Blizzi, I think you spelled Sufi correctly! I need to explore Rumi's poetry some time, I think he was a Sufi mystic.

Magus, yes, she would be motivated to put the clay on the statue quickly. That is why I said she would have carried packaged excrement into the church to save time – especially, as I noted, if the statue desecration, the pornographic altar card, and the altar dung incidents all occurred on the same night. You may be picturing the overdone phallus and breasts from the film, which presumably would have taken a significant amount of time to do. However, the book does not specify that the clay alterations to the statue were anything as elaborate as shown in the film. Stealth, secrecy, and timing all point to a quickly done job. Moreover, had Regan been away from the MacNeil house for any great amount of time, surely she knew she would be missed – another factor arguing toward stealth, secrecy… and speed.

It's on page 296 in one of my English versions. Page 319 in my Portuguese one. And page 237 on the first draft screenplay.

Yes.. ;)

Blatty based Burke Dennings on J. Lee Thompson.

Post edited 7:49 PM – June 24, 2011 by granville1

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Yeah, this is the myth that just won't die, spawned by narcissists who think they know more about Blatty's characters than Blatty himself: the unfortunate substituting of exegesis with eisegesis.

1. In the film, Regan's only objection to Burke Dennings is her imagined scenario of Burke replacing Dad Howard in Chris's affections. Period.

2. In the novel,  Regan's only objection to Burke is her imagined scenario of Dennings replacing Dad Howard in Chris's affections. Period.

3. In both novel and film, it is strongly suggested that Regan's imagined scenario of Burke/Dad displacement was itself planted by Captain Howdy, and therefore not even related to any real-life dynamics among Regan, Burke, and Chris.

4. The novel further elaborates on Burke's kindness and thoughtulness "while sober", and it never hints that Burke, when drunk, becomes a child molester. Rather, he verbally confuses and abuses others, then falls asleep dead drunk (explained specifically by Blatty on the night of Chris's dinner party; used as a plausible explanation for Burke's fatal plunge down the steps).

5. Most important, the novel's and the film's only molester is the demon itself. Period.

In all of Regan's physical and psychiatric procedures, not one hint of molestation or any other kind of abuse (other than self-inflicted injury during Regan's own "fits") is found or implied.

6. Those whose self-importance drives them to "know" Blatty's characters better than Blatty himself also conveniently ignore other possible sources of "child molestation" in the story, e.g., Karl Engstrom, who has almost unbroken possibiilities of contact with Regan, and who Blatty describes as tall, strong, and lithe. Karl also has "daughter issues" which might cause him to interact with Regan inappropriately; Sharon Spencer, Regan's tutor who spends long hours in the house with Regan, etc. Of course none of these "candidates" are real suspects any more than is poor Burke Dennings. I mention them only to show how stupidly the molestation enthusiasts leap to Dennings as a culprit but conveniently let others off the hook

It bears repeating: in both the novel and the film, the only child abuser is the demon itself. No other is needed, mentioned, or implied.

Yeah, probably some viewers thought that "Dennings" was trying to suggest to Chris that Rags had done some kind of nasty, deliberate sexual stuff, whereas the plain meaning is that the demon is confirming what Chris just heard from Kinderman – "Regan/your c.nting daughter murdered me, just like you are seeing, by turning my head completely around, facing backwards"…

granville1 said:

Yeah, probably some viewers thought that "Dennings" was trying to suggest to Chris that Rags had done some kind of nasty, deliberate sexual stuff, whereas the plain meaning is that the demon is confirming what Chris just heard from Kinderman – "Regan/your c.nting daughter murdered me, just like you are seeing, by turning my head completely around, facing backwards"…

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That's my own thoughts, too. It is the tie and the revelation that ultimately breaks Chris's denial of the spiritual/supernatural that doctors posed to her in the conference room about possession. Chris rejected the possibility and pulled Regan out of the Barringer Clinic. While this could be related to Chris's aetheism, however, I think most would do the same regardless of religious beliefs. It was insane … yet it was true … especially when Burke's voice eminated from Regan. (And it is yet another clever part of Blatty's novel.)

Father Bowdern

epicwin123 said:

I never thought Dennings did anything to Regan. And from the first time I thought that the line he says at the end of the masturbation scence was refering to his death. Gosh, people are sick.

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Yes, they are sick and very careless with the material, and very taken with their own "cleverness". Blatty is a skilled enough writer to communicate that Burke is a molester – in subtle or in obvious ways. But he doesn't even come close. By the time Burke dies, we even have some cautious sympathy for him, which we surely would not, if Blatty really wanted us to think of him as Regan's abuser (and thus stealing some thunder from the real abuser, the demon).