[jguthrie]

Here is what looks like another British production on the horror film.  This is part six where The Exorcist is discussed….

[Steve Dunlap]

Nice!  Thank you for sharing. 🙂

[Jason Stringer]

Nice find!

[fatherbowdern]

One of the best spots I've seen on the film. Thanks for sharing!

Father B

[karras13]

The Exorcist is in a class of it's own and nothing else comes close. That movie redefined my views on good and evil(especially evil) and what true fear is all about. True fear doesn't comes from chainsaw wielding lunatics or quick scares that make you jump for a second and then have a laugh; in my opinion it comes from dealing with something unexplainable that cannot be shot, stabbed or dealt with in any physical way and comes from outside the realm of our idea of normality.

[fatherbowdern]

Great points, karras13!

While the demon inside of the Regan could not be physically harmed, do you (and others who contribute here) believe the demon died at the end of the film or did the demon simply return to his origin?

Father B

[Steve Dunlap]

I also agree with Karras.   Slasher flicks just aren't scary.   The closest thing to a “slasher” flick that was truly scary was ALIEN…and that's not even really a “slasher” flick.  Sure, a monstrous alien creature stalks six surviving crewmembers of a vast star freighter, but you really didn't see the creature that much.   It was the “less is more” approach that really set this film off.   It was the “intruder in their home” psychological aspect.  Being cut off from any help.  The unknown.

 

Fr. Bowdern, my personal view on the demon at the end of The Exorcist is that it left Karras just as Karras jumped out the window.  I didn't see it as one of those parasitic types that absolutely has to exist in a host, but it also probably faced mortality if it did indeed stick with Karras unto death.   It was more, to me, like “I have you…I have you, now, Karras!”   When Karras regained his senses, his thought seemed to be “I'm taking you with me you bastard!”    And then, as soon as he jumped through the window, Pazzuzu was like: “So sorry, not this time.” and fled the body.

[Jagged]

I always read it as:

The demon left and went back to wherever it came from, having failed in it’s primary task; to keep Karras from regaining his faith.

Karras wasn’t seeking to kill the demon, merely remove it from Regan, knowing it would not return, his acceptance of such signalling the return of his faith (the clues were laid in an earlier convesation in the book about demons never returning to their old hosts).

Having taken the demon in he had to kill himself in order to stop the demon using him to harm the others in the house. I didn’t think his sacrifice was planned as such, just necessary once he learned the demon’s intent.

I never saw it as him attempting to kill the demon, probably because I read the book first.

[Steve Dunlap]

Not to mention, demons likely can't be killed anyway….at least, not by us mere mortals. 🙂

[fatherbowdern]

Steve and Jagged – Those are probably two of the best thoughts I've read about the demon.

Steven, very nice summary in terms of the Alien/parasitic viewpoint … very well thought out.

Jagged, that’s a great capture in terms of faith, religion, and humanity.

 

So, let's say that the demon escaped, fled, or was forced out by Karras just prior to his death plunge; where would the demon have gone and what was the demon's mission? I know I'm inviting a much longer conversation about the demon, yet it is one that is not addressed in the film's finale.

Father B

[Steve Dunlap]

Thank you, good father. 🙂

 

In actuality, the demon could probably have gone anywhere he wanted.  🙂

An in-story idea might be that Karras may  have successfully banished the demon because of his selfless act. Back to hell, perhaps?

 

Another thought, upon reading the novel, when Pazuzu misspoke himself by saying : “I’m the devil!”  and then later recanting by saying “Just a poor struggling demon.  A devil.  A subtle distinction, but not one entirely lost upon our father who is in hell.  Incidentally, you won’t mention my little slip of the tongue to him now, Karras, eh?  When you see him.:”  It’s quite possible that ol’ Satan himself decided to punish Pazuzu and keep him in hell after his failed possession, especially for that wee bit o’ hubris.

[Ken]

jguthrie said:

Here is what looks like another British production on the horror film.  This is part six where The Exorcist is discussed….

I recently tried to watch this film after a very long time, and I had to turn it off.The thought of a little girl getting so horribly violated by some invisible evil made me stop the DVD and put in a comedy instead.It also made me realize that if I had a child and he or she was offered a role like this, I would not let he or she do it.I hate to see corrupted innocence.On another note, I remember the very first time this movie came to American Prime Time Television in 1980, I felt scared when they were packing up the house and getting ready to leave.All I could think was, “Where is REGAN?What are they going to do if she comes down the stairs and she is demonic again?!”

[fatherbowdern]

Good thoughts again!

This leaves us with where is Regan? Is she truly, “In here. With us.”? It seems literal in terms of Regan actually being inside her own body with the ability to write “help me” backward …

Father B

[Steve Dunlap]

Possession of this form generally seems to mean that the original personality of the host is “displaced” by the invading spirit.  The demon was not going to let Regan go…so essentially, she was a prisoner inside her own defiled body.  And in the novel, the demon was clearly having more than just outward physical effects on her.  He was affecting her sleep, which was affecting her heart and other vital body functions.  The demon even said: “She will never sleep!” when Karras tried to examine her during the exorcism (if memory serves).  

 

So, she was truly in there, with whatever other souls/spirits Pazuzu had in tow.    (Again…personal opinion…not to be taken as fact or even authoritative). 🙂

[karras13]

I never once thought that the demon died with Karras. I would think that being entities of a spiritual nature they wouldn't be able to die in the sense we physical creatures know which reaffirms my original point about what is and is not truly frightening.

When I saw The Exorcist for the first time I was suddenly forced to consider the possibility that evil, or the Devil in this case, wasn't some almost comical being who sat on a throne amidst a sea of flames and admonished sinners for being a 'bad boy' as depicted in so many movies and TV shows which I'd seen over the years. I was confonted with real power which dripped with spite, cruelty and none of the restraints which even the most evil mortal would have. Standing before it you'd have no options or escape.

Watching The Exorcist brought me face to face with a type of fear which I'd never known from any real life experience or watching years of horror movies. It was almost as if a door into my psyche, which we all probably have, was opened and I was looking into a place so dark it cannot be described -only experienced. It made all the monsters and axe weilding maniacs which previously scared me look positively anemic by comparison and if I was forced to choose then I'd gladly share their company any day rather than confront that kind of fear.

[Author]

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