There is no doubt though that much in the way The Passion did, The Exorcist caused many to reconsider how they felt about their faith. Those who had a definitive belief in Heaven and Hell, of Good and Evil, of Jesus as The Savior and Satan as the epitome of pure evil were affected by The Exorcist far more than those who were agnostic or just never had a strong belief in spiritual matters. Much of this same feeling can explain the hysteria surrounding The Exorcist. For many others, the depiction of the brutality in The Passion may have been uncomfortable to sit through, but weren't emotionally effected to any degree. From most articles I have read, it seems that the majority of the audience that was moved were those people of strong religious beliefs.
I'm sure most of you have read the story of people leaving Mel's film in tears, some to the point of being hysterical. I think one needs to look no further than Mel Gibson's The Passion to find the answer as to why.
Yet, the hysteria went well beyond the fact that such scenes were so vividly depicted. As you know the film was made and it spared the movie going public absolutely nothing in the way of details.Certainly many of the people who lined up to see The Exorcist did so to watch some of the more gruesome scenes, the worst of which involved Regan's masturbation with a crucifix. While reading the book I was sure that if it ever made its way to film, most of the details would certainly be either `cleaned up' or omitted altogether. And yes, for it's time it was filled with gut wrenching details of what happens when for some unexplained reason an innocent girl is possessed by Satan.
It was the first book I had read in one sitting since probably Nancy Drew and The Hidden Staircase quite a few years earlier. After having been on the waiting list for what seemed like an eternity at the local library, I was finally able to obtain a copy.
I had also seen the novel listed on The New York Times Bestseller List, and it seemed as if it would remain there forever.
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