The relevance of The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a horror movie that has lived for generations despite changes in society’ssociety’s culture and social values. The film was directed by William Friedkin and was released to the public in 1973. Based on a true story in the 1940s in Maryland, the Exorcist presents a battle between evil and holiness, whereby a 12-year old girl, Regan, known as possessed and her mother, tries all she could to save her (Judge). The exorcism is conducted by two priests where the girl is finally set free of the demon. One of the most non-refutable reasons why The Exorcist is still a popular film is that demonic forces are real and can use human bodies. The film shows how humans are far from God, such that it is only God through his Son, Jesus Christ, who can deliver humans from the shackles of the devil (Judge).
The movie displays that the devil’s aim is not to attack the girl but to cause ultimate fear and reduce our humanness to view ourselves as animals who can be tortured, experience lots of suffering and beatings which are unworthy of respect and dignity (Judge). Just as Reagan is confronted by an evil force that she cannot fight, it is the same as how Christians are faced by evils in their own lives, which they cannot avoid. The film relates to Jesus’sJesus’s story of how he was sacrificed to die on the cross for the sake of humanity as it shows how Father Damien sacrifices his life soo as to save the young, Regan.
Based on the two films, William Friedkin’sFriedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) and Jennifer Kent’sKent’s The Babadook (2014), Kent produces a more phenomenal and reasonable film as compared to Friedkin since she focuses on the small things that make one frightened such as the dark, cockroaches, and the other small everyday things that happen around us that are frightening rather than scary. On the other hand, Exorcist is based mainly on one scene, possession by the devil, which very few or even none experiences in their lifetime (Judge). Kent produces a whole new idea of small things that are frightening and terrifying rather than on significant issues such as demon possession. She depicts the movie focusing on every detail, such as the lighting and sound, to come up with the scariest movie surpassing the Exorcist.