The Exorcist Notes - Summary of above mentioned movie PDF

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The Exorcist (1973, dir. William Friedkin) Adaptation of a novel about the possession of a girl by a demonic entity Rooted in the conventions of the horror genre; formal features produce scariness Use of boundary violations (ie. the bodily and the religious) as instigating of then never before seen horor (think the audience reactions documentary from class) 35mm director’s cut is a work of art (film grain as immersion, addition of spider walk scene) Characters - Actors: Chris MacNeil - Ellen Burstyn Regan - Linda Blair Father Merrin - Max von Sydow Father Karras - Jason Miller Lt. William Kinderman - Lee J. Cobb

Use of close-ups of religious imagery (ie. statues) as blocking the frame and initiating both figurative and literal foreshadowing Use of the soundtrack as disorienting and productive of paranoia (ie. screeching strings on offbeat tempos) Entry of the demon into the house as a violation of the home’s safety Entry of the demonic face into singular frames of the film as a violation of formal conventions and a subversion of audience expectations (once repeated) (similar to the tension created by the single-frame insert of the ending of Psycho) New York scenes as a physical division of the film’s setting; Georgetown as a peaceful town that is juxtaposed against the evil of the demon, New York as a corrupted urban center (ie. display of

children up to no good, the juxtaposition of Karras’ mother’s apartment and the dirty streets) Shattering of the nuclear family as an element of horror (ie. the death of Carras’ mother, Regan’s absentee father) Scenes within the doctor’s office as a disruptively horrifying portrayal of reality (ie. the silence aside from the buzzing machines, the penetration of Regan with various needles) Portrayal of “good” conservative Christian values (those common with the film’s 1970s audience) in the party scene (ie. singing around the piano, drinking a reasonable amount of alcohol) violated by Regan’s entrance to the scene (peeing on the carpet) Disconnect between expectation and reality of Regan’s voice as creating horror Use of gradual zooms during otherwise conventional scenes (ie. any conversation) as unsettling (ie. the Blaxploitation zoom) Mise en scene as a product of the demon; being able to see people’s breath in Regan’s room, Regan’s gradually decaying and inhumane makeup and hair Dramatic irony of Regan coming from a broken home and her issues being resolved by the sacrifice of two religious fathers

Violations as the incitor of horror (Carroll): revolting use of throw up (bodily violation), Regan’s possession (violation of the boundaries between the human and non-human; think the spider walk scene), dialogue (violation of social norms, conservative values, and expectations; ie. dinner party scene, any scene with the demon speaking), loss of innocence (violation of Regan’s feminine identity; ie. scene with the cross penetration, any sexually charged scene) Regan as childlike yet adult; in a state of liminality which exacerbates the film’s thematic aniexties of sexualization (the fact that girls will lose their innocence and become women)

Sound as the foremost component of horror; use of repeated sound bridges (ie. phones ringing, screams) and unidentifiable, almost inhuman sound effects (another violation; ie. Father Karras visiting the linguistics expert who identifies Regan as speaking in backwards English) Unintelligible sound as inciting the natural reaction of panic (in conjunction with the contrast of many abrupt transitions to silence) Juxtaposition and foreshadowing of the possession through the first hospital scene (subversion of expectations of abilities of healthcare professionals) Parallels between Regan’s respective victimizations; violated by both doctors and the demon Lack of empathy in doctors’ response (ie. the scene with Chris and 11 struggling doctors); doctors’ instinct to label the issue as known Victim blaming produces a mind-body dualism; doctors as specialists of the body who are disconcerted with the mind and unable to admit their fault Criticism of medical institutions through class; juxtaposition of Karras’ mother’s care and Regan’s care (ie. New York - Georgetown juxtaposition) Stairs as a symbol of religious affiliation (ie. the crucifix confrontation framed on the stairs of Chris’ house, Karras’ mother rising from the subway stairs in his dream; visualizes divide of faith) Chris as a privileged woman; wealth, independent, and forceful; representation of the “threat” to 1970s context Punishment of the female body (in comparison to the lack thereof of the male body) as revealing of cultural anxieties Saviors as men of God; ending as a gendered act of religious self-sacrifice Religious imagery and context as omnipotent in 1970s America (rise of secularism)...