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The Exorcist.
way more Helter Skelter.

December 26, 1973 - 2023: 50 years of: The Exorcist.

Hell at home.

Brushing away the vampires and living deads of the 60s and before the teen-slashers of the late 70s ...Christianity gets a power-punch in the cunt. Georgetown would never be the same.

The Mother of horror-movies is changing the game, as the blatant attack on both the Priest and the Church, is an unorthodox expression of deep visceral hate and shock-value against the establishment. The 70s would never be the same.

Based on William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel The Exorcist, the film adaptation would break the convention in horror-movie making, crush the Roman Catholic's covenant and bring society to it's fucking knees. The exorcism of Western Civilization.

Evil has landed.
From normal cute small-town teenage-girl to fully rotted demoniac-possession, poor Regan is ...the chosen one. After thorough medical tests, Doctors and Psychiatrics cannot understand her changing behavior, the Devil fully controls her body and soul. Pazuzu possessed, it would take a cleansing-ritual, two Priests and a self-sacrifice to free her from the grasps of evil. This event is beyond paranormal-activities ...it's a Catholic carnage !

Overly obscene.
Released the day after Christmas 1973, at the height of the oil-crisis, the controversy exploded America-wide. From people walking-out in disgust, to numerous vomiting in attendance and fainting during presentations, this is the kind of promotion that money cannot buy. Nevertheless this is showbusiness and albeit extreme material, massive crowds continued to gather at the box-office, making the movie a top-draw for months.

Total desecration.
Numerous religious voices arose to the podium, blaming the producers of pure blasphemy and destroying the very fabric of morals and Holiness. Later with the advent of home-media in the 80s, a renewed interest kept the menace alive. Now integral part of pop-culture, there is a define time-line in horror movie-making: pre-Exorcist ...and post-Exorcist.

An eerie melody.
Through incidental black magic, The Exorcist's unsung hero is not even an on-screen persona, but a mere 3min-snippet from Mike Oldfield's 49min instrumental Tubular Bells LP. A British prog-rock epic that became the revered cold signature-track, synonym for thrills, but also a launching pad for both Oldfield and Virgin Records.

Depraved decade.
Wall-to-wall occultism, from 1966's Anton Lavey's underground Church Of Satan, to 1968's Rosemary's Baby Hollywood Satanism ...The Exorcist now brings Rated R demonic-possession to every hometown in America. A new genre was born and would soon bloom with more unholy appearances by both 1976's To The Devil ...A Daughter and The Omen.

"Do you know what see did ? your cunting daughter !"

RIP Jack MacGowran AKA Dennings (1918-1973)
RIP Lee J. Cobbs AKA Lieutenant Kinderman (1911-1976)
RIP Rudolf Schündler AKA Karl (1906-1988)
RIP Barton Heyman AKA Dr. Klein (1937-1996)
RIP Father Thomas Bermingham AKA Father Kanavan (1918-1998)
RIP Jason Miller AKA Father Karras (1939-2001)
RIP Robert Symonds AKA Dr. Taney (1926-2007)
RIP Arthur Storch AKA the psychiatrist (1925-2013)
RIP William Peter Blatty, writer (1928-2017)
RIP Peter Masterson AKA Dr. Barringer (1934-2018)
RIP Max Von Sydow AKA Father Merrin (1929-2020)
RIP Father William O'Malley AKA Father Dyer (1931-2023)
RIP William Friedkin, director (1935-2023)

*
The Exorcist = movie-trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDGw1MTEe9k
The Exorcist = theme song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj83ugShbic
The Exorcist = soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6X1sx0P6cQ&list=OLAK5uy_kg1lQEBR1edC2fSz2SM5OZZfuArVzaQpg
People's reaction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSVHpX1CDN8
The steps
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vNPwuVXsSoqF8m8S6