Book Review: The Exorcist Legacy

Nat Segaloff, The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear. New York: Citadel Press (imprint of Kensington Books), 2023.  ISBN: 9780806541945.

Genre: films, pop culture

Subgenre: horror, 1970s

Format: print galley

Source: Provided by publisher

This book arrives right on time for the 50th anniversary of the film The Exorcist. It is one of the scariest films ever made. It is considered a classic horror film, yet Blatty, author of the novel upon which the film is based, never intended to make a horror masterpiece. As Segaloff writes, 

"They wanted to make a detective story about the mystery of faith. You could say that The Exorcist is, at its heart, a religious picture, a film, like Blatty's novel, that posits, if the devil exists, so must God. But people tend to forget that when they're dodging pea soup." 

To me, that sounds a bit much like overthinking and a bit too much protesting. Like many at the time, I came to see the film as a horror film. Still, if you want to learn more about the film, how it was made,  the sequels and more, this is the book for you. 

Segaloff was a publicist for the film and later wrote a biography of William Friedkin, the film's director. He did research and interviewed many people plus drew on his experiences to write this book. The book is arranged as follows: 

• Foreword by John Russo, co-writer of the zombie horror film Night of the Living Dead.
• 16 Chapters. 
• Various sidebars covering supplemental topics such as synopsis of certain books. 
• Afterword by Mark Kermode, a film scholar. 
• Appendix: a Colloquy with William Peter Blatty. This is an interview. 
• Bibliography and Endnotes.
   

The book strives to cover a lot of ground. We learn about the exorcism that inspired Blatty's novel. We learn about the novel. We learn about the film and how it was made. Then we learn about the sequels and a TV series; I honestly do not recall that television series, so I learned something new. The author brings us all the way to discussing the upcoming at this time film remake. Along the way we get stories, recollections, gossip, anecdotes, and tricks of the trade. 

There are many interesting details in the book. I found very interesting some of the technical details of making the film. Nowadays we take CGI for granted in film making, but it did not exist in the early 1970s. The film makers had to get seriously inventive in order to get the film they wanted. At times one wonders if it was the film the wanted given it got later editions. Segaloff looks at the later versions, going over the differences so readers can decide which is the real or definitive edition. 

We also get details on the cast, the workers, the studio executives, etc. Friendships made and broken, and sometimes reconciled. We get tales of studio interference and other business aspects. As I wrote, the author packs a lot in the book. 

For all the material, Segaloff presents it in an interesting way. Chapters are not too long, so the reading pace is pretty good. The side bars help to put the overall story in context. Additionally, if you want to learn more, a bibliography of sources is included plus the endnotes cite individual articles and interviews. 

 Overall, this is a pretty solid book for fans of the film. If you are a reader who enjoys learning how films are made, this is a book for you. If you wonder why The Exorcist maintains its appeal as a classic, this is a book for you. If you like Hollywood drama, tales, and gossip, this can be for you too. I learned some new things about the topic, and it makes me want to revisit the films. A small detail for some is that the book lacks illustrations. Some images would have enhanced the book. 

I recommend the book for libraries with film studies and pop culture collections. Also recommend it for horror collections. Maybe some libraries can make a display of the films and novels and feature this book as well. 

4 out of 5 stars. 

Additional reading notes: 

What the book is about: 

"To this day there are people who refuse to see The Exorcist. Despite this aversion, somebody must be seeing it; since 1973 there have been a sequel, an official sequel, and a prequel (each of which exists in two versions), a TV series, a trilogy of continuations, and countless cultural references, all of them harkening back to the 1973 original" (xvi). 

On a bit of a side note, I had hoped the author would at least briefly mention the parody Repossessed (1990), but it is missing from the book. It could have been an example of the cultural references, even humor the film spawned, plus the parody film did bring back Linda Blair. 

Segaloff discusses how the novel came about. Blatty's exorcist, originally, was to be a Black man "from the ghetto who has escaped poverty by joining the church." However, Blatty realized he was in danger, of, as he put it, writing Sidney Poitier (31). This for me raises an interesting question or two What if the exorcist had been Black? Heck, what if he had been portrayed by Sidney Poitier? Sadly we will never know (well, at least the Poitier portrayal; they could still remake the film with a different Black actor in the title role). 

A statement I did not really agree with: 

"There are people who just go to the movies for a good time-- it starts and ends there-- but these people tend to be people who don't cultivate much of an inner life" (97). 

I often watch movies, and read books as well, for a good time and the fun of it. That statement sounds more like pretentious critic claptrap. Segaloff was citing a video magazine critic. For their information, my inner life is rather healthy. 

On television and demonic possession: 

"Network television development and demonic possession have a bit in common. Both involve dedicated antagonists, ancient rivalries, dogmatic beliefs, and long-established rituals, all in passionate conflict for the souls of viewers" (227).