THE CURSE OF THE EXORCIST FILM AND PAZUZU THE ANCIENT DEMON.

 

The story begins in the middle of the desert, the dry land of the middle east, with some people digging around the archeological site. An old man found a little statue, on the site. He takes the statue and goes away from the digging site. As he walks, he found a much bigger statue, very similar to the little one in his hands. That statue was in fact a symbol of Pazuzu, the ancient demon.

And then the story shifted to the city, focused on a house with a mother and her child. The mother is an actress, her name is Chris MacNeil and her daughter is Regan. Regan started to get sick and then said that she got a new friend, with name Captain Howdy. Her mother dismisses it as a kind of usual children's imagination but it’s gotten worse as time goes by.

Regan started to lie, swear, and other changes. She used to be a sweet little girl but everything changed then. As Regan's condition got worse day by day, and no medical treatment is working, her mother desperately looked for help from every psychiatrist and they referred her to Father Damien Karras, to help her do the exorcism on her daughter, hoping that they would help them. 

On the other hand, Father Damien Karras is worried sick at the condition of his mother. She is getting sicker and he wants to get close to her. He also felt like his faith was already shaken and wanted to stop to become a priest. He is a psychiatrist once and then became a priest. When Chris came to him asking him to do the exorcism, he said it would get the condition even worse but Chris is desperate and trying to convince father Damien to help her. Father Damien said that in order to get exorcism, it could go long way before they got approval but Chris agreed with anything, as long as she could have her daughter back.

Father Damien then visits Regan to collect proof so they could do the exorcism, he tries to have a conversation with the devil but the devil has shocked him to the core. Making his faith frailer than it is before. After gathering evidence to give to the church to do an exorcism on Regan, they finally got approval, and Father Merrin who is experienced in this field, will do the exorcism and Father Damien will help him to do it. Father Merrin is the one who took the little statue at the digging site earlier in the movie.

Before the exorcism, Father Merrin warns Father Demien to not listen to the demon, that the demon is a liar and will mix their words with the truth. And the demon will attack psychologically, to make one faith falters. Chris asks why the demon attack her daughter like it did not make any sense at all. And father Merrin explains the purpose of this possession is to make people in despair, to see themselves as animal and ugly, and to reject the possibility that God is loving them. That is why the demon targeted a sweet little girl like Regan. The exorcism process seems taxing as the possessed Regan talks roughly and tries to attack Father Damien, by saying it is his fault that his mother died by leaving her all alone. Father Merrin reminds Father Damien to not listen to the demon. In the end, the powerful demon is not a match for Father Merrin who is old and has a weak body. And there Father Damien was left all alone, with the demon transforming into his mother. Blaming him for the reason she died. This time Father Damien did not falter and execute the exorcism successfully and the filthy demon is gone from Regan.

After the demon was gone, it seems like Regan doesn’t remember anything and they will move to Europe.

The devil or demon in this movie, as seen in the statue is going by the name of Pazuzu. Pazuzu is the demon of the underworld. A demonic god who has control over the west and southwest winds which brought famine during the dry season and caused storms and locusts in the rainy season. He is the son of Hanbi, king of the demons' underworld, and brother to Humbaba the demon-god protector of the Cedar Forest in The Epic of Gilgamesh who is killed by the heroes.

Pazuzu is depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. His body was of canine form though scaled not furred, with birds' talons for feet, two pairs of wings, a scorpion's tail, and a serpentine penis. He holds his right hand up and his left hand down. It is also said that Pazuzu is part of the Annunaki, the gods who come to earth and settle down here.

As in the movie, Pazuzu come and possessed Regan's body to make a warning to people and divert them from their faith. He is vile, foul-mouthed, and also could speak different languages. While he often attacks people psychologically to make them weak and succumb to the despair he caused.

Despite his evil appearance as the exorcist, on the contrary people back then also use Pazuzu as protection against every harm that may come toward them. He was particularly powerful in protecting pregnant women and children from the demon-goddess Lamashtu who preyed on unborn and newly-born babies.

Back to the exorcist film, it is said that this movie is cursed. A few incidents happen while filming and afterward. There is one episode on Cursed Films which covered this. The incident involving the set such as the Macneil house being destroyed by fire. But Reagan’s bedroom is remain unharmed from the fire. This incident caused a delay in production. There is also a delay from the mistake of shipping the 10-foot Pazuzu statue to Hongkong instead of Iraq.

The main actress was also injured during the filming. Some of the crew and their close family member are reported dead during and after the film finished. The crew film also felt uncomfortable during the filming. The director also ask to perform a real exorcism on the set because all the crew grew concerned over these incidents.

When the film finally makes its way to the cinema,, it is said that this movie is the scariest horror movie to date. The audience was reported to have vomited during the watch, and some fainted and freaked out.

Some might be believed that this film actually cursed and few also said that this is just gimmicked to make the film had more viewers. Whatever it is, the exorcist film grossed $1.9 million ($8.62 million in modern dollars]) in its first week, setting house records in each theater, with an average of $70,000, equivalent to $300,000 at modern ticket prices. With only a $12 million budget, it’s grossed a total of $441.3 million.

I’m not one who believes in a superstitious thing but believe it or not, while I write this piece, a snake comes roaming into my room out of nowhere. It is a black snake and venomous too, neither was shocked at this I just laughed at myself. Maybe this film is indeed cursed, I don’t know.

Anyway, despite all the controversy of this film, I strongly recommend this movie if you are looking for a film to scare you. There are a lot of inappropriate, very scary scenes and strong language so I don’t recommend you watch this with children or the elderly. Happy watching!