Four years before Star Wars, and two before Jaws, came the story of a single mother in Washington, D.C., fighting to save her little girl from the devil, and it created its own cultural phenomenon. People waited in line for six or seven hours to see it, fainted in the cinemas, became physically ill, wept, and had to leave. Based on the bestselling book by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist was groundbreaking in many ways. It exposed people around the world to the question of evil in a new and terrifying way. The inclusion of the Catholic church, and actual Jesuit priests, in the production also set a precedent. It changed cinema. It legitimized horror, becoming more than just a medium to scare people, but to actually make them think, and question their own faith, or lack thereof. Based on the real story of the exorcism of a fourteen-year-old boy in 1949, The Exorcist was a horror film without major stars, that had a tumultuous production, a director who legitimately scared his cast and crew, that had gone well over budget, and was allegedly cursed. This is the story of how The Exorcist became one of the rare horror movies that became part of the national conversation and consciousness. Support Verbal DioramaLoved this episode? Here's how you can help: ⭐ Leave a 5-star review on your podcast app 💰 Join the Patreon for bonus content and early access ☕ Send a tip to support the show 📱 Share this episode with fellow film lovers Get In TouchI would love to hear your thoughts on The Exorcist Twitter: @verbaldioramaInstagram: @verbaldioramaFacebook: @verbaldioramaLetterboxd: @verbaldioramaEmail: verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] comWebsite: verbaldiorama.com About Verbal DioramaEar Worthy 2024 Best Movie Podcast Winner | Golden Lobes 2025 Earworm Award Nominee | Ear Worthy 2025 Best Movie Podcast Nominee | Golden Lobes 2026 Earworm Award Nominee Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em. Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio Thank You to Our Patreon SupportersCurrent Patrons: Simon, Laurel, Derek, Cat, Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Jack, Stuart, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Danny, Stu, Brett, Xenos, Sean, Ryno, Philip, Adam, Elaine, Aaron and Steve. Thank you for supporting Verbal Diorama. Mentioned in this episode: Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon Patreon This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
