Guest Author - Andy Boxall

On the 26th December 1973, those who were fat after their Christmas turkey and weary from last minute Christmas shopping may have taken refuge at the local cinema, perhaps catching a light comedy or festive heart-warmer. Some may have even ventured in and settled into their seat to watch the new William Friedkin directed movie that was released that very day.

What they would have experienced was the product of a grueling 224-day shoot; a film so powerful that is was banned in some countries and refused a home release certificate in the UK. The film even caused the Evangelical Reverend Billy Graham to state that ‘evil itself’ resided in the very film stock. Boxing Day would never be the same again, as that movie was The Exorcist.

The film was adapted from a novel by William Peter Blatty, who was in turn inspired by supposedly true-life events. In fact, Reverend William O'Malley who played Father Dyer and was also credited as the movies Technical Advisor, has claimed that the only differences between the ‘truth’ and the fiction was the gender of the possessed teen and the story’s location.

Combine this tantalising fact with the stories of mysterious fires and so-called curses on the set, the deaths of several cast members and the hysteria, fainting and vomiting that occurred during screenings and the legend of this horror movie is complete.

In 1974 The Exorcist was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, but ended up going home with only two (for Best Sound and Best Writing) after The Sting beat it in most categories. It faired better at the Golden Globes with Friedkin taking Best Director, Blatty took Best Screenplay, Linda Blair taking Best Supporting Actress and the film itself winning Best Drama.

The film was released theatrically in the UK in March 1974 and rated X. The BBFC’s (British Board of Film Classification) director, James Ferman, never allowed the film to be submitted for classification on home video due to his reluctance to cut the film, something he considered inevitable, so it remained the staple of independent cinema’s until 25th February 1999.

On the whole this was not such a bad thing. Watching The Exorcist is a very emotional experience and much of its power and ability to scare relies on being engrossed in the unfolding story. This is easily lost when it is viewed at home and I for one am very glad I watched The Exorcist in a small, independent theatre at least once.

Today of course, the movie is available on DVD and buyers have a choice of two different versions, the 25th Anniversary edition and ‘The Version You’ve Never Seen’ (an alternate title of which is ‘The Version You Haven’t Seen Yet’). The 25th Anniversary edition features a commentary track, deleted scenes and a superb BBC documentary and The Version You’ve Never Seen has a different commentary track and restores the deleted scenes into the film along with a few digital touches.

Aside from improved sound and picture on the Version You’ve Never Seen, the 25th Anniversary edition should be your preferred choice. The deleted scenes are better removed from the film and the digital touches are annoying and detract from the film. The BBC documentary is also essential viewing for fans.

The Exorcist frequently appears in the top 5 of ‘scariest film’ lists and is one of the most successful horror/drama movies ever made. Frightening, well-acted, poignant and, contrary to popular belief, distinctly pro-religion in places, the film deserves a place in every horror fans collection. If it has been sometime since you last ‘experienced’ The Exorcist, how about re-living what those unsuspecting cinema goers saw all those years ago by revisiting The Exorcist this Boxing Day?