The Exorcist (1973) on Netflix
Actress Chris MacNeil rents a Georgetown house with her daughter Regan, whose behavior turns violent. Father Damien Karras, a priest losing his faith, is asked to help the girl.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb8.1/10504,900 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes84%
Trailer
Plot summary
Chris MacNeil, an actress filming in Washington, D.C., rents a large Georgetown house with her 12-year-old daughter Regan, who finds a spirit board and says she has been speaking with a presence she names Captain Howdy. Regan's health worsens and she becomes violent, and doctors find no physical explanation. Father Damien Karras, a priest and psychiatrist who counsels Georgetown University priests, is grieving his mother and tells a colleague he is losing his faith. In northern Iraq, the ailing Father Lankester Merrin joins a dig at the ruins of Hatra, where he uncovers a talisman showing a winged being and confronts a statue of the same figure. Chris turns to Karras for help.
Cast
- Gina Petrushkaas Willi
Show all 20 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Exorcist (1973)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Blatty and Friedkin had difficulty casting the film: their choice of relative unknowns Burstyn, Blair and Miller instead of major stars drew opposition from executives at Warner Bros.
- Many cast and crew were injured, some died, and unusual accidents delayed shooting. Production took twice as long as scheduled and cost almost three times the initial budget, and the many mishaps have led to a belief that the film was cursed.
- Jack Nicholson was considered for Karras and Paul Newman was interested, before Blatty hired Stacy Keach. Three A-list actresses of the time, Audrey Hepburn, Anne Bancroft and Jane Fonda, were considered for Chris, but rejected the part.
- McCambridge ate raw eggs, drank whiskey and chain-smoked cigarettes to make Pazuzu's voice sound as intimidating as possible. After filming, the studio did not credit her until Screen Actors Guild arbitration.
- Many children were allowed to see the film, leading to charges that the Motion Picture Association of America had accommodated the studio by giving it an R rating instead of an X to ensure the troubled production its commercial success.
- Warner Bros. had booked the film into theaters under four-wall distribution rental agreements, a first for any major studio, which made the sold-out shows even more profitable for the studio.
