CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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I just watched my copy…(not a UK)…and it is most certainly “look at me”.
Brad Dourif is so underrated. 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, Blizzi. It was indeed a challenge to put into words what it must have been like for Regan to actually “be” possessed…that is something we never see. What does it feel like? What does she “See”? Or is she in a coma like state? Unfortunately (well, fortunate for her) she remembers nothing.
I do write…but just for a hobby. I am a lecturer and family therapist who is just starting a career, so the only place any “work” of mine can be found is either in an academic journal or my dissertation. 🙂
I have simply always wondered what it was actually like for Regan from her perspective…
Part 3…Burke’s death…is next. At least, I think…I never saw this part 2 coming, but the idea sort of grew into another section all its own.
Ah the power of language, Blizzi:
Just an intersting observation. I think you are the only one who has read the “Burke pt.1”, which included the line: He held it at arms’ length, his thumb outlining the limp torso of Jesus. Poor bastard,” he uttered with bated breath, “didn’t even get a final toast”.
You replied to it at 7:39 pm…
Then your reply here at 7:45 pm included the words, “Bated breath”.
Facinating! And I’ve had too much caffiene this morning. 🙂
Thanks! Ive never really tried to write something like this before, as my work can only be found in academic journals, which is, to say the very least, drab. The death of Burke has also mystified me, and I think I have played it out in my mind a thousand different ways. I was trying to capture his personality, but in a sober moment…(which we dont really get to see much of)
If this was the demon’s plan all along, why was the demon surprised when Karras, not Merrin, took up the case?
His youth. I think the demon is simply displaying arrogance, like Goliath mocking David (to use a biblical metaphor)
Blatty clearly presents Merrin as the demon’s target, based on their past confrontation.
Ah, but here I disagree. I do not think Merrin is the “target” per se, but rather the entire church. Faith. People’s belief and desire to turn to God.
The demon and Merrin do indeed have a past, and because Merrin “got in the way” before, he is going to be killed. The exorcism will fail. When Karras arrives the demon may be surprised, but the demon also sees one thing any good demon wants; opportunity!
Think of the demon having this inner monologue; “Hmmm…I have Merrin right where I want him. These pathetic priests can’t beat me, but I can convince Karras to sacrifice his body. So in one fantastic night I can kill Merrin AND have a priest’s body!” (insert crazy demon laugh here)
from Blaty’s and implicitly “God’s” perspective, the exorcism itself will “bring us together” – not Karras and the demon, but Karras and God.
Again, I disagree. Karras asks the demon directly, “You and Regan?”, and the demon answers “You and us”. If it meant Karras and God he would have to be speaking from God’s persepctive.
What could be more heinous?
Think of what is going on; there is a police investigation going on about a murder that has happened here. If the demon can take over Karras’ body, he will force the priest to kill Regan (which he tried to do). Then, Kinderman will come up, see the priest, and a PRIEST will be blamed for killing both Burke and Regan. Faith is shamed!
Personally, I always thought this is why Blatty thought Legion was necessary, or at least a source of inspiration. Everyone seemed to forget the underlying police investigation and “mystery” that is going on from that perspective. It is that aspect of The Exorcist that is brought to the forefront in Legion.
In the Legion book, it is only Karras’s re-animated _body_ that appears – his true self, spirit, soul, has gone to God.
Yes, but to the public, who would find out about the crimes, they would see Karras, and the scandal would be alive.
I guess it’s all just a matter of perspective. For myself, it’s a battle for the demon against a much larger target; the church itself and people’s faith in general. The first action the demon takes inside Karras’ body is to attempt to kill the girl. This will leave Karras as the only suspect, and linked, then, to Burke.
I actually respectfully disagree with the above explanations.
Take the classic line:
Demon: “It will bring us closer”
Karras: “You and Regan?”
Demon: “You and us…”
I have always been under the impression that this was the demons’ plan all along. What else could this line mean? The demon taunted Karras in his dreams as well. As we learn later in Legion, a beautifully orchestrated plot to send scandal amidst the faithful was thrown into motion.
The demon was aware that Karras would sacrifice himself, and that this would be the only way it would end for the girl. That is, either the girl would die, or Karras would sacrifice his own physical body for her life.
What the demon didnt count on was the strength of Karras’ faith to overcome the demon in both The Exorcist and Legion.
Anyone else notice that in Legion, during the dream sequence, the destination spoken about over the loud speaker is “Elsewhere”?
🙂Anyone else notice that in Legion, during the dream sequence, the destination spoken about over the loud speaker is “Elsewhere”?
🙂I am a psychotherapist, and over the years I have enountered a number of young men who have been put through multiple exorcisms by their families and priests because of their homosexuality.
The warped belief if that the “devil” is what makes them homosexual.
Simply disgusting what the human mind can be trained to believe.
***I think literacy has decreased massively since The Exorcist first came out, and I think that this is a big part of the problem. The “masses” seem not to know how to identify filmic metaphor, especially when it is couched in religious terms. They’re like a reader who thinks “Moby Dick” is (only) about a hunt for a big white whale. Similarly, they think that The Exorcist is (only) about a puke-and-filth spewing adolescent in conflict with two priests, one of whom cracks and commits suicide. Sure, there’s a demon mixed in, but he’s not very scary in comparison to the purported “scariness” of post-Exorcist cinematic villains.***
Which is why Dominion never saw the light of day by Morgan Creek. You actually have to have a certain level of intelligence and cognitive development in order to appreciate it.
I would hope that the members of this site have more respect for the film than to illegally download it to Youtube so someone could watch it for free.
Try another store. Or a Blockbuster.
Either way, the movie is crap, so you’re not missing anything anyway.
This picture is indeed from a deleted scene, and indeed it is Karras. It is not, however, supposed to be taking place the night of Regan’s exorcism.
This scene shows Karras after he wandered anonymously around until picked up and taken to the hospital, where we see an examination taking place. The doctors are most likely discussing his odd brain-wave patterns and seemingly catatonic state….before he starts “waking up”.
Good scene to leave on the cutting room floor, as it isnt really necessary to tell the story.
Greetings fellow fans…my very first post (LONG time watcher of the site!).
Actually, I have always regarded “The Ninth Configuration” as the true “sequel” (number 2). I have no clue if this has ever been discussed in this forum. It’s truly a remarkable film, and although its ties to the Exorcist are minimal, it’s creepy (to me).
It makes a much better “Exorcist 2”.
I have to really disagree with you about the dream sequence. The only bad part of the film is the ridiculous ending. The true ending (novel) is always what I want to see on the screen.
