the air around Halloween, the film industry likes to fill in the holes between its major grossing seasons by filling the audience with fear. However, it was Christmas of 1973 that defined the new age of Horror, when William Friedkin released The Exorcist. According to Julia Heimerdinger of Academia’s online journal, Horror, as a whole, can be identified by its heavy emphasis on evoking emotion; specifically those emotions that make the audience feel uncomfortable (panic, shock, disgust, fear, etc)
Being Possessed The idea of possession can frighten many people. What horror movie producers and directors that go into this field are counting on is that they can use it to frighten their viewers. The Exorcist and The Exorcist Beginning both are centered on the act of exorcism. Both demoniacs in the films are women though their fates are polar opposites. The exorcisms are also shown in different lights. This is done through special effects as well as lighting and music. The first film in
the 70s. Some of the most popular horror movies came out in the 70s, most being ones that critics and fans alike refer to as “good horror films”. Those include Halloween, Carrie, The Omen, Amityville Horror and the focus of this paper - The Exorcist. The Exorcist was a ground-breaking film that is the foundation for modern possession films, and to understand why this movie is so important to modern times, it starts with looking at it in it’s own time. The most important thing to do before getting
be specifically Satan, but implied) possesses Reagan, a young and lonely girl, tormenting her and her mother until stopped by the titular exorcist. Throughout the film, it is clear that the supernatural force possessing Reagan is deeply malevolent, and its hatred for all symbols of Jesus and God makes it a Christian demon, most likely Satan himself. The Exorcist spawned an entire subgenre of possession films, all with the same antagonist- the Devil himself. This image of Satan is distinctly dangerous
practices of the slaves were seen as demonic and the work of the devil. Things were misunderstood. The concept of spiritual possession is a strange and dark concept. It’s usually followed by exorcism and a lot of terrible events. The movie The Exorcist is the Western view on possession. Ritual possession or “mounting” as it’s called in Vodou is a strange phenomena. In Vodou it’s a sign the spirit has joined them in this plane of existence to bring them divine knowledge and healing. A possession
The Exorcist is a wonderfully crafted horror film that has withstood the test of time, as some even now cannot listen to "Tubular Bells" (my fiancé's father) without having flashbacks. Even though it was made almost half a century ago, people will still cower and groan with the movie; this is how it is still a household name to this day. I enjoy this movie tremendously and believe it to be a monumental achievement of the horror genre. My opinions of this movie are vast as this is another one of my
home with a couple of friends, there is comfort in togetherness in the face of fear that makes horror much more bearable. What happens, then, when the horror genre takes this comfortable setting and destroys it? Horror movies such as Jaws and The Exorcist do exactly this, bringing monsters into the home setting and allowing them to twist the family dynamic. The relationships between parents and their children are tested and damaged when faced with natural and supernatural forces. Threatening
When the term exorcism is mentioned, many people think of the devil-possessed head spinning, lead character in the 1973 movie The Exorcist. What is the actual definition of exorcism that Hollywood does not share with us? Exorcism as defined by the Catholic Encyclopedia is (1) the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; (2) the
are precious to the church. The practice of exorcism can be dated all the way back to the New Testament when Jesus casted out evil spirits. He healed many people, but only a quarter of his miracles were considered exorcisms. The apostles were also exorcists by definition because it was known to be a true sign of discipleship. In ancient cultures, such as Mesopotamia, both physical and psychological sickness was connected to the idea of being possessed. As time passed, others, including Martin Luther
but the two main causes of the high popularity of this film can only be explained because of what was currently going on in America. The two events in history that may have had the largest impact on this book are the creation of the movie, The Exorcist, and the Vietnam War. In order to fully understand how popular The Amityville Horror was, a brief history of the story and book must be revealed. This book has sold nearly ten million copies from the time it was written in 1977 until present day
Many are familiar with the famous horror movies, The Exorcist, The Rite and The Exorcism of Emily Rose and believe them to be Hollywood fiction, but demonic possession and exorcisms exist in the real world. While these movies are exciting, the reality of an exorcism is much less dramatic. By these films’ definition an exorcism should be a life or death situation with the priest fighting the devil himself, but in reality an exorcism is simple the removal or attempted removal of an evil spirit from
tale of Genji several women are became attacked by the spirits during this time it was common in Japan. In the tale of Genji, Aoi (wife of Genji) is attacked by the spirit if lady Rokujo and other small spirits, the Buddhists monks are performing exorcist by chanting Sumatra and take out the bad spirit in the body which is tormenting Aoi. In the tale not only Aoi became the target by the spirits also another character Murasaki and Yugao is also targeted in the tale. Spirit possessions was common
the plot for the trailer. To do this, I researched other films in the same genre. I looked directly at three films from the last three decades, "The Exorcist", "The Name of the Rose" and "The Sixth Sense". I was first attracted to these films by the techniques that had been used to produce the desired effect on the audience. The Exorcist (William Friedkin 1973) ... ... middle of paper ... ... on a Panasonic Digital Camera, and was edited using Pinnacle Studio software on a PC. All
feelings of disgust. Creed states that “Horror emerges from the fact that woman has broken with her proper feminine role as she has ‘made a spectacle of herself’ and put her unsocialized body on display” (46). She goes on to relate this to the film The Exorcist (1973) and the young girl’s gradual possession, “with its emphasis on filthy utterances and depraved acts, seems so shocking… mockery of all established forms of propriety, of the clean and proper body and of the law itself define her as abject.Yet
to America and they were just working hard to achieve their American Dream of living a better life than the one in their country. They did not mind working hard for what they wanted and they did, but they were just thought of as different and as exorcists for doing this. There were Yellow Peril novels written about how the Chinese wanted to take over the American government so they could put in place their own culture. On the other hand there were groups of people who did feel the Chinese were welcomed
The Exorcist or at least heard of it. It’s a classic and it can distinguish where people lie in the horror movie community. Through close consideration and personal knowledge horror fanatics can be broken down in the at least three types: the Old Schooler, Indie Filmers, and the Undergrounders. The Older Schoolers are the most common and easiest to spot. They believe only films prior to the 21st century is worth watching. These films include Jason, Michael Myers, and of course the Exorcist. The
“When we look across time and across the world, we find that people can truly become afraid of anything.” This quote by Allegra Ringo explores why and how people get scared. In writing, something used to create fear in the reader is transformation. Transformation in stories is when something changes from itself into something else. Often when something changes from itself into something else, like a werewolf, it is scary. Authors can use transformation to create fear through supernatural events,
The Curse of the Pharaoh The mystique of King Tutankhamun has fascinated millions of people since the early 20th century. This interest has led many people, archaeologists and tourists alike, to visit Egypt and uncover his past. While many discover what they came for, others find an unsolved part of his past: The Curse of the Pharaoh. The Curse. The Curse of the Pharaoh is an Ancient Egyptian curse that was created to keep graverobbers out and have the Pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife be a smooth
vigilant and help those who are struggling with Satan. This struggle, that we all face, is not necessarily the head-spinning demonic possession that we observe on Hollywood films - though some experts in the field of exorcism claim that the movie The Exorcist portrays a relatively realistic view on extreme cases - rather, our battle with evil occurs on a daily basis. This “warfare” occurs when we are fighting temptation, when seemingly random bad things happen throughout our day that bring us down and
truth about the Exorcist; Forty years after its release, Tom Leonard tells the shocking real story that inspired the controversial film”. Daily Mail. London, England. 23 November 2013:14.Web. 29 January 2014. Manson, Mathew. “Exorcisms and Possessions”. ShopOfHorrors. 11 January 2001. Web. 25 January 2014. McCarthy, Erin. “A Brief History of the Ouija Board”. 31 October 2012. Web. 3 March 2014. Opsasnick, Mark / Father Gallagher’s Diary. “The Haunted Boy; Inspiration for The Exorcist”. StrangeMag.