Exorcist, The (series)

[Tabitha]

The first movie is regarded as one of the best and scariest stories ever committed to celluloid.

Below par sequels followed, and even now there is talk of making an Exorcist 'prequel', with Liam Neeson in the role of Father Merrin.

The Exorcist (1973) - http://us.imdb.com/Title?0070047

Amazon.com essential video
Director William Friedkin was a hot ticket in Hollywood after the success of The French Connection, and he turned heads (in more ways than one) when he decided to make The Exorcist as his follow-up film. Adapted by William Peter Blatty from his controversial bestseller, this shocking 1973 thriller set an intense and often-copied milestone for screen terror with its unflinching depiction of a young girl (Linda Blair) who is possessed by an evil spirit. Jason Miller and Max von Sydow are perfectly cast as the priests who risk their sanity and their lives to administer the rites of demonic exorcism, and Ellen Burstyn plays Blair's mother, who can only stand by in horror as her daughter's body is wracked by satanic disfiguration. One of the most frightening films ever made, The Exorcist was mysteriously plagued by troubles during production, and the years have not diminished its capacity to disturb even the most stoical viewers. The film is presented in letterbox format on digital video disc, with a soundtrack that's guaranteed to curdle your blood. Don't say you weren't warned!

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - http://us.imdb.com/Title?0076009

Amazon.com
This sequel to the Oscar-winning horror film based on the novel by William Peter Blatty was virtually laughed off the screen when it came out in 1977. It was an unintentionally hilarious mishmash and received such terrible reviews that director John Boorman yanked it out of theaters. He reedited it, cutting eight minutes in hopes of getting the story (written by William Goodhart) to the point of coherency, to no avail. The film remains a kind of reverse gold standard for sequels. It's still a ridiculously overacted, although at times visually haunting, movie. Richard Burton stars as a troubled priest (something of a specialty of his) who is brought in to follow up on the case of Linda Blair, who is institutionalized, still troubled by her encounter with the devil (who wouldn't be?). By the time they confront Satan's minion in the final struggle, you'll be rooting for evil to win.

The Exorcist III - http://us.imdb.com/Title?0099528

From IMDB:
Ignoring Exorcist II: The Heretic, this one deals with a serial killer who was executed the same night of the exorcism in the first film with the girl Regan. The priest who fell down the flight of steps has been taken into the spirit of the killer to claim victim after victim some 20 years later. The killer mutilates priests and doctors and uses old women as suspects. After the returning police detective Kinderman sees that it is the same serial killings of the Zodiac, he and another priest decide to find and destroy the killer's spirit with using the final exorcism. But this exorcism will be much dangerous...

[Tabitha]

Info regarding the possible prequel from www.scifi.com/scifiwire:

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Neeson: Exorcist 4 Still Lives

Liam Neeson, who is slated to play a young Father Merrin in the proposed Exorcist 4:1 prequel film, told SCI FI Wire that the movie is still alive, despite the departure and death earlier this month of director John Frankenheimer at age 72. "We lost our director, John Frankenheimer, who passed away, so we're all still in a state of mourning and actively looking for another director," Neeson said in an interview. Frankenheimer left the project in June to undergo back surgery and subsequently died on July 6 of a stroke due to complications.

Neeson declined to answer questions about his motivations in playing Merrin or whether he would look to the original film for inspiration. Exorcist 4:1, which deals with events preceding the original Exorcist, was scheduled to begin production in August, with an eye on a release on July 18, 2003.

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I really like Liam Neeson, so I will probably watch this film, even if I am not a fan of any of the Exorcist films.

[Dave]

These were on my list to add. The first film was infinitely better than the second. I once saw them as a double bill, and the Exorcist II just doesn't compare with the first. I haven't seen or heard of any of the others.

I also believe Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' as a soundtrack had something to do with the Exorcist's success. It was unusual but very popular music and gave an instant identity to the film.

Linda Blair was forever typecast after this.

More recent movies might be more sickening, but not as frightening.