William Friedkin’s now-classic horror movie The Exorcist is still regarded as one of the scariest movies in the history of cinema, and with its legacy and success also comes a supposed curse – but in reality, most of those strange events surrounding The Exorcist can be easily debunked. In 1973, The Exorcist arrived to terrorize audiences around the world, who definitely weren’t ready to witness the story of Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) and how she became possessed by a demonic entity known as Pazuzu.
Based on the 1971 novel of the same name, The Exorcist follows Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow) and Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) as they are tasked with performing an exorcism on 12-year-old Regan after she started acting violently, speaking in tongues, and killed one of her mother’s friends. The exorcism isn’t easy, and the demon begins to psychologically attack Karras, but he and Merrin do everything they can to save Regan. Given its theme, The Exorcist is said to be a cursed film, which has added to its sinister legacy, but the “cursed” events that happened on set were actually the result of unethical production and directing, among other factors – and here are the three biggest myths about The Exorcist debunked.
The Exorcist’s Set Caught Fire (Except Reagan’s Room)
Production of The Exorcist began in August 1972, but it went through various problems, mostly on-set accidents, that led to it being delayed and taking over 200 days to wrap, which in turn, resulted in production going over budget. These problems during the filming of The Exorcist are the basis of the so-called “curse”, beginning with a fire. The set for the interiors of the MacNeil’s house was destroyed, but the only part that was left untouched by the flames was, weirdly enough, Regan’s room, where the exorcism takes place. As eerie as this incident sounds, the fire has nothing to do with a curse or some supernatural presence on set messing with the production of The Exorcist, as the fire was caused by a bird that flew into a circuit box. Of course, this led to production being delayed until the set was rebuilt, and while it’s certainly a strange coincidence that Regan’s room wasn’t damaged, the location of the fire’s source and that of the room might have been the reason why it was the only part left standing.
Ellen Burstyn & Linda Blair’s On-Set Injuries
The set that caught fire was only the beginning of a series of incidents during the making of The Exorcist, and while the fire didn’t leave any permanent damage, the biggest on-set accidents did leave long-lasting damage on the victims. First, Ellen Burstyn (who played Regan’s mother, Chris) suffered a back injury while filming the scene where the possessed Regan throws Chris across the room, right before the famous head-spinning moment, and that scene was used in the film, meaning that Burstyn’s agonizing scream was 100% real. Burstyn suffered a coccyx fracture that wasn’t treated adequately at the time, and as a result, it has caused her problems ever since.
Linda Blair also injured her back while filming The Exorcist, specifically the scene where the bed was violently rocked. Blair was loosely strapped to the bed, resulting in a fracture of her lower spine, and just like in Burstyn’s case, Blair’s take was also used in the final cut of the film. Blair revealed that this injury caused her to develop scoliosis, affecting her health for a long time. In addition to this, Blair developed a lifelong aversion to cold, as Friedkin decided to cool Regan’s room to an extreme in order to realistically capture the fogged breath. Behind-the-scenes footage of The Exorcist shows the cast wearing heavy jackets to stay warm between takes, while Blair was only wearing her character’s nightgown, so it’s completely understandable that she can no longer stand cold weather since then. Other reported injuries on the set of The Exorcist were a lightning technician who lost a toe and a carpenter who lost a thumb.
These accidents weren’t the result of a curse, instead being the fault of Friedkin and the rest of the production crew. According to America Magazine, Burstyn actually complained that, while filming the scene in which she injured her back, she was getting pulled across the room too hard by special effects supervisor Marcel Vercoutere, and though Friedkin told her he would fix it, he ended up encouraging Vercoutere to pull harder, resulting in her fracture. Friedkin has a reputation for his directing methods, which include regularly firing guns to get startled reactions in the actors, and is known to go to extremes to get the shot he wants, so, sadly, it’s not surprising that he would go as far as to hurt his main cast to get what he wanted.
The Exorcist’s Cast & Crew Deaths
Not only did serious injuries happen on the set of The Exorcist, but there were also deaths among the cast and crew. Jack MacGowran, who played Chris’ friend Burke Dennings, passed away a week after finishing his scenes, with the last one being Dennings’ death, caused by the possessed Regan. Vasiliki Maliaros, who played Father Karras’ mother, also died before the movie was finished, with her character passing away at the beginning of the story. The main cast of The Exorcist also dealt with the deaths of people close to them as well as life-threatening incidents happening to their loved ones: Linda Blair’s grandfather died during the first week of production, Max von Sydow had to travel back to Sweden after his first day on set as his brother passed away, and Jason Miller’s son, The Lost Boys’ Jason Patric, was struck by a motorcycle, leaving him in critical condition. In addition to that, the night watchman and the operator of the refrigeration system for Regan’s room also died, as well as the assistant cameraman’s newborn child.
It’s easy to blame all these losses and accidents on a curse, but it’s important to remember that the production of The Exorcist lasted over nine months, and a lot can happen during that time. MacGowran died from influenza after complications resulting from the London flu epidemic and Maliaros was 90 years old, and the rest were just tragic coincidences.
The Studio Seized The Exorcist’s Accidents For Marketing Reasons
Friedkin once told the magazine Castle of Frankenstein that they were “plagued by strange and sinister things” during the filming of The Exorcist and that some of the visuals had not been intended and could not be explained, with Vercourtere adding that there was “definitely a feeling something bad could happen”, but this only added to the belief of The Exorcist being cursed, which the studio used to its advantage. Film historian Sarah Crowther (via inews) explained in 2018 that Warner Bros. had all the intention of creating controversy around The Exorcist, beginning with its decision of releasing the film on Boxing Day 1973. The studio spread speculation about a curse before the movie was released, so it was obviously widely and quickly spread thanks to the press, drawing more attention to the film.
The belief of the movie being cursed, along with the story itself and the graphic scenes, led to a number of viewers having very physical reactions to The Exorcist, with reported cases of people fainting, vomiting, and even heart attacks and a miscarriage happening among viewers. Every supposed “curse” about The Exorcist has an explanation, mostly linked to William Friedkin’s controversial and unethical directing methods, and Warner Bros. used those myths to its favor, resulting in The Exorcist becoming one of the most successful, controversial, and scariest movies ever made.