As The Exorcist: Believer waits in the devilish wings, Life's The Exorcist: The Scariest Movie Ever (50 Spine-Chilling Years) possesses retail shelves.
This extensive periodical, written by Gina McIntyre, covers the many facets of The Exorcist's frightening and moralistic reign, including author, William Peter Blatty's shocking yet inspirational novel and its sequels/prequels, with reverent emphasis on the demanding yet ingenious director William Friedkin's groundbreaking adaptation (scripted by Blatty) and the additional, talented artisans who helped make it a soul-shaking classic.
Biographies on performers Jason Miller, Max Von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair and Mercedes McCambridge (the demon, Pazuzu's voice) are highlighted. (Alas, Lee J. Cobb gets lost in the shuffle). The bios are accompanied by overviews on set-design disputes, effects challenges levied at makeup artist, Dick Smith, as well as the inclusion of Mike Oldfield's ominous "Tubular Bells," which by a quirk of fate, became the movie's prime (and eponymous) theme music.
For marginal support, portions of McIntyre's text cover historical and folkloric exorcisms, such as the the notorious, Mt. Rainier case that inspired Blatty's tale, as well as the continued, pop-cultural speculation on whether the production was, in fact, demon-plagued.
Above all, readers are given a valuable view of why this rattling parable (courageous clerics attempting to rescue a defiled child through the pure power of their faith) continues to resonate over fifty years after its release.
The Exorcist: The Scariest Movie Ever is available at drugstores and supermarkets nationwide.
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