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
Exorcist II: The Heretic with flashbacks in "Exorcist II". Although this same exorcism becomes the central plot line for the most recent "Exorcist" movies "" and "", little effort was made to keep the stories consistent. The boy is not named Kokumo, and the locations and circumstances of the exorcism do not resemble "Exorcist II: The Heretic" even remotely. Ultimately it is revealed from "Exorcist: The Beginning" that the African boy is not the one actually afflicted; it turns out to be another character entirely that is possessed. However, "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist" does show the African boy being the person who was