Body Snatchers: Parasitic Monsters in Film

The Exorcist (1973)

William Friedkin's The Exorcist is regarded as one of the most disturbing films ever made. In this film, a girl named Regan becomes possessed by a demon after playing with a Ouija board. As she begins to act out, her mother takes her to several doctors, all of whom are unable to treat her. In the end, the girl's mother convinces a pair of Catholic priests to save her daughter, despite the church's ban on exorcism.

The disturbing nature of The Exorcist arrives from Regan's loss of innocence. In the first few minutes of the film, the audience sees that Regan is a happy, normal girl. As the plot progresses, however, we see her lose her identity and transform into an evil, debauched being. Her frightful transformation is advanced by her sacrilegious sexual deviancy, which is observed when she violently penetrates herself with a crucifix. The possessed Regan also demonstrates the supernatural ability to move things around the room. She causes the bed to shake on its own, knocks things off shelves, and even levitates. Despite all of these clearly supernatural acts, which her mother witnesses, she still insists that her behavior is a medical issue. Therefore, one of the main messages of this film is that human beings are arrogant in our belief that our limited scientific knowledge can solve every issue we face. 



 

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