Rarely have I found it possible to read a book after I have already seen the movie. The process, I think, is much better the other way around. However, I have a penchant for horror tales and movies, and laying my hands on a tattered copy of The Exorcist at home was the best medicine for sleepless nights. I was very impressed with the book – the movie having made a general “green-pea-soup-vomit” impression on me. (Don’t get me wrong, I think the movie is nice and super-scary).
Moving to the book, it was extremely entertaining, fast-paced, and impressively enough – scientifically sound. While the movie deals with the exorcism, the book deals with the exorcist and his struggle to deal with Regan McNeil’s possession from the point of view of a priest and a psychiatrist. The book will be especially interesting for people who are scientifically inclined and even for an uninitiated person like me, it was a compelling read.
You may know how it all ends, but that won’t stop the book from being suspenseful and nail-bitingly chilling. I think we all agree that book versions are always better and that a book can never be translated into a satisfactory 70mm version. But the movie The Exorcist is a classic, and no one can argue about that. It is no wonder that it is, because it’s based on a brilliant book.
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