In today’s episode, we are finally tackling the film Roger Ebert called “a raw and painful experience” that “transcends the genre of terror, horror, and the supernatural.” We are, of course, talking about William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973). Based on William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name, the film is an acknowledged classic trafficking in body horror and demonic possession, scenes of which have morphed into head turning, pea-soup laced pop culture shorthand. But is there more to this story than meets the eye? We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers so stay tuned.
References/Mentioned in this Episode
Clover, Carol J. Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film-Up. Princeton University Press, 2015.
Collative Learning. The even darker underbelly of THE EXORCIST - film analysis. YouTube, 24 January 2017.
Ebert, Roger. “The Exorcist.” RogerEbert.com, 23 December 1973.
Happy Haunts Library, YouTube, 2023.
Heffernan, Ryan. “The 9 Most Hilarious 'The Exorcist' Parodies in Movies and TV Shows.” Collider, 9 October 2023.
Schuetz, Janice. "“The exorcist”: Images of good and evil." Western Journal of Communication (includes Communication Reports) 39.2 (1975): 92-101.
Williams, Marlena. Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of The Exorcist. Mad Creek Books, 2023.
Faces of Fear: Encounters with the Creators of Modern Horror. Berkley Trade, 1985, pp. 36-49.
Suburban Nightmare: Talking The Stepfather (1987)
Meet Frendo: Talking CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD (2020)
The Kids Are Not Alright: Talking The Prodigy and Eli
Love Hurts: Talking My Bloody Valentine (1981 and 2009)
Wedding Woes: Talking Ready or Not (2019)
Polarizing Politics: Talking Black Christmas (2019)
Indie Darlings: Talking Sweetheart (2019) and Spiral (2019)
Scaredy Cats: Talking What Terrifies Us
Schlock & Shock: Talking the Creepshow Franchise
Weaponized Women: Talking The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
Jaw Crushing Horror: Talking Crawl (2019)
Unapologetic Disability: Talking Freaks (1932)
School's Out Summer Special: Queer Horror & Our Top 10 LGBTQ+ films
School's Out Summer Special: But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) and Psycho Beach Party (2000)
Sex, Guns, Gore & cameos: Our Top 10 Favorite Exploitation Horror Films (Bonus Episode)
Eat 'Em All: Talking the Piranha Franchise
Senior Scares: Our Top 10 Favorite "Old" Characters in Horror (Bonus Episode)
Retro Dread: Talking The Final Girls (2015) and Summer of 84 (2018)
Eco-Horror: Our Top 10 Movies (Bonus Episode)
Erasing Empathy: Talking Pet Sematary (2019)
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