The ideal Boxing Day movie was released 51 years ago today

It’s Boxing Day / Saint Stephen’s Day / the second day of Christmastide – and however you choose to call it, today is the perfect time to comatose in front of a film.

A great many of you will be binging the new season of Squid Game on Netflix, and we can't argue with that. If you're more in the mood for a film though, we heartily suggest one of our top picks of 2024 – or you could go for seasonal classics like Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (far superior to the first instalment), The Muppet Christmas Carol or It’s A Wonderful Life.

And yes, Die Hard does count as a Christmas movie but it’s become an annoying debate to obsess about – especially when you could be considering Eyes Wide Shut, Lethal Weapon, Batman Returns or The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which are all Christmas films in their own rights when you think about it.  

However, there is one film that’s worth celebrating today of all days, a masterpiece that would make for the ideal watch considering it was released on this day 51 years ago.  

That film is, of course, The Exorcist.

Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel and directed by the late William Friedkin, it stars Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller and Max von Sydow, and was released in theaters on the 26 December 1973. 

Granted, the subject matter may not be quite what you’re looking for when it comes to seasonal cheer. For those not in the know, the book it is based on the supposedly true events of a catholic priest’s attempts to exorcise a possessed American teenage boy named Roland Doe in the late 1940s – with Blatty changing a few details, such as the gender of the possessed child. 

Also, the production of the film was believed to be cursed. The rumours stemmed from unfortunate events such as a fire on the set to the deaths of actors involved in the film, such as Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, who died while the movie was in post-production. 

But who doesn’t love a controversial pick when it comes to post-Christmas viewing? 

Indeed, part of The Exorcist's legacy is the controversy it created when released. Infamously subject to protests, censorship, and even being banned from screening in certain areas, the “scariest movie of all time” provoked a hysteria that still had crowds gathering for a good fright.

It did prove to be too much for some viewers to take, with reports of fainting and vomiting in the aisles. The thing is that it wasn’t the head-spinning, spider-walk or crucifix (if you know, you know) scenes that caused people to faint, but a scene depicting the young Regan getting a realistic-looking angiography. The sequence went on to receive praise from medical professionals, who described it as a realistic depiction of the procedure. This opinion was not shared by British comedian Graeme Garden, who has a medical degree, and said that the scene was "genuinely disturbing" in his review for the New Scientist. He went on to call it "the really irresponsible feature of this film". 

Regardless of this and in spite of all accusations of heresy and alleged subliminal imagery, The Exorcist became the first horror film to be nominated for an Academy Award. It earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won two at the 1974 Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing.  

More than half a century since its release, The Exorcist remains one of the greatest films ever made.

Still not convinced it’s an appropriate choice for a post-Christmas watch?

Well, consider that it’s been over a year since the film’s director William Friedkin died (what better way to honour him?), and that it’s so much more than spinning heads and projectile vomiting. Friedkin told a tale about the age old battle between good and evil, about challenged faith, grief, and of a mother battling for the soul of her child. Surrender to it and you’ll find its themes and tone unexpectedly life-affirming. Much like what you'd expect from a Christmas season movie.

The demon Pazuzu’s aim may have been to “make us despair,” but William Friedkin did the polar opposite. 

You can read more about what makes this movie one of the greatest of all time here, and instead of squabbling with your loved ones over which seasonal film to watch, spread harmony where discord prevails. Today, on Boxing Day, watch The Exorcist.