The part where Karras goes back into the room and discovers that Merrin is dead. Regan is propped against the bedpost, just sitting there staring. The camera lingers on her face...idk, it just looks odd. Anyone else notice this?
shareShe/it is at first laughing at Merrin's death. Then Karras is getting pissed and about to beat the shït out of her/it. I think it's a stare of anticipation.
shareIt is an odd look. Almost bewildered. It's as if the demon is wondering, "Is Merrin resting? Is he dead? What is this? We just got started!"
Then that giggle. The weak, barely audible giggle that makes Karras lose it. What a scene!
To me, it was a sign that demon had been through a serious fight with Merrin, and that it was exhausted, and as some of the posters below say, it could hardly believe it had won. If Merrin had been in better health he would for sure have sent Pazuzu packing!
shareit could hardly believe it had won
That's a gaffe and I'm surprised Blatty put up with it. The whole point in the novel is that the demon wants REGAN, not MERRIN, to die. The demon wants to kill Regan while Merrin watches helplessly, and when Merrin dies "ahead of schedule", the demon rants at the corpse, "You WOULD HAVE lost!" The demon needed Merrin to live at least long enough to witness the demon killing Regan.
Friedkin should have shown the demon raging at the dead priest for cheating the demon of its victory. Instead he shows a tame shot of a speculative-looking Regan. Weak stuff indeed.
Me, I think it worked better for the film (I had forgotten that was in the novel). It's the contrast between Merrin's absolute, powerful faith (i.e., Merrin's faith and holy authority was so strong that the demon, on some level, feared him, and their one-on-one battle brought the demon to a point of weakness and exhaustion), and then the roiling doubt and turmoil that Karras was going through, which made the parts of the exorcism that Karras was involved in such a joke for the demon.
shareShe doesn't seem exhausted at all.
shareDid Karras really "beat up" the demon, or was this a Jaws-type ending to give the audience something to cheer for? I'm sure Pazuzu easily could've whipped the priest.
shareHe defeated it in so far as he saved Regan and he committed a beautiful act of self-sacrifice. How do you 'beat up' a disembodied spirit?
shareThat's a gaffe and I'm surprised Blatty put up with it. The whole point in the novel...
Good points as usual - something new for me to think about!
shareA thundering demon would imply it still has some fight left in it; perhaps Friedkin was concerned that it would contradict that Regan's heart was giving out, according to Karras' findings. The shouting demon, you would think, would be inclined to fight back against Karras.
I'm going through old threads to entertain myself because I'm so danged bored at work and also because a few of the most recent threads seem to have been taken over by squabbles *sigh*
Anyhoo, just saw this, and it is kind of irritating that we don't see the demon's rage over having 'lost' Merrin before it could kill Regan. However, I think its attitude when Karras enters Regan's room may have been to 'cover up' so that Karras wouldn't realise how disappointed it was that Merrin's heart had given out.
Doesn't it giggle gleefully? That's just rubbing Karras' nose in it. It wants to reclaim power and look like it's in control - that Merrin's death was what it wanted.
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"
a few of the most recent threads seem to have been taken over by squabbles *sigh*
I understand the temptation, believe me! And sometimes it is fun to vent on imperfect strangers
I like everyone on the board (well, maybe Romefan is a little odd, but he is at least, entertaining )
I'm just dealing with a nasty boss at work, who is hell-bent on intimidating me and is being very condescending - so I want us all to play nicely in the sandbox together
Not enough lovey-poos in the world
ps:
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"
I'm just dealing with a nasty boss at work
Haha! Thank you - I'm trying. But I'm a sensitive and delicate little flower *cough* and he's drunk with power, the beast!
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"
I figure everyone subscribes to the golden rule, so I can only assume people treat me the way they want me to treat them. But I do have limits...
back
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Sorry, sugar. I know I should ignore them, but sometimes [insert all excuses here]. ;)
I'm just a little emo at the moment because my boss of 12 years has suddenly turned into a chauvy AND because the LOVE OF MY LIFE has recently moved to Noo Yawk...he wants to be a super-rich and successful business tycoon but alas, I'm just a poor, sweet, virtuous Australian milk-maid
Ha! What summer? Melbourne's bloody freezing!! Winter seems to have gone on forever. We've only had one day over 30 so far. That's just not normal.
Still hopefully things will improve.
Where are you from?
Ps I was so tempted to say "g'day cobber" and give all the yanks a thrill but I just couldn't make myself do it
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"
Ha! What summer? Melbourne's bloody freezing!! Winter seems to have gone on forever. We've only had one day over 30 so far. That's just not normal.
Still hopefully things will improve.
Where are you from?
Ps I was so tempted to say "g'day cobber" and give all the yanks a thrill but I just couldn't make myself do it
Oooh storm chaser eh? Like Helen Hunt in twister? How exciting! A far more interesting life than that of a humble milk-maid You should move to the US - I hear they have crazy storms there.
And good luck with the 'in-laws' I finally managed to get rid of mine...in a non stabby and bury the bodies in the basement kind of way
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"
Oh good, we don't need another Snowtown (in-law) addition lol.
My boyfriends parents live very close to where the main guy behind the Bodies in the Barrels was living, like 2 min walk, rather off-putting suburb.
And I was born in the US (technically), but like it more in Aus, besides in terms of Cyclones/Hurricanes we're about even with them, Tornadoes however they beat us easily (we rarely get tornadoes in areas which are populated, happen a lot more out in areas where no on lives).
I just prefer Summer (more storms) to Winter.
Have a nice day mate.
---
"Make the instant eternal! TIME STOP!"
Have a nice day mate
Bewdy Newk!
But all the weather reports say Adelaide has had great weather - like high 20s etc. I'm confuzzled. It's been a $hit hole here, it's depressing. I'm tempted to move to Queensland but my hair would rebel in the humidity.
I lived in Bondi in the late 90s and it had some great stormy weather especially in summer - real electrical doozeys! I used to love watching lightening strike the centrepoint tower.
In other news, the exorcist TV series is finally making it to cable TV here, though I doubt I'll watch it...it doesn't look brilliant...
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"
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Some might consider those offensive sexist insults
And once again, back to thread topic.......
There's really nothing in that novel's scene that could not have been properly portrayed on film. In the novel, after the demon displays its episode of rage over Merrin's untimely death while Karras grieves, the demon then turns to taunting Karras about Merrin's lifeless form, suggesting foul postures to the dead priest's body. This enraged Karras and he launched his attack.
Seems to me that would be a very effective segue from a raging demon over Merrin's untimely illness besting him - then to a taunting demon aimed at Merrin's lifeless form - then to an aggressive, on the offensive Karras. It would have been just as a powerful scene as Friedkin's existing scene version and remain faithful to the original story, imo
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t, Blatty even has the demon imploring Karras to revive Merrin so they can continue the ritual and it can defeat Merrin.
It's almost like she was mesmerized. Maybe she was processing what just happened. What ever the reason, it's one of my favorite shots in the whole movie.
shareMine too; it's very...otherworldly. Hard to explain but I've never seen anything that like.
shareWhat about the "La plume de ma tante" scene? Even with her grotesque appearance, she still looks adorable!
Karras: "Did you do that?"
Regan: "Ahh-huhhh..."
Karras: "Did you do that?"
Regan: "Ahh-huhhh..."
It's one of the few instances where the demon seems more comical than anything else (though I always found her reacting to the water a bit freaky, esp when I was young as I played it backwards to see how it worked lol).
---
"Make the instant eternal! TIME STOP!"
This is part of the brilliance of Friedkin/Blatty - just enough humour to make the demon interesting and adding an extra layer to its 'personality', but not so much that it turns into a comedian (like oh, say, Freddie Krugger).
That would have been a monumental error - how can you ever be truly terrified of someone who's more interested in cracking a one-liner than in committing evil acts and claiming someone's soul?
"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"