The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear

Written by Nat Segaloff

Narrated by Joe Hempel

On December 26, 1973, The Exorcist was released. Within days it had become legend. Moviegoers braved hours-long lines in winter weather to see it. Some audience members famously fainted or vomited. Half a century later, the movie that both inspired and transcends the modern horror genre has lost none of its power to terrify and unsettle.

The Exorcist Legacy reveals the complete story of this cultural phenomenon, from the real-life exorcism in 1949 Maryland that inspired William Peter Blatty's bestselling novel on which the movie is based, to its many sequels, prequels, TV series, and homages. Nat Segaloff, biographer of the film's director, William Friedkin, draws on original interviews with cast, crew, and participants as well as revelations from personal papers to present an intriguing and surprising new view of the making of movie, and its aftermath.

Segaloff also examines as never before the keys to the movie's enduring appeal. Friedkin and Blatty's goal was far more ambitious than making a scary movie; they aimed to make people "think about the concept of good and evil." The Exorcist succeeds, and then some, not just by creating on-screen scares, but by challenging viewers' deepest personal beliefs-and fears.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Jul 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781696610728

Reviews for The Exorcist Legacy

[RichardKevinWilson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you are a true horror fan, I am most definite that you have either read the book, or seen the movie based on William Peter Blatty's book; "The Exorcist". If not, you are not that big of a horror fan. I remember in 1973, I was 12 years old that was the age of the little girl in the book; Regan MacNeil. I was not allowed to see the film my Mother had told all my older siblings. I saw it the first time when I was 14. It terrified me and still does to this day, and I am now 63.

What that book and movie did to the world, and to the church was something that has never been done since.
Now the non fiction book 'The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear' has been released, in 2023. I had the book sent to me as an ARC and could never get into reading it.....however now I have just finished listening to it. And OMFG I cannot say how much I learned of what went on during the writing, examining the 'true story?', then making the classic (not supposed to be a horror movie, said the author!) horror film of an innocent 12 year old girl who is violently possessed by the devil. I learned so much. And I thought I knew all about it....once I got into this I had only known about 20% of all that went on. There was such marketing wizard's behind both the book and the movie that it was just a task in that, and it was done PERFECT! If you consider your self a fan of any form of "The Exorcist", you really should listen to or read everything behind it. It will amaze you all over again.....and it might even scare you again! It did me.

5 Bowls of Pea Soup