CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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Chris also asks her “What’s doin’?” several times, but indeed this is nowhere to be heard in the film. Merely a touch to flesh the character out in the novel that doesn’t necessarily have any place in the film.
Actually, you may recall that the scene starts out with the possessed Regan saying “What an excellent day for an exorcism” and it is to that statement that Karras asks “Wouldn’t that make you leave Regan?”
As for the “You and us” remark, it’s far better explained in the novel, but the demon can read minds. That’s how the demon knew about the beggar who asked Karras if he could help “an old alter boy, faddah?”, how it knew about Karras being a priest even though he wasn’t wearing any of his priestly garments, et. al.
It’s more than likely that the demon knew that Karras was having a crisis of faith- compare its attitude with Karras to that of when Merrin commands “BE SILENT!”. At any rate, the demon was trying to instill fear in Karras.
Actually, she does call her Rags in the film, but only once or twice- I think one instance is immediately after Karras takes his fatal plunge.
Its either that or Jesuit priests just happen to find that quote to be particularly meaningful / inspiring (i.e. Father Morning). But I agree with Hatter- that’s more than likely the logical conclusion.
As respectfully as I can, I offer that Karras didn’t just force the demon out, so much as force it into him. I actually would find the more interesting question to be did he jump through the window because he was cognizant enough of his situation to assume that, if he died with the demon in him, the demon would be thwarted? Or perhaps did the demon *make* him jump through the window? Possible motives for such an action might run the gamut from trivial (Merely ridding the world of another meddling do-gooder priest) to scheming (Perhaps Satan took notice of James Vennamun’s actions taking place not far away and *told* Pazuzu / Legion to throw Karras out the window).
I’m not looking to discredit Karras’ selflessness, just looking to analyze another possible layer in the complex EXORCIST tapestry. Then again, as Tommy Sunlight puts it in both LEGION / EXORCIST III: “Let’s call it revenge. A certain matter of an exorcism, I think, in which your friend Father Karras expelled certain parties from the body of a child. Certain parties were not pleased, to say the least. The very least. And so, my friend, the Master, he devised this petty scheme as a way of getting back…” Perhaps the moment Pazuzu / Legion left Regan’s body, Satan considered it a loss and, presumably being a being of quick thought, took notice of the shoot-out / electric chair execution and Vennamun.
Gracious me… Was I raving? Please forgive me- I’m mad.
Were it not for the fact that, currently, Morgan Creek asserts that they “lost” the footage, I have little doubt that WPB would more than happily consider doing a Director’s Cut / LEGION version of THE EXORCIST III. In fact, I seem to recall a news post right here on CaptainHowdy.com, that Greg Mielcarz of Morgan Creek had asked Blatty if he was interested in putting out a DVD of his original vision of ‘Legion’, to which Blatty enthusiastically responded “YES!”. Some time thereafter, Ryan reported on his site that he had spoken to Bill’s wife via e-mail and received confirmation that the footage was now “missing” from the Morgan Creek archives.
That said, Mr. Myers seems to have his fingers far closer to whatever pulse remains of E3 / LEGION and indeed, I’m sure his response will far supersede my own. That said, take it away EKM, you beautiful bastard. 🙂
If you really want to split hairs, you could argue that maybe if Regan’s mom and dad hadn’t split up, maybe Regan wouldn’t have become possessed in the first place. Or if Father Merrin ate more proteins, perhaps he wouldn’t have need nitro pills and he’d live another ten, twenty years. Or if Father Karras wasn’t a priest he’d be famous psychiatrist now on Park Avenue, and his mother, she’d be living in a penthouse instead of here at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. Know what I mean, Dimmy?
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say he’d probably run into the street with the hope that some form of automobile might hit him. Then again, Kinderman was on the street that night, right outside the MacNeil residence- maybe Karras would try to contain the demon long enough to get Kinderman to shoot him?
We can theorize all day long, sir. What do *you* imagine would happen?
Whether or not the demon in the original EXORCIST was actually Pazuzu to begin with is actually kinda debatable- as Merrin puts it, “The demon is a liar”. It’s *implied* that it was Pazuzu but, to pull another quote out, “Call me LEGION for we are many”- perhaps Pazuzu is just part of Legion. But I’m digressing here.
In William Peter Blatty’s LEGION, it’s implied that Pazuzu was responsible for putting the soul of the Gemini Killer into the dying body of Damien Karras. Karras’ soul was ascending into Heaven and the Gemini’s soul was entering Karras’ body.
As for where is the demon during LEGION, it’s left to the reader to decide what happened to Pazuzu. Perhaps Pazuzu *is* still inside Karras’ body, but in a subdued state, merely acting as a transmitter and aiding the Gemini in taking over the catatonics. I mean, why should we believe that James Venamun was endowed with demonic abilities? From strictly a logical standpoint, it could stand to reason that The Gemini was aided in his smear campaign against his father by Pazuzu, serving as a demonic proxy. Then again, it’s equally fun to believe that perhaps Satan took some sort of liking to The Gemini, finding his work to be pleasing, and endowed him with certain skills and abilities. Again- all up to the reader.
The only exception to all of this would be the cinematic adaptation of LEGION; of course I speak of THE EXORCIST III, in which it’s implied that Pazuzu returns to take over Damien Karras’ body when Father Paul Morning arrives and Pazuzu apparently panics- violently angry at its previous loss and presumably fearing another one, the demon takes full control of Damien’s body and proceeds to demonstrate what we can only surmise is “a vulgar display of power” by demonically disintegrating Morning’s copy of The Roman Ritual, partially flaying Morning’s head and body and leaving him all but slain.
Any additional thoughts? I think I covered all the major bases…
If there isn’t a Byzantine Church (and / or Byzantine Churches) covered in sand in the not-too-distant future, your narrative receives a thumbs-down from me, sir. The heart of the Exorcist saga has always beat from deep within Byzantinian culture.
As for cinematic inspirations, might I also suggest a viewing of arguably one of the finest films of our decade: Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones? I mean, I don’t know about you but I felt that that movie alone was superior to all three films in the Bored of the Rings trilogy.
It was on a defunct horror website, although maybe the author was speculating. At any rate, the exorcism is single-handedly the best part of Exorcist 3. But are you insinuating that the Karras Factor is the difference between a good Exorcist film and a bad one?
I remember reading online that there were plans for a brief cameo by Karras’ mother, pregnant with Damien in the denouement of Beginning but Legion? With Jason Miller as Coach Parseghian from Rudy on a cross? Hey, that reminds me: you *do* know that when he says, “Oh, Bill!” he’s actually looking off scene at Bill Blatty, making jest at the circumstances that led to the shooting of the exorcism scene, right?
