Halloween Horror: Ranking the Films of The Exorcist Series

The Exorcist is an unusual horror film franchise compared to some of the series that Aren has ranked for our site over the past few years, such as Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street. In many ways, The Exorcist series is more akin to something like the Psycho films, with an acclaimed and groundbreaking first film, based on a novel that was never treated only as genre fare, spinning out sequels of varying quality and tangential relation to the original movie. Although there are only five films in the series, we get plenty of interesting variations on the material, a feature that is most prominent in the case of the two prequel films, which tell roughly the same story with the same cast!

But it makes sense that The Exorcist would spur other filmmakers to expand on it, as the core material is so good. The success of the first Exorcist film is probably responsible for the continuing popularity of the whole exorcism horror subgenre. Stories about demonic possession seem to be appealing in part because they bring the cosmic battle between good and evil into our mundane and day-to-day world and are rooted in people’s actual religious beliefs. The Exorcist series, at least the better films, are fairly sophisticated in their exploration of demonology, drawing on actual Catholic theological concepts and liturgical language. It helps that William Peter Blatty, the author of the original novel, screenwriter of the first film, and director of the third, is himself a committed Catholic. All the films in the Exorcist franchise, in some way, centre on the ancient Mesopotamian demon, Pazuzu, and its interactions with people over the twentieth century. These films are varying in their success, but what’s especially fascinating is how each film brings in different genre and period details, in the setting and filmmaking, to tell its story.

1. The Exorcist (1973) dir. William Friedkin

The original, and best, film in the series is William Friedkin’s adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, inspired by a reported case of possession in 1949. It is as much a 1970s psychological drama as it is a horror film. That’s not to say it’s not as scary as the more traditional horror genre fare on this list; it’s actually the most terrifying! The film tells the story of how a 12-year-old girl, Regan McNeil (Linda Blair), becomes possessed by an ancient Mesopotamian demon, but it’s as much interested in both the legacy of demonology in the modern world and how her mother, Chris (Ellen Burstyn), comes to understand the nature of her daughter’s affliction. The terrifying nature of the film is rooted more in the fear of the unknown and the intrusion of the supernatural into modernity; it’s a film about the limits of scientific discovery and the realization that metaphysical evil exists in the world. Accompanying the McNeil’s on their journey is Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), who is tackling a parallel, yet inverse, crisis of faith, after the death of his mother. Their story’s converge in the final confrontation with the demon, as Father Karras is joined by the elderly Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), whose search and battle against the demon bookends the film. The Exorcist is at times subtle and dramatic, but reaches a climax of incredible intensity in the final confrontation between the priests and demon. It remains a masterpiece of the horror genre and the New Hollywood renaissance.

2. The Exorcist III (1990) dir. William Peter Blatty

After the failure of the second film in 1977 (more below), Warner Bros. decided to adapt William Peter Blatty’s sequel novel, Legion. When Friedkin turned down the project, Blatty himself took the task of adapting his own novel for the screen (only the second film he ever directed, after 1980’s The Ninth Configuration, which I love and have written about). The Exorcist III is as much a police procedural as a horror film, following the confrontation of Lt. William Kinderman (George C. Scott) with a killer who seems to follow the patterns of a long dead serial killer, Gemini. Kinderman was a minor character in the first film, but this film recasts Lee J. Cobb with Scott. While I admire Cobb as a character actor, Scott gives a fantastic performance here, it’s a stronger take and more fleshed out. Cobb’s relationship with Father Dyer (Ed Flanders) and their differing approaches to faith lies at the heart of the film. When Kinderman realizes that a mysterious psychiatric patient may be connected to the events surrounding the possession of Regan McNiel in the 1970s, the officer finds himself confronting an evil more powerful than any he has confronted before. The film features some genuinely creepy jump scares, a wonderfully deranged performance by Brad Dourif as the Gemini Killer, and an excellent atmosphere of exhaustion and dread. The film is also an instance of studio meddling in the series, which would be more pronounced in the prequel films as I discuss below. In this instance, the studio believed that a film with the name Exorcist should have an exorcism, and so insisted on a different ending than Blatty’s original script. A cut of the film exists that restores Blatty’s original ending, but even if this cut doesn’t conform to Blatty’s original vision, The Exorcist III is still a worthy sequel to the original film.

3. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) dir. Paul Schrader

The story of Dominion is difficult to tell without noting the tumultuous production circumstances of the film. Paul Schrader’s film is a prequel to The Exorcist, telling the story of a younger Father Merrin (here played by Stellan Skarsgaard), set in the aftermath of the second World War and setting up his first encounter with the demon Pazuzu in Kenya. While the studio would ultimately reject Schrader’s version as being too slow and not what they wanted (leading to Exorcist: The Beginning, addressed below), Dominion remains a fascinating film. While I understand that the film is slower in pace than most contemporary aughts horror films, it’s hardly a staid character drama; in moments, it plays like a classic adventure film, with journey’s in a foreign land and a big cast of supporting characters. But the film explores weightier moral issues than one might expect. The opening scenes show the horrible choices Father Merrin is confronted with by the Nazis during World War II, setting up a character who doesn’t need to believe in supernatural evil to understand the horrors of the world. It makes Dominion as much one of Schrader’s stories about “God’s lonely men,” confronted by the horrors of the world and trying to reconcile them with their spiritual beliefs. Sadly, the film isn’t entirely finished in terms of visual effects, but it’s still an enjoyable horror adventure.

4. The Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) dir. Renny Harlin

Here we get to the bad Exorcist films. As noted above, the studio wasn’t happy with the film that Schrader turned in, so they hired Renny Harlin to remake the film—using much of the same script and cast! Once again, Father Merrin (also played by Stellan Skarsgaard) confronts Pazuzu in post-war Kenya, and again he must confront his own demons from the past and save the day. The Exorcist: The Beginning is fascinating as an example of how different a story can be in the hands of a different director and vision. Harlin’s film is a perfect example of mid-aughts blockbuster style. It’s colour-timed within an inch of its life, meaning it’s over saturated and full of the teal-and-orange palette that was popular at the time. It always goes for foreboding angles and fast cuts. Somehow they manage to make Father Merrin into a wise-cracking, world-weary demon fighter rather than a man fighting supernatural evil as well as the darkest secrets of his own past, as in Schrader’s film. While it’s not the worst film I’ve ever seen, or even the worst Exorcist film in my book, the badness of The Beginning’s is heightened through the stark contrast it offers to Schrader’s film.

5. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) dir. John Boorman

While some have called it the worst movie ever made, there are some who hold Exorcist II: The Heretic in high regard, including none other than Pauline Kael and Martin Scorsese. Such a contrarian stance sees more value in the gonzo plot and talented cast than I do. The Heretic is one of the worst sequels I’ve ever seen in my life. It completely misses the point of the original film, trashing the details of the original film to explore strange new tangents. In The Heretic, we discover that four years later, Regan McNeil (Linda Blair) is in therapy dealing with the repressed memories of her possession. Dr. Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) submits Regan to her experimental brain “synchronizer,” which allows people to synchronize memories and enter each other’s thoughts, discovering the truth about Regan’s past. Meanwhile, a priest who botched one of his own exorcisms, Father Lamont, played by a visibly drunk Richard Burton, is investigating Regan’s possession, since Father Merrin (played again by Max Von Sydow in flashbacks) is being tried for heresy due to his writing and beliefs about the church’s battle with Satan. Its plot is heavy on sensationalism and convoluted conspiracies. That said, it’s a film that should be a great deal better than it is. Even if I think it fatally clashes with Friedkin’s film (Friedkin has called this film an abomination), I could probably get behind a film like this that actually lived up to its gonzo content and scenery-chewing characters, if it wasn’t branded with The Exorcist name. But sadly, the film is boring, with long stretches of the characters hooked up to the “synchronizer” (which almost seems like a Scientology “auditor”) and simply reacting to the memories they see in each other’s head or the presence of the demon. It’s a film that fails as either a follow up to The Exorcist or a truly wild film maudit, waiting to be rediscovered by an appreciative audience.

The Exorcist (1973, USA)

Directed by William Friedkin; written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his novel The Exorcist; starring Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb.

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977, USA/UK)

Directed by John Boorman; written by William Goodhart; starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Kitty Winn, James Earl Jones, Paul Henreid, Ned Beatty.

The Exorcist III (1990, USA)

Directed by William Peter Blatty; screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his novel, Legion; starring George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Nicol Williamson, Scott Wilson, Nancy Fish.

The Exorcist: The Beginning (2004, USA)

Directed by Renny Harlin; screenplay by Alexi Hawley, based on a story by William Wisher and Caleb Carr; starring Stellan Skarsgaard, Izabella Scorupco, James D’Arcy, Ralph Brown, David Bradley, Ben Cross.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005, USA)

Directed by Paul Schrader; written by William Wisher and Caleb Carr; starring Stellan Skarsgaard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Billy Crawford, Ralph Brown, Julian Wadham.

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