The Exorcist and Fear of Womanhood

The Exorcist is a 1973 supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin. The film depicts a horrifying story of a 12-year-old girl who got possessed by a demonic creature. The film is incredibly successful in terms of sound. It created a whole different atmosphere in horror films with the help of different usages of sound and won the Academy Award for Best Sound. One of the reasons behind this film’s success in usage of sound is its ability to create tension and suspense via sound. This mystery is created from the first scene of the film, in this scene the audience watches a construction in a desert-like place. I believe the tense music, unexpected azan and loud excavation sounds in this scene prepare the audience for upcoming tension. The sharp silence that suddenly appears after this scene deepens the mystery and causes the audience to ask what will happen next. Therefore, I think the silence plays an important role in this film as well as the sound.

Another important sound method used in The Exorcist is allowing the audience to hear a scary sound but not see the source of it. For example, the scene where Chris, the mother, hears voices through the attic and assumes it is a rat is an example of this method. The film actually aims to make the audiences fear what they hear, rather than what they see. When Chris goes to the attic, the presence of that unknown voice actually horrifies the audience (and also Chris).

Last important sound method that I want to mention is implementing a voice over and creating an uncanny situation. The low and demonic voice coming from little and sweet Regan creates a jarring and a bit disturbing feeling for the audiences. Shortly, the image of this little girl and the sound create a sharp contrast. Another striking thing in these scenes is the language that the demon used. The preference of sexual statements or swearings (like “Fuck me” or “Lick me”) that would not be “suitable” for a little girl also creates an interesting contrast with the image. At the same time, there is also a contradiction between the image of a little girl and actions of the devil. The scene where Regan masturbates (?) with a crucifix is an example of this contrast. Shortly, the transition from angelic to demonic comes with sexuality. In fact, this shows the denigration and prejudice about female sexuality and the belief that sexuality demonizes women. At the same time, I think, director showed women sexuality as an dishonorable thing for a man . For example, the devil inside Regan says “You mother sucks cocks in hell Karras, you faithless slime” to discourage Father Karras.

The Exorcist is adapted to the screen from William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same title and I learned that the book was inspired by an incident involving a 14-year-old boy. However, in the film and the book, this character was replaced by a tween girl. At first, I asked myself “if that’s the devil, why this little girl?” as Father Karras asked Father Merrin. Firstly, I thought that the director preferred a girl character because it will create the greatest contrast with a demonic character since a little girl represents purity and innocence in the society. However, asking “why this little girl?” is not enough to find answers and I thought it is necessary to look at what womanhood means in the 70s community. There is a situation that didn’t grab my attention when I first watched the movie, but I believe it definitely caught the attention of the 70s audience. The family that the film follows is different from the usual nuclear family structure. Although Chris is a successful single parent who can stand on her feet, the “father” of the family is missing. I think the film is implicitly showing that if there is no man in charge of a little girl, she will turn into a demon and be sexually perverted. Also, two men rescuing Regan from this situation is an example of this idea. Although this movie is innovative in its use of sound, its ideas on women are rather conservative and patriarchal and it is sort of a blacklash to 70s feminist movement and sexual revolution.

Bibliography

Eisenstein, S. M., Pudovkin, V. I., & Alexandrov, G. (1928). Statement on Sound. 315-317.

Hoffman, J. (2013). The Exorcist: The Devil's in the mix. Birth. Movies. Death.

https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/09/06/the-exorcist-the-devils-in-the-mix

The Exorcist (d. William Friedkin, 1974)