Over 50 years after its release, few horror films remain as deeply unsettling as The Exorcist. William Friedkin’s 1973 adaptation of the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty shocked the world. The Exorcist wasn’t just a hit movie based on a bestseller. It rocked the culture, becoming that rare horror film that was a true blockbuster, and nominated for 10 Academy Awards. For context, adjusted for inflation, The Exorcist would be the 9th most successful movie of all time, with over a billion dollars in the U.S. alone. Back then, to be part of the cultural conversation, you had to go see The Exorcist. But how did a major studio sell a movie like this? Before we get to all that, watch that original trailer for The Exorcist, which was actually banned, down below:
The Exorcist Was a True Pop Culture Phenomenon
First, a bit of “Exorcist 101.” The novel by William Peter Blatty was based on reports of an actual exorcism performed on a 13-year-old boy that took place near Georgetown in 1949. Blatty never forgot the story, which made local headlines, and terrified him as someone raised Jesuit. Decades later, he fictionalized that account in a novel, switching the young boy to a young girl, and setting the story in the modern day. The novel was a sensation, and Warner Bros immediately optioned the rights. Adapting best selling novels was the key to blockbuster movie success in the ‘70s. Love Story, The Godfather, Jaws, all were based on massively successful books. So yes, Hollywood has always leaned into known IP, folks. It isn’t anything new.
The other thing that made The Exorcist even possible was the abolishment of the Hays Code in 1968. The Hays Code began in 1934, strangling movies with extreme censorship. The code loosened over the years, until they finally abolished it in 1968, replaced by the MPAA rating system. For horror films, it meant the gloves were off. Relatively tame scary movies like Psycho gave way to truly shocking films like A Clockwork Orange a mere decade later. Still, even with no Code, Hollywood obeyed certain rules about profanity, nudity, etc. William Friedkin just did not care. He leaned into blasphemous and grotesque moments. In addition, He cast the film with actors like Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller, who were established, but not enormous stars. All of that lent to the feeling that what audiences were watching was somehow real. Making it all the more terrifying.
Controversy Was The Exorcist’s Earliest Marketing Tool
Much of the early marketing of The Exorcist was crass, but effective. The film released the day after Christmas in 1973, which the studio brass knew would offend many Christian religious groups. In fact, many protested, saying they believed the film itself contained the mark of Satan. But all that did was create more publicity. Also, the actual filming of The Exorcist hosted many strange occurrences and tragedies. Instead of covering those stories up, Warner Bros. let them all make headlines, contributing to the notion that the film contained the essence of evil. But the original trailer ran only in a few select test markets, actually made people sick, so the studio banned it from theaters.
“A Man Has Been Sent For, as a Last Resort, to Try and Save Her…”
“Something beyond comprehension is happening to a little girl on this street, in this house.” That’s how the narration starts in the original trailer for The Exorcist. It promptly jumps to quick flashes of the possessed Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) in black and white, and the demonic entity possessing her, Pazuzu. The images were accompanied by the unsettling strings of score by composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and the sound of Regan’s labored breathing while possessed by a demon. It definitely gets under your skin. But while it’s all very effective and creepy, you don’t see any actual blood or gore, or hear any profanity. So why did they ever ban it?
As it turns out, it was banned because the flashing strobe effect in this black and white trailer was giving people seizures. Or at least, one person had a seizure. And that was enough for Warner Bros. to rethink that first trailer and cut a new one. The original trailer became the stuff of playground legend for decades. Did it really make people sick? It finally got a proper release in the DVD era where people realized it wasn’t that bad. Of course, it’s now widely available on YouTube as well. Just the idea that the mere trailer for The Exorcist could make people sick was incredible marketing.
“Somewhere Between Science and Superstition, There Is Another World. A World of Darkness.”
The second trailer for The Exorcist actually gave us some actual story and scenes, and was also just as effective. It proved you never needed that strobe light effect. We never saw the possessed Regan in this trailer except in one quick fade out. But the trailer very carefully showed the audience the effects of her possession—the cracked walls of the house, the panicked family members, her cries for help. All of this created the perfect atmosphere for an effective second trailer. And luckily, no one banned this one. The second trailer helped create lines around the block on opening day.
We should also mention that the second trailer also had the “secret sauce” of all ‘70s and ‘80s horror and sci-fi trailers. It had the eerie narration of African-Canadian actor Percy Rodriguez. His deep-voiced narration of this trailer gives it that extra bit of gravitas. And yes, it’s his voice you hear in the equally iconic trailers for Alien, Jaws, The Omen, The Amityville Horror, Children of the Corn, Pet Sematary, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Star Wars Special Editions.
The Exorcist remains as terrifying as it did 50 years ago. Want proof? Watch any of the 20 gazillion “First time watching” reaction videos on YouTube. Usually, they’re watched by younger people, who simply refuse to believe the movie can be as disturbing as they’ve heard. After all, “It’s so old.” Almost everyone comes away shaken, and asking themselves “How the hell did this ever get made back then?” Is this not the mark of a truly legendary horror film? If any horror film qualifies for the often-abused term “iconic,” it certainly is The Exorcist.