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The Exorcist ()


Brothers Judd Top 100 of the 20th Century: Novels

Sometimes, the worst thing that can happen to a great book is to be made into a great movie.  The Exorcist is a case in point.  First, because the movie was well done and secondly, because it's visual pyrotechnics were so memorable, there is a danger that people will ignore the novel.  This would be a great mistake.  The Exorcist is not simply a horror novel, like all great horror stories (Frankenstein [see review], Dracula, etc.) the supernatural happenings merely offer a way for the author to meditate upon greater issues.  In memory, the movie may seem to be "about" Regan's possession by a demon; in fact, Blatty is telling a story about Father Damian's crisis of faith.  Paradoxically, being forced to confront this great evil serves to restore Damian's faith in God.

This is a great book (remarkably enough, it is based on actual incidents), don't miss it.

(Reviewed:)

Grade: (A+)


Websites:

William Blatty Links:

    -WIKIPEDIA: William Peter Blatty
    - ESSAY: William Peter Blatty on why there is good in ‘The Exorcist’ (William Peter Blatty, April 05, 2019, American)
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-REVIEW ESSAY: Rereading ‘The Exorcist’ in an age of new demons: William Peter Blatty’s novel arrived when the supernatural could still deliver a shock (Louis Bayard, August 19, 2023, Washington Post)
    -ESSAY: How The Exorcist Turned the Tensions Beneath the Inviolable Nuclear Family Unit into Horror: Kelly Roberts, Michael Grasso, and Richard McKenna on the Patriarchy Beneath the Possession (Kelly Roberts, Michael Grasso, and Richard McKenna, October 12, 2022, LitHub)
    -REVIEW: of The Exorcist (James Baldwin)
    -ESSAY: To Save Us All From Satan’s Power: William Friedkin’s horror classic is 50 years old. (George Case, 26 Dec 2023, Quillette)

Book-related and General Links:
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    -ESSAY: Demoniac: Who Is Roland Doe, the Boy Who Inspired The Exorcist? (JD Sword, November/December 2021, Skeptical Inquirer)
    -ESSAY: 50 years later, ‘The Exorcist’ continues to possess Hollywood’s imagination, reflecting our obsession with evil (REgina Hansen, December 20, 2023, The Conversation)
    -ESSAY: 50 Years Ago: The Exorcist (1973) (John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV)
    -INTERVIEW: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE USE HORROR MOVIES TO INTERPRET THE REAL WORLD? 10 QUESTIONS FOR THE AUTHORS OF ‘THE EXORCIST EFFECT’ (ERIC HARRELSON AND JOSEPH P. LAYCOCK, NOVEMBER 24, 2023, Religion Dispatches)
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-ARTICLE: What really happened to Ronald Hunkeler, who inspired ‘The Exorcist’ (Isabel Vincent and Jack Morphet, December 20, 2021, NY Post)
    -PODCAST: The Exorcist (Titus Techera & Scott Beauchamp, American Cinema Foundation)
    -PODCAST: The Exorcist (Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan, The Ringer)
    -ESSAY: EXORCISING AMERICAN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: “THE EXORCIST” IN 1973 AND 2023 (Eleanor Johnson, 12.13.2023, Public Books)
    -     -REVIEW ESSAY: The Ultimate Horror Movie Is Really About Heaven and Hell (NY Times, August 12, 2023)
    -ESSAY: How ‘The Exorcist’ Took the Sacred Seriously: A look back at William Friedkin’s 1973 film. (Nick Ripatrazone, 10/28/23, The Dispatch)
    -     -The Haunted Boy: The story that inspired the Exorcist (Strange Magazine)
    -House of Horrors presents: The Exorcist (film site)
    -Profile (Washington Post)
    -Story about the movie (Washington Post)
    -Film synopsis (from Film Site)
    -REVIEW : of Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture from The Exorcist to Seinfeld  by Thomas Hibbs (Robert R. Reilly, Crisis)
    -VIDEO: The Exorcist (Oren Peli, Trailers from Hell)
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-TRIBUTE: The Renegade: Wild and brilliant, William Friedkin was an exemplar of the New Hollywood (Carlos Acevedo, Aug 11 2023, City Journal)
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-ESSAY: “It has absolutely nothing going for it, except Satan.” Read James Baldwin on The Exorcist. (Emily Temple, August 2, 2022, LitHub)
    -ESSAY: The Power of ‘The Exorcist’ Compels You: Perhaps the most influential American horror movie ever made, ‘The Exorcist’ was a Rorschach test when it came out. Fifty years later, it still sticks with us. (Adam Nayman, Oct 5, 2023, , The Ringer)
    -ESSAY: Exorcising His Demons: On the enduring contradictions of Father Damien Karras, priest-psychiatrist (John Hirschauer, Oct 27 2023, City Journal)
    -REVIEW: of The Devil Inside: The Dark Legacy of The Exorcist, by Carlos Acevedo (Chris R. Morgan, City Journal)