Critical Analysis of The Exorcist - Essay Example

Essay Film Analysis June 17, Film Analysis: The Exorcist Considered as one of the top horror movies of all time, The Exorcist first sent viewers screaming from the theater, when it was released in December 26, 1973. From the novel of the same title, it was adapted for film by the original writer, William Peter Blatty and was directed by director William Friedkin. The film told the story of a 12-year old girl Regan (Linda Blair), possessed by the devil and the attempts of her mother, Chris (Ellyn Burstyn) to rid Regan of her misery. After consulting medical and psychiatric authorities, Chris called in Catholic priests, Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Syddow) and Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) to perform an exorcism. The entire narrative was shocking for its sheer violence and horror but more than this, and for the purposes of this essay, The Exorcist presented an accurate and detailed depiction of demonic possession and the Catholic ritual of exorcism. Demonic Possession Demonic possessions, according to the available literature, have a particular set of symptoms although they are not necessarily all present in any given case. These, wrote Walters (2004) for example, include insomnia, aimless wandering, compulsively eating strange or repulsive substances (or else refusing to eat at all), a repulsive stench, rigid muscles, unusual strength, fits of screaming and weeping, a significant change in facial features as a result of muscle contractions and violent aggression against oneself, nearby people, or objects (76). In The Exorcist, most of these were depicted: Regan speaking in a different voice, which was deep and gravelly; her, speaking in different languages; the misshapen face, which was also covered in lesions; Regan’s reaction to holy objects; the desecration of the nearby church; the death of Burke; and a number of other strange and unexplained phenomena that tormented her mother. Once the exorcism started, the priests were also faced with Regan’s string of obscenities, and the manifestation of strange phenomena including levitation, the seemingly independent movement of objects, Regan’s abnormally long tongue and strange bouts of vomiting. The “speech” element, wherein the demon speaks through Regan, is a particularly important aspect in exorcism. This can be seen in most parts of the possession reenactment. There was the deep and harsh voice depicted, which is scientifically explained as a result of an altered state wherein the person’s ventricular folds are used instead of the vocal chords while the speech has been generally found to have a characteristic intonation pattern (Walters 76). In the film, each phrase spoken by the possessed Regan had an early peak followed by descending intonation as demonstrated in the way the demon yelled invectives and obscenities and insulted religious figures. Besides the tone, the possessed could also speak different previously unknown languages. The Exorcist also demonstrated a dimension in demonic possession called transference. The idea here is that when a demon does go, it does not mean that the exorcism has been successful or the troubles caused by the demon ceases. In some cases, multiple demons would inhabit a body and once one is driven out, another one, with a new name would come forward. This did not happen to The Exorcist. There were no multiple demons involved but instead the demon who inhabited Regan’s body transferred to Father Karras. Had he, for a split second, did not take control of his body and hurled himself out of the window, the possession would have taken another turn. The initial reluctance of Father Karras to recognize the demonic possession and recommend exorcism is also very real and reflects the overall attitude of the Catholic Church in regard to responding to claims of possessions. In the past, special priests are ordained specifically to perform exorcism. In 1972, however, this has been abolished and exorcism has been performed rarely (Zusne and Jones 96). In addition, it must be underscored that a bishop’s permission to conduct an exorcism is also very seldom given. The fact is that the Catholic Church today also views demonic possessions with skepticism. Nonetheless, the ritual of exorcism is still in use and not entirely rejected or abolished. Exorcism Exorcism has been practiced since the earliest days of Christianity. For instance, it was an undisputed feature of the ministry of Jesus. There are various and specific references to the practice of exorcism in the Bible: the Capernaum demoniac; the Gerasene demoniac; the dumb demoniac; the blind and dumb demoniac; the Syrophoenician demoniac; and the epileptic boy. According to Metzger and Coogan, these cases presented an eschatological activity of Jesus (153). So there is a theological basis for exorcism as a religious practice in Christianity. The Catholic Church has institutionalized exorcism and has trained priests to specialize in this field. Exorcism is codified in the Roman Ritual or Rituale Romanum in 1614 to expel demons from the bodies of humans and the Pope used to appoint in each country a chief exorcist (Degh 249). Today, however, any priest could perform exorcism, according to the exorcism ritual and upon the approval of a bishop. The Exorcist demonstrated this in the characterization of Father Merrin and Karras as well as in their methods. What transpired in the actual exorcism in The Exorcist was most probably what would have taken place in an actual possession. Whatever differences present are normal and allowed because the exorcism as provided in the Roman Ritual is merely a rite and not a sacrament. This means that the priest performing the exorcism will have considerable freedom in changes the details in order to adopt on a case-to-case basis. However, there are standard elements involved in the process including the presence and use of sacred objects such as prayer, holy water and the Bible. There are also standard steps in the ritual. Walters cited these and they were clearly followed faithfully by the film: The Exorcist appeals to the relevant benevolent entity [or, in the case of the film, to God]. The demon will be pushed into revealing its name and its reason for entering into the patient. It is finally asked for the conditions upon which it will leave and when it will depart (76). In addition to this, The Exorcist also faithfully depicted the interaction between the exorcist and the possessed. The ritual performed involved very little physical handling, the possessed was restrained and the only physical contact involved was the laying on of hands and having the possessed touch sacred objects. The possessing evil spirit was verbally attacked, challenged and provoked in order to directly deal with the exorcist. According to Leeming, Madden and Marlan (2009), this arduous process, which could take up to years, is not unlike psychotherapy in the sense that it is highly structured process of psychological process designed to drive demons out of the patient. The only difference is that in psychotherapy, “demons” take the form of intruders from the unconscious and spontaneous irruptions of unconscious complex (691). In the case of Father Karras’ attempt to help Regan, we find these two elements explored together – religious and psychological attack. The faithfulness of the demonic possession and exorcism depictions in The Exorcist has resulted in the intensive researched undertaken by Blatty for his novel. Demonic possessions and exorcism are well documented events in history. Particularly, Blatty perused the details of a 1949 exorcism kept under wraps by the Catholic Church until a detailed account of the case was published as Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism by Thomas Allen in 1993. Blatty, has been previously allowed access to this material and has also extensively interviewed members of the clergy who participated (Meehan 79). Blatty’s screenplay, in collaboration with Friedkin, has focused more on the psychokinetic aspect of demonic possession. One sees this in the film’s visual emphasis on large and small moving objects, the levitation of the possessed as well as the bizarre events characterized by telepathy, clairvoyance and extraordinary strength possessed by Regan. One of the things that have been compromised with the preoccupation with the devil possession and exorcism is that there was no room left for the exploration of the main characters. For instance, the audience is left with very little sympathy for Regan to the point that they would no longer care what happens to her in the end. The reason for this is that, unlike other excellent that have told demonic possessions such as The Bad Seed or the Turn of the Screw, there was no way of acquiring a sense of Regan as a person. As a result, the viewer has no insight in regard to what Regan must have felt. In addition, the audience also does not have any idea about past experiences that girl have had. Such information could have shed more light to those who are seeking to examine the depiction of demonic possession in the film. All in all, the film was a credible, authoritative and insightful artifact that explored demonic possession and exorcism. It was well researched and that these showed in the execution of the actual possession and exorcism scenes. As a horror film, it was set apart from all other artifacts in its genre, by not just presenting gore as its major attraction but by sticking to the facts and being realistic in its depictions of the horror of its themes. While there are elements of the supernatural, they were backed by convincing elements and Blatty’s research certainly helped in its success. Works Cited Allen, Thomas. Possessed: the true story of an exorcism. Doubleday, 1993. Degh, Linda. Legend and Belief. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001. Leeming, David, Madden, Kathryn and Marlan, Stanton. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. London: Springer, 2009. Meehan, Paul. Cinema of the Psychic Realm: A Critical Survey. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2009. Metzger, Bruce and Coogan, Michael. The Oxford guide to ideas & issues of the Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. The Exorcist (1973). Dir. William Friedkin. Perf. Ellen Burstyn, Max von Snydow. DVD. Warner Home Video, 1997. Walters, Mariko. Shamanism: an encyclopedia of world beliefs, practices, and culture. ABC-CLIO, 2004. Zusne, Leonard. Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking. London: Routledge, 1989. Read More