The Devil Inside

“At a time when criticsare expected to be publicists, and anything famous is ‘classic’ or ‘iconic,’Carlos Acevedo has managed to hold the line. The Devil Inside is asharp, hard-nosed aesthetic and cultural investigation into what everybody wasthrowing up about fifty years ago. It succeeds as criticism, history, andsocial analysis.”

—Charles Taylor, film critic at Esquire, and authorof Opening Wednesday at a Theater or Drive-In Near You: The Shadow Cinema ofthe American ’70s



In 1973, The Exorcistleft moviegoers gripping their rosary beads, vomiting in their popcorn buckets,and fainting in the sticky aisles. Cynically marketed as a cursed productionbased on a “true story,” The Exorcist quickly became one of the mostcontroversial films ever released. With its groundbreaking special effects,relentless pace, and terrifying finale, the film revolutionized the horrorgenre and paved the way for future blockbusters.

In The Devil Inside,Carlos Acevedo goes beyond the myths to examine the national uproar TheExorcist caused, as well as the dark, real-world effects it had on ajittery audience. Until now, books about The Exorcist have largelyperpetuated its legends while overlooking its cultural background. The DevilInside places the film in its cinematic and social context—as a product ofthe New Hollywood, when maverick directors hijacked the film industry, and aspart of the supernatural trends of the times, when the occult permeated music,books, and movies.

From the originalpossession case that inspired the novel to the troubled production to theconflicts on the set to the uptick in demands for actual exorcisms, TheDevil Inside sheds new light on a shocking phenomenon that has remained apop-culture touchstone for fifty years.