Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear

“The Exorcist” is one of my favorite films, in terms of genuine, superb filmmaking. It’s a film I will always make time to watch if it’s on television, and I make a point of watching it every October (along with other creepy classics). I’m one of those people who don’t consider it a horror film, but more of a supernatural thriller…and a fabulous one at that. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to read this book, even though this book ended up being nothing like I thought it would be. Somehow, even though I expected this book to be completely different than it ended up being, it still ended up being a treat for a very different reason, and Nat Segaloff (a name even I know, as he’s been around for ages as an entertainment reporter and film historian) is to thank for that.

I went into this book thinking it would be partially about the making of the original film, complete with plentiful interviews and anecdotes from the cast and crew, and partially about the reception of the film and the lasting legacy it’s left on Hollywood and on both horror films and various film makers as well. Instead, this entire book is one long love (and other emotions) letter to not only the original Exorcist film but to the original William Peter Blatty novel, the movie, all the different cuts of the original movie, the three sequels, the short-lived television series, and talks about the upcoming three-movie sequel set (the first movie in this set is slated to premiere this October as of this review).

Segaloff worked as a publicist on the original Exorcist film, so he was there, right at the beginning, and that’s how he begins the book. From there, this book is as immaculately researched as possible, given that William Peter Blatty passed away in 2017 and couldn’t tell his side of the story for every other side of the story told in this book. Segaloff could only work off any existing printed or recorded (audio or visual) material that Blatty had left behind before he passed (or remarks made to other people that could be considered hearsay).

I absolutely loved all the ins and outs of the movie making processes and stories of how the Hollywood machine grinds away, which is what a good amount of this book is about: fights over script length, casting, production costs, etc. The stories about the unconventional, weird, and on/off again friendship between Blatty and Freidkin were also interesting. The part of the book I disliked the most were how Segaloff insisted on inserting long synopses of the book, the movie, every version of the movie released, every sequel, etc. I ended up skimming those because I didn’t care. I’ve seen “The Exorcist” enough times I don’t need a synopsis. However, I can see the value in including them for people who haven’t read the book, seen the sequels, or just don’t remember as much as I do.

The book as a whole is an excellent book on the history of a groundbreaking film that shocked America and changed the horror movie landscape forever. A great read if you’re into the history of horror films.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: History/Nonfiction