It's the last week of October, and you all know what that means. But before I get started talking about my favorite horror movie of all time, let me get some stuff out of the way. We've been messing around with Scratch in computer programming for the past couple of weeks. It's ok, I mean it's really easy and pretty straight forwards, but I don't really see where we're going with it so far. It seems like we're going to start wrapping it up pretty soon, so I look forwards to what we do next.
Anyways, this week's post will conclude the series of horror movies that I have been reviewing in celebration of the October season. Today I will talk about a movie that left one of the most memorable marks on the American people out of any movie. Do be warned, the material covered in this movie is fairly controversial, and if you are easily offended by religious references to the anti-christ, satanistic beings or explicitly violent depiction of little girls, please navigate away from this page. Without further ado, this week's movie is:
The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin
The Exorcist was released in 1973, and contains some of the most visually disturbing images I have ever seen. Even by today's standards, this is over the top; I can't imagine what people would have thought in the 70's.
Naratively speaking, this movie doesn't do much. A young girl is possessed by some sort of demon, and after months of doctors visits her mother calls a priest to do an exorcism in order to expel the demon. Simple enough. But when you factor in the sheer amount of graphic chaos depicted in this film, I don't know if the viewer could have handled much more. I think that the simplicity of the plot was one of the few comforting aspects of this movie.
I've already referenced the extreme use of special effects several times. This is what really made this movie something special. That, and the sheer balls that Friedkin must have had to go as far as he did with this movie. As the little girl (Regan MacNeil) becomes progressively worse, her flesh begins to rot, and severe lacerations on her face become infected and her eyes yellow, giving her the appearance of a zombie more than a human being. The majority of the disturbing peices of this film revolve around Regan and her self mutilation while under the influence of what claims to be the Devil. In one scene, Regan is shown forcefully stabbing her self in her vagina with a metal crucifix, and then shoves her mothers face into her bleeding private area. One of the most famous scenes in the movie is when Regan's head turns completely around to speak to someone behind her. There is also a scene in an extended version of the film where Regan "crab-walks" backwards down her staircase and then vomits blood. These are the kind of extreme, over the top moments that make this movie truly unforgettable, no matter how hard one tries.
Another thing that really made this movie was how purely controversial it was. Many people were offended by this extreme interpretation of the Devil and how the movie dealt with God. The movie also included hints that the Catholic church, while rarely, participated in exorcisms even in the current day and age, and just kept it under wraps, as it could be seen as an embarrassment. This added to the edge of the film, making it even more adult.
But this was not just a crowd pleaser, The Exorcist was nominated for many many awards that year in both the Academy Awards and the Oscars, and was the only horror movie to ever receive Best Picture nomination until The Silence of the Lambs, in 1991 (see previous post). It is rare that a horror movie receive such praise, because I think that often directors forget about quality cinematography while trying to hard to please the audience, especially with horror movies. Part of the reason I believe horror movies get such a bad reputation for being terrible movies is because more times then not, the sole purpose of the movie is to scare the viewer, not to make the viewer think about things in a new way or to introduce the viewer to something new. I think that a truly good movie, while entertaining, should also contain a little more depth then just being scary.
The main theme that I picked up on in The Exorcist was the struggle between good and evil. In the opening sequence, the film shows and elderly priest at an archaeological dig in Iraq. The intense labor, extreme heat and dark red sun makes the dig seem like some sort of hellish expedition. The elderly priest named Father Merrin witnesses several bad omens himself; almost getting run over by a carriage, two dogs fighting, and a pendulum clock that suddenly stops mid-swing. This somewhat abstract beginning gives a sense of dark foreboding for the rest of the film.
A discovery at the dig produces a small stone figurine of some sort of monster, which, while never revealed in the movie, is a statue of the Babylonian god Pazuzu, the king of wind demons. Pazuzu's image is seen several times later in the film, one of which is in Regan's bedroom. Regan seems to revel in the presence of this demonic figure. Although the demon that possesses Regan claims to be the Devil, it is implied that it is actually Pazuzu that possesses her.
The fact that a girl as sweet and innocent as Regan is possessed by a demon in ironic and adds the the theme of good vs. evil. The struggle between the two forces is finally put to an end when Father Karras (another priest involved with the exorcism) demands to be possessed by the demon instead of Regan. When the demon leaps into Karras' body, he leaps out the bedroom window, killing himself and the demon within, showing that no one side can win in this eternal struggle.
After recently watching this movie, I am very impressed with it. Friedkin did an excellent job with this piece and it is now one of my favorite movies of all time. I would give The Exorcist a 9.5 on the SMS and would highly recommend it to any who are prepared to see it. This has been a movie review by Severin: the somewhat informed movie critic. Stay safe America, and keep watching movies.
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