It's hard to believe that the film The Exorcist is almost 50 years old. And that is has as much of a legacy as it does. But this book, for the most part, does a wonderful job of regaling the reader with everything Exorcist from the time of the seminal film. That legacy is told in documentary style including first-hand experiences and observations by the author as well as including excerpts from numerous interviews and other publications over the decades. With regards to the original film, not only did I learn behind-the-scenes information I had not heard before, but there were movie factoids and deeper meanings in the film itself that I had never heard of or, somewhat to my embarrassment, realized before. Not only was the story behind the story very engaging and informative, but at times was even hilarious. Where the book is weaker, and arguably because of its source material, is in the latter part of the "legacy," pretty much steadily becoming less interesting the farther from Exorcist III/Legion it got. Though the troubled history of the Dominion/The Beginning films and the short-lived TV show (which I really enjoyed and felt was sorely underrated) were intriguing, the time spent on the not even yet released upcoming movies felt like it got too much attention in the book, and the subsequent chapters on actual religious mythology felt unnecessary since such matter were previously addressed as they specifically applied to the original film. But overall it was a very informative and enjoyable read about The Exorcist.

I’m a big film fan so wanted to dive into The Exorcist Legacy to see why the film has such a hype around it and of course learn more about the “curse” of the film.

I felt like in some places it felt a bit much of information overload- for example when it was discussing the synopsis of the films after previously discussing how the film was made, I would have preferred a brief synopsis before the films were discussed.

If you are a big fan of The Exorcist then this book is for you as it has very detailed accounts on each Exorcist film and the series as well as the plans for the continuation of the legend.

I've been a huge fan of THE EXORCIST, book, film, sequels, TV show, and all of the various permutations since I was a little boy, and my mother foolishly decided that it was OK to let me watch it when it premiered on CBS. To say I was traumatized would be an understatement. I'm finally, decades later, able to stumble across the film on TV without jumping in fright if I catch a glimpse of the possessed Regan.

So, needless to say, I've read and seen a lot about the making of the film and the behind-the-scenes lore. I thought I'd heard it all, but author Nat Segaloff still managed to toss me a few curve-balls, especially regarding the sequels, prequels, and the unfairly neglected TV series, which I highly recommend you track down, in case you haven't already. I only wish that Segaloff had spent more time on the sequels, prequels, and TV show, but he still manages to deliver a ton of information that was new to me. This is a must-read for fans of the franchise.

Review from ARC: I haven't read other books about The Exorcist, but this strikes me as a warts-and-all history of the book, the movies, the TV series, and all involved in the telling of this story. It's an important story to tell as many of the main characters are either not with us anymore (Blatty, von Sydow) or won't be with us for much longer (Friedkin, Burstyn). Most interesting for me were Friedkin and Batty's early years, and the impact these had on their telling of the original story but even the lesser sequels have interesting histories that will appeal to fans of any part of this franchise. Fifty years on a good story is still a good story!