It was a lovely day on December 26, 1973 when the world of horror media changed forever with the release of The Exorcist into theaters. Already a phenomenon as a book, as a movie whose script was penned by the author and near identical to the book was a show stopper. Lines of people would show up excited and gleeful only to leave with a sober realization of the limits of what they can handle in terms of horror. This has certainly not been the only movie to capitalize on horror involving exorcisms, but they often all follow the similar themes and, more importantly, the same faith. Plenty of other religions do exorcisms but none is known more for it than the Catholic Church and with this year’s new Catholic horror taking the form of a demon that dresses like a nun, I figure we should grab our rosaries and take a look at how Catholicism is portrayed in horror along with the themes of exorcism in horror. Also, spoilers ahead for The Exorcist ahead so if you’ve managed not to see it or read the book within the almost 45 years it has been out, here is your chance to stop. Keep in mind, the movie still holds up very well and while you may have been spoiled of some things, it is because the other clips were far too disturbing to be mocked. If you don’t care or just want an idea what you are getting into, read on.
One of the biggest themes within any religious movie, especially Catholic horror, is the idea of man versus demons. These are different than just your standard supernatural battles, as it is often a battle of wills between the exorcist and the demon. Often it is a battle between rational thought (as the Church is usually not suggesting exorcism until all other reasons are ruled out) and the priest’s own beliefs. This is excellently shown with the holy water scene where Father Karras (the younger priest who is losing his faith) reveals to Reagan’s mother that the “holy water” was just tap water and the demon reacted. In his mind, she is faking it for attention potentially or possibly suffering mental illness. Yet as Karras learns of more and more things, and witnesses more impossible things, he realizes it is not what he initially assumed. After all, the worst trick the devil has is to fool you into believing he isn’t real.
“Your mother sucks cocks in Hell!”
With these battles, there is also a theme of fear and redemption, the strongest being the case with Father Karras. He is our lead, our guide into the goings on as much as Reagan is and he is a troubled priest who is losing his faith in God. His mother got sent to a home and shortly after, he loses her, a fact that the demon toys with to horrific effect, mocking her voice and saying how she is currently in hell. He struggles with his connection to God yet ultimately redeems himself by demanding the demon possess him instead and willing himself to jump out the window, giving it no host to remain. He wanted to prove to himself that he could save at least one person’s soul, so that is what he did. He saved a young girl from a monster that was threatening her, even at the cost of his own life.
Of all the things Catholic horror does well is taking what is sacred and holy and making it profane. After all, the concept of the movie The Nun is basically a demon that has taken the form of a withered nun. Nuns are frightening enough (as The Blues Brothers taught us), they are authority figures, but the idea of a corrupted nun, a pure woman of virtue turned into a monster is what makes it truly disturbing. The Exorcist is full of the profane, including profanities that I wouldn’t dare say to my worst enemy. The most disturbing scene, that is often cut in documentaries as it can’t be shown on regular television is the “Let Jesus Fuck You” scene, in which not only do we see a girl use a crucifix as a terrifying dildo, but afterwards she grabs her mother’s face, demanding she “lick me!”. Even writing that out disturbs me a little and I am barely doing it justice. While audiences might have been more disturbed by the realistic portrayal of medical procedures toward the beginning, that scene rocked me a lot more as it really shows the torment this demon is inflicting on her as she struggles to resist the first few times. So, besides shocking the audience, do these profanities actually do anything in the story? I think it goes back to the idea that is the fact that an exorcism is a battle of wills. The demonic will is trying to torture and disturb both the victim and the exorcist, especially the exorcist. After all, if you insult them enough, if you mock their faith enough, they will want to hit the victim. If you push them far enough, they might give up or kill the victim in a rage. The demon wins when the victim is dead after all.
So, why Catholicism? There are plenty of other Christian off branches like Lutherans, Protestants, and the like to choose from after all. I think it is from the idea that the Catholic Church was among the first branches of Christianity and has a very rigid priesthood structure. They have years and years of history leading holy wars, crusades, and protecting the faithful. It also has exorcism as something you must be certified in and that the Church itself must okay before doing it. There is a strict set of rules, and an obvious evil that must be dealt with. It makes for the perfect good and evil dynamic that many people can understand. A man of faith faces up against a demonic entity is understood in many areas of the world. In fact, to this day exorcisms are still performed but not as often as they used to be. The Church has raised the burden of proof for exorcism over the years, so it takes a very rare case to cause an actual need for one. Yet the jokes about needing “an old priest and a young priest” still continue.
So what is your favorite demonic movie of all time? As much as I love The Exorcist, I would have to say Fallen is easily my favorite. It has stunning performances from the whole cast and it’s easily having the most fun with the concept of possession. Tell me yours below and I shall hopefully see you next Food Thursday.
