Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

cjg5025 t1_ito5x02 wrote

But the story is most definitely about Father Karras confronting his crisis with his faith. Either title would work, but we tend to care more about the characters.

45

lostinjapan01 t1_ito8dgz wrote

the movie isn’t about the exorcism, it’s about father karras…the exorcist

21

iDuddits_ t1_itsuq80 wrote

Yeah big part of the plot idk why op is getting at

1

IMTrick t1_ito6z5j wrote

Could not disagree more. What people remember might be the exorcism, but the heart of the movie is a priest and his struggles with his faith, not the ceremony.

15

PsychologicalTip t1_ito9f7r wrote

Someone pointed out to me that Father Karis makes the ultimate sacrifice, quite comparable to Jesus on the cross. He asks the Devil to abandon Regan and take his soul, which could mean that he remains with the Devil but sets the innocent girl free.

I've heard it called the "ultimate love story" of mankind for this.

6

Minifig81 t1_ito5t7h wrote

It's named after being inspired by William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist which was inspired by the actual 1949 exorcism of a young boy from Cottage City, Maryland, and the 1634 Loudun exorcisms, so no, it wasn't misnamed.

13

[deleted] OP t1_ito6ai5 wrote

while your facts are undeniable i just cant get past that Blatty's novel was also wrongly named.

−7

PensWritesActivist t1_itogtre wrote

Were you making a joke? It seems funny, but there's downvotes

1

[deleted] OP t1_itojie9 wrote

ya it was a joke i guess you win the prize. im here all week.

0

PensWritesActivist t1_itooqym wrote

Reddit is wild. It seems like you got downvotes because the premise on which your joke rests is at odds with the majority opinion that emerged about the title.

−2

JerseyWiseguy t1_ito7btm wrote

You didn't understand the story. It was always about Damien Karras. He was losing his humility and faith in God and believing more and more in science. It was him the demon was seeking out, from the very beginning. There are clues to that in the movie. He's disgusted by the beggar instead of humbly giving him alms, he believes in mental illness instead of demonic possession, etc. And that's why the movie ends with the Demon taking him.

8

Rambler43 t1_itq8dpw wrote

>It was him the demon was seeking out, from the very beginning.

I have to disagree with this.

Father Karras was having a crisis of faith throughout the movie and was moving toward secularism. It took witnessing true demonic evil to restore his faith. If the devil is real, then so is God was his reasoning. The devil didn't destroy his faith. It re-affirmed it.

Kerras's final selfless act (taking the demon on himself) was spontaneous in nature, however. He had to invite the demon in before it could take him, just as it did with Regan when she was playing with the Ouija board early on. It would not have taken him otherwise.

If Pazuzu was pursuing anyone, it was Father Merrin since he first encountered the evil while on an archeological dig in Iraq at the beginning of the movie. He had also dealt with it before at another exorcism in the past.

2

mikeymiggz t1_ito6lke wrote

They should call it Spinny Pukey Face

7

PieceVarious t1_itohuq8 wrote

It's correctly named IF we understand that the exorcist who actually expels the demon is not the official exorcist, Merrin, but rather Karras, who expels the demon not by the Roman Ritual, but through his own courageous, altruistic, Christlike sacrifice for Regan. The Ritual frustrated the demon, but Karras was the one who took the demon out the window with him. Thus making Karras the Exorcist in the truest sense.

7

callmemacready t1_ito65u9 wrote

maybe they should change it to Captain Howdy

5

janedoughi t1_ito5vuw wrote

nah, that just sounds wrong. you should watch the rest of the film series.

1