By NAT SEGALOFF (Citadel; 2023)
Nat Segaloff was working in the Warner Bros. Publicity department when THE EXORCIST premiered back in 1973, and penned a solid 1990 biography of its director William Friedkin (in addition to equally solid books on Harlan Ellison and John Milius). Segaloff also has a take on THE EXORCIST that aligns with those of Friedkin and writer/producer William Peter Blatty, viewing it not as a horror movie, but, rather, an intense religious drama (although Segaloff rightly rejects Blatty’s claim of it being about “the mystery of faith,” as in the mind of the staunchly Catholic Blatty no such mystery existed). All this made Mr. Segaloff ideally suited to pen a 50 year overview of this enduring classic.
Adapted from a 1971 novel by Blatty, THE EXORCIST was a controversial hit. Its highly naturalistic presentation of a demonically possessed girl (Linda Blair) and a troubled priest (Jason Miller) has never been matched, not even by its own director. It did, however, inspire several misguided sequels, THE EXORCIST being a film whose legacy stretches to the present day and beyond (with sequels and/or remakes in various stages of development).
Included in this book are brief biographies of Friedkin and Blatty, plot synopses of the EXORCIST film and novel, a brief recounting of the allegedly factual 1949 case of demonic possession that inspired Blatty, and profiles of the EXORCIST sequels. That’s in addition to an authoritative description of the filming of THE EXORCIST, an arduous and, some claim, cursed shoot.
It all began with Blatty’s novel, which following an appearance by the author on THE DICK CAVETT SHOW became a runaway bestseller. Friedkin entered the picture via an interview about directing a Blatty-penned screenplay in which he told his future producer the script was crap. Blatty admired Friedkin’s forthrightness and made sure to move his name to the front of the line of potential EXORCIST directors (after Arthur Penn and Stanley Kubrick passed). Unfortunately the working relationship between the two men was a rocky one, with Blatty expressing a vocal dislike for the finished film, which led to the “Version You’ve Never Seen” rerelease in 2000, the first-ever writer’s cut.
Of the four EXORCIST sequels (more if you count the many differing cuts that exist of those films), the most ink is devoted to EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, whose disastrous production and reception are gloated over at some length by Segaloff. He also includes a brief interview with David Gordon Green pertaining to his upcoming EXORCIST TV series—about which, after reading Green’s sincere but misguided comments, I’m not too enthused.
Those wanting an in-depth recounting of THE EXORCIST’s inception are advised to check out THE STORY BEHIND THE EXORCIST by Peter Travers and Stephanie Reiff, WILLIAM PETER BLATTY ON THE EXORCIST: FROM NOVEL TO SCREEN and the Centipede Press volume THE EXORCIST: STUDIES IN THE HORROR FILM. Much of the present book’s revelations have already been revealed (such as a “true” account by Friedkin about Warners executives being chased out of a premiere screening of EXORCIST II by outraged patrons, which has already been told, retold and debunked), but for the EXORCIST novice THE EXORCIST LEGACY will more than suffice.