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Fear (The Exorcist)

            The Exorcist induces fear in the viewer by using numerous methods. The uses of these methods have made a dramatic impact on scary movies over the course of cinematic history. Whether it is something as simple as scary music or if it is as deep and complex as a psychological mind game, The Exorcist pulls it off with flying colors! .
             Almost everyone in their lifetime has sat down and watched a "scary movie" at least once. But, have you ever thought of why the movie scared you? Now, I"m not talking about when a man with half a face jumps in front of the screen out of nowhere. I"m talking about all of the underlying things that are in a movie that contribute to its terror. Well, I have searched for why movies scare us and it is very interesting to realize all of the things that sub-consciously tap on our scary bone.
             The movie The Exorcist uses music as one way to inflict fear into the viewers. Not only does the music reflect the current mood of the scene but, it also foreshadows scary events. Numerous times during the movie a character would be walking down a hall or sitting in a quiet room; and the music would change to indicate that something wasn't right and something was going to happen. When the music does that, the viewer's suspense level sub-consciously rises with anticipation. The director takes an otherwise mediocre scene and makes it scare the hell out of you!.
             Another tactic that is used to plant a scary seed in the viewer is the use of history. Not necessarily the history of the real world but, history that occurs in the movie. The Exorcist successfully uses this method quite a few times throughout the movie. At the beginning of the movie, there is an archeological dig occurring over seas. Some of the findings there are quite disturbing. While unearthing some of these artifacts many mysterious things happen. Numerous statues and trinkets are shown and are believed to give off some sort of evil aura.


Essays Related to Fear (The Exorcist)

1. The Exorcist

... it is for religious or recreational purposes. The idea did originate from religion, yet it is still something people fear whether it has been proven to exist or not. The perfect example of a film, which shows anxiety about demonic possession, is shown in The Exorcist. In 1973, William Freidkin created a frightening horror-film masterpiece. The Exorcist was originally based on William Peter Blatty's ... her appearance changes as well (Smith, 15). The body might be thrown into convulsions, and strange objects, and even creatures were passed from the mouth and the anus. The possessed pers...

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2. The Evolution of Horror Movies

... (and most cliched) films of all time. The next decade, the 1970's, was somewhat of a cultural disappointment. Ripe with scandal and failure (Nixon, Vietnam, The Beatles split-up, etc.), this decade was peculiarly keen on possessed or demonic young children, as shown in The Exorcist (1973). In turn, during the 1980's, technological advancements allowed the human body to be twisted and mutilated into an ... infinite variety of terrible shapes on the big screen. Alien (1979) provides an example of this spectacle in action, but as usual, people grew out of their fear of fake blood after a de...

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3. Hard rock returns from the hospital for the insane

... do it justice. Hard Rock was the jail martyr and hero. It was looked up to by the prisoners and feared by the guards. He was so bad that in order to control him " half his brain was removed" to be replaced with electricity. It must have been real fear to do that to someone. Although ... I don't believe that Hard Rock actually existed, I know he was alive in spirit. He is and was the drive and ambition that many African- Americans have today. Hard Rock is the person we become inside when we fell wronged ... too?" I was stunned and amazed, motionless and confused. If I had been Hard Rock ...

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4. The Supernatural in The Castle of Otranto

... giant. One of the servants heard a terrifying noise as the giant was stretching his feet, which were with the size of the floor. The two scared servants advise Manfred to call an exorcist and to purify the whole castle from the evil spirits. However, that "evil spirit" appears to be the uprising spirit of Alfonso the Good, whose quest is to fulfill the prophecy and help the true heir of ... he threw his sword at him. Despite his suffering, he reveals who is the true heir of Otranto. Very important thing here is the fact that the supernatural places the heroes of the novel in such way th...

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  • Approx Pages: 9
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5. Synthesis Of Horror Films

... a creation of science not of God. In Psycho, the evil is the human brain. Norman Bates has a split personality caused by childhood traumas. It's not Norman himself that kills people; it is the imbalance in his head that causes him to act in that manner. The evil in The Exorcist is the great evil possible, the devil. The devil is the greatest fear of many Christians. That is what has made ... this film voted the scariest movie of all time by TV Guide. Tension is another vital aspect of ... horror films. The majority of violent films have a peak and valley type of action. The tension wil...

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6. modern marvels of Christianity

... fear, Satan! Enemy of the Faith! Enemy of the human race! Source of death! Robber of life! Twister of justice! Root of evil! Warp of vices! Seducer of men! Traitor of nations! Inciter of jealousy!" The list goes on. Satan knows who he is, and the constant name-calling is nothing but a waste of time. A misunderstanding of exorcisms in the Catholic Church is the belief that the exorcist will ... . He must realize he is nothing but a tool God is using. Anything else will put him in danger. He must also, however, realize his importance in this role. "The exorcist is the centerpiece of every ...

  • Word Count: 3861
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Gothic Genre compare and contrast

... . They were laughably untalented. Their reaction to Jensen 2 fear was completely opposite to what would happen in real life. The conditioned response to a scary stimuli would be screaming and running away. However, in this movie, the characters became paralyzed by fear and unable to make any noise. Another movie based from the gothic genre was "The Exorcist," directed by William Friedkin, 1973. In this movie, ... it was a battle of priests vs. the devil. Like all movies, there were some notable weaknesses to the movie. The short clip in the introduction of the movie was dragged on, and w...

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  • Approx Pages: 3
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8. Baptised with an Unholy Spirit

... show) unnecessary, but they are manifestations of superstition and fear " not the permissible, wholesome and highly desirable fear of the Lord, but the fear of Satan, fear of demons, fear of the unseen and the unknown. Of course, the old serpent already has the unsaved masses riddled with such fear: witness the growing interest in divination, occultism, horror films, 'earth mysteries' and tales of the supernatural. However, he also has a great interest in terrorising ... of progressive sanctification, to go running off to the nearest faith-healer, exorcist or charismatic 'Prayer for Pow...

  • Word Count: 10720
  • Approx Pages: 43
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9. Rosemary

... red markings on her body. Suddenly an eerie figure, resembling the devil, appears and impregnates her. All of these shots had a dark tonal composition to add to the suspense and fear Rosemary was dealing with. In the scene directly after Rosemary is in labor, the mood appears as if all the characters are against her due to the darkness that surrounds her once she wakes up from ... the sedative that was given to her. The entire look of the film relies on a lot of blacks and dark ... because it was able to set the mood for a particular scene. Suspense embodied this film and luckily durin...

  • Word Count: 1408
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