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The Exorcist Films

‘The Exorcist’ is 50 years old, and its origin story is still haunting​


The boy launched into a violent scream and curses in Latin — a language he had never learned — every time the Catholic priest in front of him tried to cast the devil out.

The ancient ritual of exorcism had to be performed at least 20 to 30 times before the job was done, The Washington Post reported in 1949, citing “Catholic sources.” A priest spent two months completing “perhaps one of the most remarkable experiences of its kind in recent religious history.”

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The front page of The Washington Post on Aug. 20, 1949. In the upper left, a story by Bill Brinkley headlined, "Priest Frees Mt. Rainier Boy Reported Held in Devil's Grip" © The Washington Post, via ProQuest/TWP

The story is said to have inspired William Peter Blatty, then a student of English literature at Georgetown University, to pen “The Exorcist,” which he later adapted into an Oscar-winning screenplay.

Fifty years after the movie first captivated audiences, a reboot hit theaters. As Halloween approaches and audiences seek out the classic horror film, its origin story — describing a teenage boy possessed by the devil and set free by the Catholic Church — remains intriguing.

After learning the story of the teenage boy, Blatty connected with a priest who claimed to have exorcised the demon from the Mount Rainier boy, The Post reported. The Jesuit priest, William F. Bowdern, was from St. Louis and had shock-white hair, Blatty learned.

Bowdern had kept a diary during the months-long exorcism and he assured Blatty that what he witnessed was “the real thing.”

Before the exorcism, it was said that the bed in which the boy was sleeping would suddenly move across the room, fruit from on top of the refrigerator would be tossed around, and strange scratching sounds came from the walls of his home.

Although Blatty had been inspired by the story and followed up with at least one of the priests involved, he told The Post that the novel “came entirely out of my head.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/t...ts-origin-story-is-still-haunting/ar-AA1iyF8Y

maximus otter
 
The Exorcist: Believer: As in the original the opening scenes of Believer involves dogs fighting. There are no immediate hints on Demons on a Haiti beach in 2010 but heavily pregnant Sorenne (Tracey Graves) who is on her honeymoon is blessed by a Voodoo priestess. Shortly afterwards Sorenne is seriously injured in an earthquake and her husband Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.) must make a choice. 2023, Victor is living with his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) in Georgia. Angela along with her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) go into the woods to practice a ceremony to contact the long dead Sorenne. The girls disappear and after a frantic search they are found three days later, hiding in a barn. They think only three hours have passed. The girls start acting strangely and it is soon obvious to their ex-Nun, nurse neighbor Ann (Ann Dowd) that they are possessed. Eventually Chris MacNeill (Ellen Burstyn) the mother of Reagan from The Exorcist is contacted, she has become a world wide authority on exorcisms through her 50 years of studying the topic.

The possession scenes here are quite convincing with burns and scars appearing on the girls' flesh, strange voices, the Demon having knowledge about others, levitation, vomiting, poltergeist effects. We've seen all of this before but it's skillfully presented here and doesn't seem jaded. The two girls put in tremendous performances. But nevertheless the familiarity of the whole thing perhaps prevents this from being a classic. As Chris MacNeill says when speaking to the Demon in one of the girls: We've met before. The Exorcism team this time around is Ecumenical and Multi-Cultural involving a Priest, Nun, Voodoo Priestess, Baptist Minister and Pentecostal. That lot would make anyone gag. Maybe too many screenwriters were involved. Still, it's well, worth watching and even has a couple of jump scares, plot twists and surprises. Directed by David Gordon Green, who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler from a story by Scott Teems, Danny McBride, and Green. 7.5/10.

In cinemas.
 
I've often wondered what Cardinal Newman would have thought - not only about being source of inspiration for an integral part of one of the most infamous cultural phenomena of the 20th century - but actually having written some of the words.

Despite not being a fan of Horror fiction for it's own sake, I've often found the better authors of the genre to be some of the most engaging when it comes to talking about inspiration, and the craft of writing in general.

Some time ago I posted a US talk show from the 80's, which included King, Straub, Romero and Levin - I think I must have bookmarked the following at around the same time:


(Edit: I should point out that I'm not sure if the sermon in question appears in the first publication - or if it's an addition in the 40th anniversary edition they are discussing.)
 
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