[Book Review] The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear

When The Exorcist burst onto the cinema screens in 1973, no-one could have predicted that this film about the mystery of faith projected through the terrifying possession of a young all-American girl would have such a powerful and visceral impact on audiences worldwide, as well as the long-lasting legacy it would create well over fifty years later. William Friedkin’s masterpiece is perhaps one of, if not the greatest horror films of all time, regularly imitated but rarely rivalled and would also become the ultimate blueprint for demonic possession films.  

Like most die-hard horror fans, I have that one horror film that I have made my whole personality, that film being for me The Exorcist. Since my first viewing of the film almost twenty years ago, I have feverishly consumed every The Exorcist themed article, interview and documentary as well as writing my own think pieces on the film that changed my life forever. And so when a new book crosses my path claiming to be the ultimate compendium to one of the scariest and most controversial horror movies of all time, I must admit a certain amount of cynicism. However Nat Segaloff’s book The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear is a surprising and fascinating literary documentation of the movie that caused moviegoers to faint and vomit in the aisles of the cinema.

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With a writing style that is entirely accessible and easy to digest, The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear starts from the very beginning, and continues in chronological order, with the initial possession case that influenced comedy film screenwriter William Peter Blatty to write a novel about a 12 year old all-American girl possessed by the devil, to how William Friedkin became involved in the project, as well as both Blatty and Friedkin’s childhoods and early careers. Moving into the actual production of the film, as well as its initial cinematic release and the visceral reactions the film garnered from both critics and the general public, Segaloff then moves onto the legacy of the film with an amazing amount of detail, something that most media pieces documenting The Exorcist prefer to gloss over. However, Segaloff seems to recognise that despite the enormous difference in success gained by the sequels, prequels and tv show, they are an important part of the universe of The Exorcist, especially when we examine them as a continuation of the theology and core message of the 1973 film. 

Perhaps one of the two most fascinating aspects of the book is the observations of both William Friedkin’s and William Peter Blatty’s retrospective views of the film, especially with their relationship post-production having become infamously tense due to the editing of The Exorcist, as well as how it seems both the writer and director were never quite able to shake off how monumental the film had been in both of their lives. Blatty continued his exploration of faith and the fight of good versus evil with his Trilogy of Faith and the film adaptations, and Friedkin would go on to examine the rite of exorcism in returning to his documentary film roots with The Devil and Father Amorth (2017). The other absolute highlight of Segaloff’s book are the closing chapters on the lore and theology surrounding the film The Exorcist, demons, and possession as well as the Catholic rite of exorcism and how this all relates down to the core message Blatty hoped to deliver through the conclusion of the film and its death of Father Damien Karras, a point of contention for film theorists who argue whether the ending is optimistic or nihilistic in its nature. 

Nat Segaloff’s The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear is a must read for not only those that may be slightly green when it comes to the story of one of the most infamous horror films of all time, but also for die hard obsessives of the movie as well as film fans looking to educate themselves on the making of and consequential infamy of the greatest horror film of all time. 

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