warm meal for the superstar Dracula or a love interest for tortured Larry Talbot’s hairy, and near the end boring, Wolfman ass. 

The modern horror wave The Exorcist was a part of was equal parts envelope-pushing/feather-ruffling and straight out classic Hollywood storytelling. 

Sadly as the 1970s went on, horror films ran with the feather-ruffling but forgot to maintain a plot that justifies an audiences’ reaction. Not just repulsion, but real horror. That takes plot AND blood.

But, we always have the memories of those first few horror icons that revitalized the genre. Makes one wonder when new filmmakers will come and save horror again. Any day now guys, before another Paranormal Activity comes out.”

N-Rating: 4.5
Nick Rich projectile vomits:
"This movie chills you to the bone. 

Savage actions, surly words and all around insane acts spewing forth from the mouth of a twelve year old girl. If it feels wrong while you're watching it, it's because it is. There is plenty about this film that most people would consider inappropriate - and I would agree with them - but I highly doubt a demon (or Satan himself) would act cordially given the circumstances portrayed in this film. 
Whether or not this is an excuse to involve a child in such portrayals (even if it is just make-believe) I won't comment on... but one thing is for sure: it was disturbing.

Someone needs to gank a free bib from Red Lobster!

Many times during this film (usually with the possession scenes) Chris and I found ourselves involuntarily holding our collective breath due to the amount of tension being delivered to us via the screen. To say it is intense is to define understatement. 
The way this film was shot slowly sucked you in and held you captive as it increasingly beat you over the brow with the pure unadulterated horror of the situation... a horror that we as an audience feel powerless to escape. 
It's almost as if we are trapped inside Regan's body with her or along with her mother as she witnesses the love of her life slowly being violently ripped away from her.

What to get for the mother who has everything?
An evil spirit to possess your only child!

The layers of the film are peeled back slowly, compounding the feelings of empathy and helplessness the viewer has for the characters. Have a problem? Oh, just go see a doctor. One doctor doesn't cut it? Just go see a group of 13 doctors (comprised of old balding white guys with a dash of lady, black and asian M.D.'s), they'll get to the bottom of it! 

Ooo... they don't know what's up? Hrmm... well, I guess you could always try a priest! I mean, their methods don't work because of the reason they think they do (after all, doctors don't believe in "magic"), but they have been proven to work in the past.
I mean, there has to be a logical reason for the girls unearthly symptoms! Right? So the faithless family reaches the end of their rope and reaches for faith or at least those who have faith. Will it work? Is any of this real? What is happening?!?


Watching this film says as much about the viewer as it does about the filmmakers and the time it was made in. Which is what makes it great; it challenges us. 
How long can you deny the mysteries of this life? What do you do when you've reached the end of your own understanding? How do you react when confronted with something bigger than you are? 

Sometimes prayer is the only option.

The Exorcist will leave you staring these questions square in the eye - dare you answer them?
The Skinny: Check this flick out if you haven't experienced proper chills in awhile (but be forewarned, there are some truly vulgar parts in this film) or if you think yourself incapable of being speechless.

Things We Learned from The Exorcist:

-If you want to affect change, you have to do it in the system.

-Doctors loved to smoke in the 70s.

-The Middle East has a spicy call to prayer.

-Nick secretly wants to be Catholic.

-Chris vacations in Northern Iraq for their superb discotheques.

-Hard thinking makes one bald.

-Nick’s mom said it best: “Protect your nuts.”

-If British scientists didn’t ask “What is this fungus?” we wouldn’t have penicillin.

-Saudi Arabian men grind-dance each other:

Quote of the Viewing:

[During a rollicking Hollywood cast party at the MacNeil residence, innocent yet possessed Regan walks down the stairs and urinates on the floor in-front of horrified party guests.]

Chris: “The only thing worse than a party-pooper is a party-pisser.”

RDHP Presents:

Random Exorcist Facts

All of the intrigue and horror didn’t just happen in this classic horror film. Many strange and interesting occurrences happened before and during the filming of The Exorcist.  Below, we present a few oddities, thanks to our friends at the Internet Movie Database.

The bedroom set had to be refrigerated to capture the authentic icy breath of the actors in the exorcising scenes. Linda Blair, who was only in a flimsy nightgown, says to this day she cannot stand being cold.

The substance that the possessed Regan (Linda Blair) hurls at Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) is thick pea soup. Specifically, it's Andersen's brand pea soup. The crew tried Campbell's but didn't like the "effect."

The original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of the white-faced demon quickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters, as it was deemed "too frightening".

William Peter Blatty was collecting unemployment benefits while writing the novel this film is based on.

This is Warner Brothers' highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation.

While it cost $10.4 million to make, its worldwide gross was $357 million.

A filmgoer who saw the movie in 1974 during its original release fainted and broke his jaw on the seat in front of him. He then sued Warner Brothers and the filmmakers, claiming that the use of subliminal imagery in the film had caused him to pass out. The studio settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Christian evangelist Billy Graham claimed an actual demon was living in the celluloid reels of this movie.

After filming, William Friedkin brought post-production to the address 666 Fifth Avenue.

One of the most famous scenes in the movie and the shot used for the posters and the cover of the DVD/VHS releases was inspired by the 1954 painting "Empire of Light" ("L'Empire des lumières") by René Magritte (above). It is the scene where Fr. Merrin steps out of a cab and stands in front of the MacNeil residence bathed in an eerie glow.

The studio wanted Marlon Brando for the role of Father Merrin. William Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating that with Brando in the film it would become a Brando movie instead of the important film he wanted to make.

Due to death threats against Linda Blair from religious zealots who believed the film "glorified Satan", Warner Bros. had bodyguards protecting her for six months after the film's release.

Entertainment Weekly and Maxim magazines recently voted this the Scariest Movie of All Time.

This was the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture Academy Award. However, it lost in the award to The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as two con men in 1930s Chicago.

Film #78: Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

The most notorious instance of crossed phone lines happened in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan picked up the phone to order some pink-frosted cupcakes to fix his “girl-time sads” and instead overheard Mikhail Gorbachev telling Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini that Reagan was an mouth-breathing “fart head” and his wife was a “moldy skeleton.”

Nuclear war was averted after Nancy Reagan calmed down the president with a well-rehearsed “anti-missile” striptease… but still, it was close.

In other words, the phone is a dangerous machine. No one knows that better than Leona Stevenson, the heroine/foil in this week’s stop in horror history, “Sorry, Wrong Number.”

The heir to a pharmaceutical company fortune created by her daddy, mega-rich “Cough-Drop Queen” Leona Stevenson (Barbara Stanwyck) seems to have it all. A huge house, stacks of money, an attractive husband, and a crystal cigarette lighter. She does have it all, well, everything but love and companionship.

Oh, and a good heart. We don’t mean that metaphorically. Seems her’s is nearly ticked out, making her a bed ridden invalid.

Though residing in Chicago, Leona and her husband Henry Stevenson (Burt Lancaster) take a long-term visit to New York City. Henry has some business to take care of there at the pharmaceutical company side office.

One night while all alone in her luxury townhouse, Leona tries to make a phone call to Henry at his office. The phone is Leona’s only connection to society, since she is typically trapped on the top floor of their Manhattan digs.

Henry was supposed to be home hours ago, but is nowhere to be found, leaving sick-old Leona alone and frightened.

Instead of reaching Henry, crossed phone lines tap Leona into a conversation between two gruff sounding blokes. What she overhears nearly stops her faintly beating heart. The men describe in detail a murder they are to commit that night.

It’ll be near 2^nd Avenue, they wait for the private patrolman to step away for a break, and right when the train goes by they will attack the woman, whose screams will be drowned out by train’s whistle.

Frantic, Leona calls the police, who say there is too little information to prevent the murder. That, and, eh, this is New York lady, murders happen every day. Take a number!

While trying to track down her husband to come and comfort her, Leona has conversations with several people that offer pieces of information about where her husband might be. The problem, the pieces seem to point to the fact that the murder conversation may have been about her!
Seeeee, Leona doesn’t make many friends. Her life motto is: “If you want something, get it now.” That’s not playing nice.

When Henry and Leona first meet at an ivy-league school dance, Henry was just a small-town, uneducated nobody from the sticks. But he had a nice ass, and better yet Leona’s best friend was in love with him. I must have him, Leona demanded. And whatever Leona wants, Leona gets.

Throwing a life of wealth and the promise of a c-suite job at her father’s pharmaceutical company at Henry, Leona brainwashes him into marrying her. But he soon finds that being a kept man by the ever demanding and cruel Leona – who holds all the purse strings – is actually worse than being poor.

Sooo, for those keeping score at home, here is the tally. Leona’s best friend hates her for stealing her man. Leona’s husband hates her for being a controlling tight-wadded bitch. And nearly everyone else she has every come in contact with also hates her for the latter reason.
You are surprised someone might be trying to kill you!?

Is Leona just over exaggerating, or is a killer really coming for her broken ass?
Can she track down her missing husband in time to be saved?
If a tree falls in the woods, and no one’s around, does it make a sound?
Find out, in the 1948 telecommunications nightmare “Sorry, Wrong Number.”

RDHP Ratings and Reviews

C-Rating: 2.3

Chris Dimick rings:

“This film is a lot like dialing the wrong number. You go into the call with excitement, thinking you will soon be interacting with someone pleasant.
But that quickly turns to confusion when the mysterious party picks up the phone, and you frantically try to figure out just what went wrong.

This turns to verbal sparring with the perturbed, disturbed person on the other end.

“Hi, is a good movie there?...Oh, wait, but you are a movie, right?... No, I’m looking for a good movie, one with the usually great actors Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster?...Well, what number is this?”

From confusion you move into panic (how will I converse with a good movie now!) to misplaced anger. “What do you mean a good movie isn’t there?! I’m sure it is not my fault! I didn’t misdial… this is supposed to be a classic!” At the end of it you just feel annoyed, a little guilty, and definitely like you just wasted previous moments of your life.

RDHP faithful reader Jim told Nick and I before our viewing that the story for “Sorry, Wrong Number” was originally a radio play… a much shorter radio play. And I would imagine a much BETTER radio play. The premise is spooky and interesting enough – a despised invalid woman intercepts a phone call that could be connected to her own murder.

But where the movie fails is when it draws out the “why” Leona might meet the wrong end of a piano wire. The scenes of her meeting Henry as well as Henry's decent into mad frustration over his controlling wife were painfully slow and drawn out. I once had to literary wake Nick up at one point; it was that booooooooooooring at parts.

Because the movie depicted drug trafficking, it got this warning. Damn censorship!

Another flaw to the film is the viewer can pretty much see the ending a mile away. That might not have been the case in the trusting 1940s, but in 2011 a fella watching a horror/suspense movie pretty much knows what to expect when an invalid intercepts a conversation about murder.

What saves the film from total trash is the excellent snippy acting of Barbara Stanwyck as the frazzled cough drop queen. Stanwyck was nominated for Best Actress in the 1949 Academy Awards for her portrayal – a well deserved honor.

She is cold, quick witted, biting and the most beautiful invalid ever put on film. Lancaster is also great as the redneck turned rich husband with dreams of growing a set of balls. Even while wearing the best suits, he still shows the roots of his past in flashes of hick conversation and rough-guy mannerisms.

Agnes Moorehead in Sorry, Wrong Number radio edition

Acting aside, this one just doesn’t hold up to 2011 standards. Listen to the radio play instead… the best adaptation of which originally aired on the Suspense radio program on May 25, 1943, and was essentially a one-woman show with Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Stevenson. (It must have been good; the play was reprised seven times, each starring Moorehead).

Sorry, Wrong Number… I wish I never called.”

N-Rating: 0.4

Nick Rich rings:
“I fell asleep to this film.

ZZZZZzzzzzz....

As a committed partner here at the RDHP I handle our viewing with integrity, care and caffeine (if needed). Sure there have been more than a few films that have caused my eyelids to feel heavier than a child's conscience the first time they lie to their parents, but when time-traveling through cinematic history what does one expect? You have to figure there will be a few flicks that will test your Sandman skirting skills!

Enter Sandman!

Until this viewing I had fended of the sleuth of slumber time and time again (narrowly at times, but successfully nonetheless!). I knew Sorry, Wrong Number would probably be a tough case, so I took the proper precaution and made a caffeinated beverage (which is especially effective in my case as I rarely partake) before settling in for the viewing. I was flying high, the world couldn't touch me! I felt as if I could run for at least 200 feet! Then about twenty minutes into the film I lost the 'energy' which was promised me by my cocoa frappuccino and spent the rest of the viewing (which was an hour, but felt like three) trying to avoid my head from bobbing more than a cork in a Kentucky stream during spawning season.

One minute you're up - the next down.

'Nick are you asleep?'

I snapped my head up and tried to feign alertness.

'Yeah, of course.'

How long had I been under? It couldn't have been more than 30 seconds... or could it? 

Is the resolution on the webcam high enough that Chris could tell I had nodded off? Why didn't I get Chris a cheaper one for his wedding?!?

There was no denying it. I had fallen asleep. ASLEEP!

I hadn't felt as guilty about falling asleep during a film since 1997 when I attended a late-night showing of Return of the Jedi with a super-fan after an extremely long day at work in the bowels of a hospital kitchen.

I still have nightmare about what I may have missed Lando do on the big screen.

Thanks Sorry, Wrong Number, you've really made an impact on my life. Next time call collect so I can refuse to accept the charges.

The Skinny: Check this flick out if you're in the mood to take an exotic trip to dream land or if you want to tarnish your film watching record.”

Things We Learned From Sorry, Wrong Number:

-Like a cable modem, people used to rent phones from the phone company.
-The phone links millions of lives.
-You can shake words out of a phone.
-Pills make it all better.
-Education is pointless if you want to make money.
-“Oh, Applesauce” is how old ladies curse.
-A way to brush off a question in the ‘40s was to say “oh, what does that have to do with the price of eggs?!”
-There is something called a cardiac-neurotic.
-China owns the US.
-But the US has more nukes:

RDHP Presents:

Famous Phone Calls
The telephone is one of the most important and annoying inventions of our lifetime, right up there with the Guttenberg press and the McGriddle (the syrup is inside the pancake bun!)
Since its formal invention in 1876 there have been many famous conversations held with the device. Below, we honor the top five phone calls ever made.

Alexander Graham Bell Professing His Love for Watson

What else did you think the first words said over a phone, “Watson, come here! I want you!” meant?

Bart Simpson Pranking Moe’s Tavern

If he does it again, Moe’s going to use his head as a bucket and paint his house with Bart’s brains.

Nixon Calls Apollo 11 Astronauts on the Moon

The first thing he said to them: “Make sure you load up on that yummy cheese, boys! Them’s good eatin’!”

Cameron Fry’s Phony Phone Call to Edward Rooney

Even though Rooney “could squash his nuts into an oblivion,” Ferris Bueller’s best friend Cameron still went through with the call that would free lovely Sloan from the torture of high school. Call him sir, god-dammit!

ET Phones Home

One of the first cell phone calls recorded on film.