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 was made into the movie "The Exorcist III" in 1990. Like "The Exorcist", it involves demonic possession. The book was the focus of a court case over its exclusion from "The New York Times" Best Seller list. Blatty based aspects of the Gemini Killer on the real-life Zodiac Killer, who, in a January 1974 letter to the "San Francisco Chronicle", had praised the original "Exorcist" film as "the best satirical comedy that I have ever seen". The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the