The Exorcist

The Exorcist was an interesting and complex film about a demonic possession. It was complex in the way that it was hard to determine whether the girl was really an art horror monster or something that could be looked at as possible, if you believed in the devil. After watching the film though, it became clear that the girl was considered a monster when thinking about the plot. The Exorcist followed the complex discovery plot. Onset took place when Regan tells her mother that she can’t sleep because her bed is shaking. Her mother dismisses it and Regan goes back to bed. Later her mother has a party and Regan comes downstairs to for warn a guest that he will die. Part of the onset is also seen when she tells the man of his death, because right after she pees on the floor. Finally her mother sees that her bed is shaking and that weird things happen to Regan, like not being able to control what happens to her body. The demon causes her to flip uncontrollably back in forth in her bed and her mother can’t stop it. Discovery happens when Regan’s mother cannot find help for her daughter. She takes her to the hospital to get many tests done and see many psychologists. They give her ritalin, but it doesn’t work. Finally, Regan’s mother goes to see a priest to speak about an exorcism. This is the beginning of confirmation. The priest must follow Church guidelines in order to do the exorcism, so he tape records a session with Regan. From the session he believes she is possessed and asks to do the exorcism. Confrontation occurs when the priest, Father Karrass, is teamed with another priest, Father Merrin, an experienced priest when it comes to exorcism, to perform the exorcism. Father Merrin dies in the process and Father Karrass finishes the exorcism. He tells the demon to take his body and when the demon comes into his body, he jumps out the window to end his life, and save Regan from being possessed.

What makes Regan an art horror monster is how the demon makes her physically change and be very disgusting and impure. Her body turns white and her face seems to be bloated. She has cuts on her and she even inflicts some of these wounds on her own. In one scene she is seen stabbing herself in the thighs with a crucifix. She is also very mangy looking and dirty from sweat and, later, vomit. Eventually she has to be tied down to her bed and during the exorcism she comes loose. What also makes her disgusting is that the demon changes her voice to be deep and scary and she is very vulgar with her thoughts and language. It’s off-putting and shocking. Regan is made to do horrific things such as turning her head all the way around and writing on her stomach “help me” in some unknown way. All of these things evoke art horror in the audience because the demon is threatening, disgusting and impure.

This movie can be explained by the thought theory. We couldn’t fathom this happening to anyone, but because the movie plays that this happens because of the devil there is always that “what if” factor. We are scared because the thought of it actually occurring is horrific and terrifying beyond belief. Are question of how it happened was answered though, she was possessed by a demon. How the demon was killed was not a far stretch either. It was killed through an exorcism performed by a Catholic priest. There is such things as exorcisms, though not commonly used today. Just knowing that they were once used still leaves us with the curiosity and fear that maybe it could happen. Overall the movie did a great job portraying and evoking art horror.