The Exorcist (film) The Exorcist (film) The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the same name, directed by William Friedkin, and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller. The film is part of "The Exorcist" franchise. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe, follows the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother's attempts to win her back through an exorcism conducted by two priests. The adaptation is relatively faithful to the book, which itself has been commercially successful (earning a place on
The Exorcist into the chief protagonist. Though the characters of Karras and Kinderman were acquainted during the murder investigation in "The Exorcist" and Kinderman expressed fondness for Karras, in "Exorcist III" Blatty has Kinderman remembering Karras as his "best friend". Jason Miller reprised his Academy Award-nominated role in "The Exorcist" for this film. Because of the studio's dissatisfaction with Schrader's version of the prequel (see "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist"), Renny Harlin was then hired as director to retool the movie. Harlin reused some of Schrader's footage but shot mostly new material to create a more conventional horror film. Harlin's new version