The Exorcist

I think the idea, sexy, goes to the heart of what the Devil's role is supposed to be: It has been said/written here and there throughout fiction and nonfiction that the Devil seeks to cause people to lose faith, to use psychological warfare in order to break them.

The reason for choosing a young girl to possess is symbolic. Remember, the Devil is supposed to be engaged in war with God. His possession of the girl (symbolizing innocence corrupted) is supposed to be a mockery of God and meant to spiritually demoralize the people who witness it.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

Alrighty, with your permission, ladies and gents, I'm gonna find that old thread and revive it with a few of these posts, if that's cool.

It wasn't until The Exorcist possession movies were about the devil taking over a body. Before that it was ghosts, The Innocents, Tomb of Ligeia, one of the stories in Dead of Night, etc. That is scary in a more subtle way, the person you knew is not an obvious monster, but suddenly a stranger.

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It reminds me of a toilet paper on the trees
- Paula

you do not have permission from me. sorry.

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letterboxd

bahaha

You have my permission.

I actually liked Exorcist 3 better than the first one.

Boom-bam. Here's the thread I was talking about:

Which is scarier: reason, or obsession?

And here's the third page, where all the moved posts went:

Page 3

let me just say as a person who grew up very religious and believed wholeheartedly in things like demon possession, movies like The Exorcist were extremely frightening. i was taught that Satan and other demons would mess with humans, their faith and spirituality, by possessing not necessarily other humans, but objects. the place of worship i went to preached that partaking in "evil" things was another way of inviting demons into your home. this was always a sure-fire way to keep god-fearing folk in line, trust me on that!

it's really easy to let your mind run away with this **** once you plant that seed of doubt.

anyway, now that i'm older and wiser, movies like The Exorcist just don't do it for me. this might have to do with no longer having my childlike suspension of belief anymore; but no longer "endorsing a belief in the occult" (as Michael Jackson put it) is a strong indicator.

Most all movies (including "documentaries") aren't "real" and thus can be seen as fantasies, so I don't see why what the subject matter is should have any impact on how well a film is done and how suspenseful or watchable it is. As always, suspension of disbelief is in the eye of the beholder, but any true film buff would certainly meet a movie halfway, especially if it's as well-made-and-acted as The Exorcist. Religion should have absolutely nothing to do with your appreciation of the film, although it could obviously affect you physically and/or "spiritually", the latter at least if you're open to the concept that humanity is capable of some understanding of its own best characteristics.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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I don't see how any person could enjoy movies and not have at least some of that "childlike suspension of disbelief".

I mean, it's practically all make-believe.

i do, but not in the same way as i did when i was, say, a seven-year-old, for example.

Hmm, I guess I'm luckier than most, then.

or just a little retarded.

tehe!

A negative rep urkillinmesmalls just for recommending you watch The Exorcist when you are older so you can form your own opinion on it?

u gave me a negative rep for standing up for my beliefs

Not for your beliefs actually.