The Exorcist came out when I was in middle school so I didn’t get the theatrical experience with the movie but did get to see it when I was older. I did read the book while I was still in middle school. Our theaters in my town were very strict in not admitting anyone under 17 without a parent and my mom didn’t care what I read but she was not going to go with me to see that. My dad wasn't a film fan, and in fact, I only ever recall him going to one movie in my life. I threw up cheese popcorn and I think that did it for him.

I was interested in this book to find out more information about William Peter Blatty’s inspiration for the book as well as the journey to get this film made. The author did not disappoint. Meticulous research went into this thorough volume. I enjoyed it immensely. Interesting information was in every chapter and the way Blatty fought for his vision was admirable.

I learned a lot about the man and how strongly he believed in this story and wanted it told in the way he imagined it. He never sold out his characters or how he saw the crux of his story. His vision was to focus on the priest’s crisis of faith. In his mind, the story was more about the priest than the possessed child.
At the end of each chapter was a side note section that gave even more insider information and insight. That additional information was much appreciated by this reader as it fleshed out more details than might have fit seamlessly in the flow of the chapter.

The best parts of the book dealt with the original story. The author also fully explored all of the sequels and the nuances of them. As well, he described the ways they worked as sequels and the ways they didn’t. These sections were as meticulously researched as the parts about the book itself and the film. I have to confess I didn’t enjoy the parts about the sequels as much (some of them I hadn’t seen and thus, I appreciated the plot synopses by the author).

If you’re a film buff, a fan of The Exorcist and all its permutations, or if you just like Hollywood stories about making of films and the politics and machinations of getting a book to the screen, this is an excellent work to read. The author is to be commended for all the research he did and kudos to him for the insider information he was able to obtain from all the interviews he conducted. Highly recommend this for lovers of the book, film and/or the sequels. $ Stars

Reading The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty back in May was a great experience for me. The audiobook is narrated by Blatty himself and it is masterfully done. It's a truly chilling tale and one that so many know because of the iconic 1971 film, the first horror film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, directed by William Friedkin.

I've personally only ever seen the first Exorcist movie so my interest/attention did wax and wane during the sections covering the other Exorcist movies. That being said, the author does a great job of summarizing them so even if you haven't watched the other movies you can get a feel for the film, plot and characters.

You get a telling look at the movie making industry, the relationship between the two Williams, and the lasting effect of The Exorcist.

I believe horror movie buffs, and fans of The Exorcist book and subsequent film franchise, will be fascinated by what they glean from this thoroughly researched book.

I give The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear by Nat Segaloff 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐💫 (rounded down to 3 for Netgalley)

Also I just saw the trailer for the newest installment in the franchise, The Exorcist: Believer, and I do plan on seeing that this October 💚

Who wasn't terrified of The Exorcist ??
I watched this movie prob way too young & had nightmares for years ! This imo is still one of the scariest movies ever . I have yet to read the book because I'm a baby & I'm scared. 🤣 But for real . Maybe this will be the year I finally tacke it ?? We'll see .
I thought this book was going to go more in detail about like the effects this movie has had on culture even now , the fandom of this book/movie #TheExorcistLegacy but it was a long winded explanation about why the book was written & how it came to be a movie , although it was cool reading about all that & how the movie almost didn't happen (which can u imagine) , everything was repeated about a 100 times but with more detail every time. It's a very thorough book I'll give it that & very cool & Interesting in parts but like I said very long winded . Still a cool read though .

Thanks #Netgalley 💀

I was looking forward to reading this book, but I unfortunately didn’t enjoy it. It will be a hit with anyone who wants to know the behind-the-scenes of it all, but I had been hoping for more discussion on the legacy and impact of The Exorcist and the ripples in the social climate afterwards, but it didn’t fit the bill for that.

I did enjoy this book, it really felt like an homage to the original book and movie, what better way to commemorate the 50 years than with a book like this? to be fully honest I do like horror movies, but the exorcist is not a movie that I have watched from beginning to end, I was born in the eighties, but even then this was the movie everyone was afraid of, really a thing of legends, so we (me and my friends) we would get the videotape of the movie and try to watch bits and pieces, but always it downed in us like a curse and for some reason or the other we were never able to finish.

In this book we get to learn what inspired the book, the producers, what people thought that really related them to the story, and we even learn some titbits of when the movie went first in theatres, of course I wont give spoilers, but I do recommend you to get this book for you, or for someone you know that loves horror movies, it is worth of our time, and of course it will live on, just like the story that gave it a name and a meaning.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books, Citadel, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

A great companion piece for anyone who has a love of cinema in general and The Exorcist in particular. The book goes into detail about the production of the film, its sequels and prequels and also discusses the source material of William Peter Blatty's novel. Interspersed with interviews from Blatty, Friedkin, some of the actors and producers, this is a really comprehensive examination of the film and its legacy. It also contains some discussion about the themes of the film - whether the presence of evil in the world means that the devil exists and consequently, that God must therefore also exist due to the presence of good. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read (although there were times when the production process of film making went over my head a little) and would definitely recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Exorcist movie brings up so many memories for me. Watching as a kid and being suitably horrified. It was one of the films that disturbed and upset me. But also made me think about my faith. And it helped solidify my love of the horror genre.

I also loved both The Exorcist book and the sequel, Legion. The Exorcist Legacy was a deep dive into the origin story of the movie, books and subsequent sequels and prequels. Even going so far as to go over the short lived TV series, which I also loved.

Great information regarding Blatty and Freidkin’s partnership and friendship.

I really enjoyed learning the back stories and all the things that went wrong. Great read for those who love horror books and film and have a special nostalgic place in their hearts for The Exorcist.

must read for yhe fans of The Exorcist, horror, or film history in general. It gives a comprehensive history of the franchise. had no idea existed before reading this, but I was expecting a different kind of book when I read the descxription. O liked, but did not accomplaish the purpose,

I have to say when I was contacted by the publisher as to if I'd like to read this, I almost passed. I'm not terribly interested in movie making. However, I AM a huge fan of The Exorcist so I took it on. I'm glad I did. I will say this for the book it is thorough, almost a little too much so.

It is well put together in a logical sequence all the way to today. Segaloff goes into details of both the director Bill Friedkin and the author, Bill Blatty's childhood, early career and their partnership. From there it launches into Blatty's book and the first movie. Each of the sequels follow in order (Heck I didn't even know there were two TV-only sequels and now I'm wondering how I missed that.) Each book/movie/tv show had a synopsis side-bar.

When I say this goes into a ton of detail I'm not kidding. We see every actor/actress, every one they thought about hiring but didn't, the stunt doubles, all the legal battles over the past 50 years. It goes into all the special effects innovations, who got hurt and when, the Exorcist 'curse' how the shots were taken, how the audio was done etc.

So for me, it was a bit much. I'm not into film making as I said. If you are interested in that, you should love all those details. Even though it wasn't my interest, I didn't find it dull so there's that. We also get a lot into Blatty and Friedkin's philosophies about the movie, how it's not really a horror but how it's proof of the divine (if there's a devil then there's a god fallacy and yes it does explore why that thought process has a fallacy in it) also how it's about the loss and gain of faith and how Blatty thinks of it as a mystery, not horror.

That actually could be one place I could ding this book. It's rather repetitive about the why's of what brought Blatty to write this, like it's in every chapter. It also gives an unpolished look at what went so very wrong with much of the sequels (and what went right). I particularly liked the slap at Fox TV and how poorly they promote most of their stuff (IMO accurate, it's why I stopped watching them, because so many good shows get cancelled after zero promotion)

All and all, this is a highly detailed love letter to The Exorcist and worth the read.

A must read for any fan of The Exorcist, horror, or film history in general. Nat Segaloff provides a comprehensive history of the franchise.

I was hoping the book was going to be more about the legacy of the movie and the effects of the movie during the time it was realeased. It was more focused on the making of the movie and the Hollywood drama. It is still a good book for fans of the movie - just different than I expected.

Nat Segaloff interviewed the director, William Friedkin, and use those interviews and other historical information to tell the tale of one of the greatest horror movies of all time. The one thing that Blatty and Friedkin tried to do was to make the audience talk about good vs. evil, and I think the movie does that. More than anything, they made a movie that people are still watching and talking about 50 years later.

I'm a fan of The Exorcist but I've never really wondered about the history behind its legacy, so this was an interesting, albeit not exactly read-in-one-go, reading.

The Exorcist Legacy is a nonfiction book about the creation of the Exorcist movie and the sequels that came after it. While I enjoyed this deep dive on the history of the Exorcist with a title like Exorcist Legacy I was expecting more discussion on the impact the Exorcist had on the horror genre both in books and film.

Wonderful! Passionately written and just felt like someone laid their heart on the page. Wonderful! Passionately written and just felt like someone laid their heart on the page. Wonderful! Passionately written and just felt like someone laid their heart on the page.

Some interesting essays but it felt fairly repetitive. An enjoyable read nonetheless and I think it would be a great addition to existing literature on the subject.

The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear, by Nat Segaloff, is an in-depth look behind the scenes at the making of the landmark movie, The Exorcist, released 50 years ago this year (2023). Segaloff was a publicist for the film, so he has a unique perspective about the cast, scenes, script and more.

The book indicates the filmmakers' goal wasn't to create a horror movie but to make moviegoers think about the concepts of good and evil. Fans of the film won't want to miss this insider's take on everything from the original "exorcism" that inspired the author's book to details on the special effects. I am not a horror movie fan (and despite the claims, I do think the movie intended to scare the pants off its audience), but I think this book will satisfy readers who do enjoy safe frights and fears. It's not for young readers, however, in this reviewer's opinion.

A few of us remember "The Exorcist" that was so shocking in its day, but probably only real movie buffs will want to read the details of how it all came to be. And DETAILED it is! For what it is, "The Exorcist Legacy" is well-written and seems to be well-researched, but only someone who likes movie history will actually enjoy it. That's my opinion anyway. I admit to not finishing the book.

This was an excellent read all about the cult classic The Exorcist book(s), movie(s) and beyond. I thought I knew a lot about the origin story and the entire “franchise” but I learned quite a lot from this book. Obviously it would appeal more to those who actually enjoy the book/movie but I’d say any ‘newbie’ to the legacy would appreciate its entire 50 year old story. I admit that some bits were more appealing to me than others (the tv series was never my jam so I zipped through that portion) but overall I thought the book was entertaining as well as informative.

I received a free copy of, The Exorcist Legacy, by Nat Segaloff, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I remember watching The Exorcist as a kid, and it freaked me out., (the whole head spinning thing) I only watched the original version though. This books talks about all the Exorcist movies, the alleged curse, and much more. This is a really enjoyable read, for fans of The Exorcist.