Woo, I’ve actually seen this one before!
Aside from being a classic, The Exorcist gives us much more than warm fuzzy memories. I feel like this is the franchise the established the trope of privileged white parent(s) with a demon possessed child. It also brought the whole exorcism ritual into pop culture. Seriously, I think I know all of the text and hub bub thanks to this franchise and The Omen franchise. And it made Linda Blair’s career! Well, for a moment anyway.
Chances are, you’ve seen this one too, so I won’t ramble. And if you haven’t seen it, go watch it. It’s pretty good.
Corey says:
This was the first time that I had viewed the “super scary pants-shitting fuck fuck fuck” version of the already terrifying Exorcist. To add to the pot ‘o fun, this was also the first time viewing the film in over a decade. And let me tell you: this bad boy holds up.
One of the most interesting things about this film is that much of the “scary” comes from the awful realism and desperation that Dimmy and company have to face. There’s no fun in the film. No camp. Very little gore. The only jump scenes are very subtle (let’s play spot the Capt. Howdy!), which makes them even more terrifying. And yet I am horrified by what William Friedkin put together.
It’s the kind of horror that builds in you, like a cancer. At first, I’m just uncomfortable. So a little girl pissed herself in the middle of a party, no big deal. Then there’s some spooky shaking. Kind of weird, ok. And then it just keeps going. It keeps hitting you with escalating acts of defilement. And that spider walk. Fuck that spider walk.
This is one of the few films that we’ll watch that I think still affects me the same way that it did the first time I watched it. It’s a masterpiece, and it’s status as one of the greatest of all time is well deserved.
Salty says:
Catholics go out of their way to hate themselves. What an unusual dogma: love the weak, the poor, the meager and the sick because they are blessed - but you, you’re scum, born into sin and damnation, you had better spend the rest of your life trying to make up for your own offensive existence or you’ll spend eternity filleting yourself and diving into salt or whatever. This is one of the most popular religions in the world. At least they've got good demons.
When I watch The Exorcist this is what comes to mind. For some reason - though I've seen the movie half a dozen times at least - I always forget about the Father-Karras-dying-mother subplot that is so depressing. It always catches me off guard. Instead of expecting to watch a tutorial on how to glut on self-loathing, I always remember the film as a kind of party with my dream demon the way The Murderdolls portray it in Love At First Fright, which, I believe, is the way most of the world remembers it. That is, the world and I remember a joyride with blasphemy and spinning heads and pea soup. I watch the movie to see Reagan scream “Let Jesus fuck you!” and do the blood vomiting crab-walk and to enjoy all the other rank and belching shenanigans Captain Howdy brings with him.
And the film works it’s way to those things, but you have to make a lot of other stops. First there is the sad life of Karras, then the pissing on the carpet, both of which are difficult to watch. And then we go to the hospital for tests. The tests are the worst. While it’s always funny to watch people smoke in the hospital, but advanced painful medical tests performed on a screaming young girl are not fun to watch, and it's around this time that I usually forget that I put this movie on to have fun with the devil and I start thinking that maybe I remembered wrong and that this movie isn't a joke to have fun with, but instead it’s very disturbing film. Then comes the Father’s visit to his mom in the asylum and Reagan’s mother’s despairing plea for information on how to go about getting an exorcism, and I know that the movie’s goal is to make me feel ashamed to watch it, and I kind of do.
So, by the time I get to the goods that I've been waiting for - that I looked forward to with a smile on my face - it’s not so easy to smile, because the movie is so serious that it makes you see the horror even if you only wanted to just revel in the weirdness and the chaos, and catholic or not, I am certain that I don’t want to hang out with a demon, regardless of his rank on a ship, and I start to think that maybe I should hate myself a little for thinking that I would. That’s how I know that the film was made by Catholics. Way to go fetus-huggers.
| Maire | Corey | Salty |
|---|---|---|
| ☆☆ | ☆☆☆ | ☆☆☆ |
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