Movies in Print: The Exorcist

Movie posters can make for great wall art. Movie posters of box office hits are particularly popular collectors' items. Movie poster collectors often view rare poster prints online and print them using online poster printing services. Whether a film's poster features unique graphic design, haunting photography, brilliant imagery and a catching tagline, film posters play a significant role in bringing a film to box office heights. Whether the films follow through from the posters is another consideration but posters do an effective job of gathering film viewers' market.


An example of a terryfyingly iconic movie poster is the poster for the 1973 film, The Exorcist. Directed by William Peter Blatty, the film tells the story of a twelve year old girl named Regan who is violently possessed by a demon. The film starts first with the director developing the conflict the characters add to the plot. These characters include Regan's mother, Christine; Father Karras, a parish priest in Chris and Regan's neighborhood; Father Merrin, an older Parish priest experienced in the practice of exorcism, and several other supporting actors. The director establishes Father Karras' guilt at being unable to care for her mother during her sickness, blaming himself for her eventual death. The film's plot reaches its height when Regan's demonic possession causes the murder of her mother'sfriend. Abandoning psychological treatments and desperate to save her daughter, Chris finally turns to Father Merrin and Karras for an exorcism. Father Karras and Merrin perform the exorcism together but Father Karras breaks down and is sent out of the room when the demon, using Regan, speaks to him using the voice of his mother. Father Merrin, unable to continue the exorcism due to his old age, dies of a heart attack. When Father Karran walks back in to continue the exorcism, he is enraged to see Father Merrin dead. He decides to finish the exorcism himself by ordering the demon to transfer to him, committing suicide instead.


As with the plot, the film's poster is equally disturbing and haunting. A black and white photo of a Father Merrin's silhouette, set against Regan's house and illuminated by a the light of a lone streetlamp sends a bone-chilling message of the untold evil and fear that is about to unravel. The dramatic, contrasting tones of using black and white heightens this iconic scene. Since its release in 1973, prequels and sequels of the film have also been released, as with an unedited, remastered version of the original. The original as well as other versions of the poster have been popularly posted and printed through online poster printing websites.