This article contains details from The Devil and Father Amorth, The Exorcist (both film and television show), Belzebuth, The Last Exorcism, Requiem, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Taking of Deborah Logan and The Devil’s Doorway – expect spoilers. It also contains details of real-life deaths so some may prefer to avoid those elements.
The idea for this was originally sparked by The Devil and Father Amorth – a documentary fronted by William Friedkin visiting a priest renowned for his exorcisms. As part of the film, we are introduced to Cristina, a woman who has struggled with supposed demonic possession for some time. The exorcism scenes in The Devil and Father Amorth are shot close-up and feel a great deal like an intrusion on a woman suffering from a severe mental health issue. However, Friedkin (acknowledged as a believer in demonic possession and exorcism) does attempt some balance in consulting medical professionals, although this is secondary to lengthy scenes of Cristina in distress. The consensus seems to be that if nothing medical emerges, then an exorcism might work because if she truly believes she is possessed, only treating that as a legitimate ailment has any hope of serving her.
The issue with The Devil and Father Amorth is that it presents no actual evidence for why exorcism still exists in modern times, other than the fact that it seems to temporarily soothe the patient where no medication works. It is also shot in the style of a quite poor, low budget TV documentary on ‘real’ exorcists and so loses even further credibility. Cristina is no doubt a tragic figure and her entire family are haunted by her bizarre behaviour. Despite the assurances from those around her that the sessions are helpful, they don’t appear to be and even seem to enhance her belief that she has been corrupted by an external force. As I’m neither a medical nor religious expert I can’t make any real assertion about her issues, but the documentary feels ill-judged. This led me to think a lot about the gendered representation of exorcism – particularly in terms of film and television.
Following the Friedkin thread, we have to start with The Exorcist – a film that has set the stage for pretty much every other representation of exorcisms on-screen, for better or for worse. It does certainly set up a perfect victim and goes to great pains to show the continual degradation of a young girl. The ‘girl in soiled nightdress’ has become shorthand for some sort of evil infestation. The Exorcist places the onus on men as the saviours. The women observe many of Regan’s early behaviours and are victimised by them but seek help from both the male-dominated (in the film, at least) medical and clerical worlds.
The original story that Blatty’s novel is based on involves a young boy as the central figure in the exorcism. The boy from the original case is said to have made a full recovery and continued a normal life. This is in stark contrast to that of women and girls who are involved in such rituals and exorcism is still prevalent today. Most famously, Anneliese Michel was killed during an exorcism rite – her story has been handled numerous times, including a fantastic German film called Requiem. Requiem deals with the conflict between church figures suggesting exorcism as a solution, while the secular world seeks to offer treatment for epilepsy and mental illness. The film leans more towards mental illness, lack of medication and isolation as a cause of Michaela’s troubles. The Exorcism of Emily Rose, also based on the case, hovers between a horror film and courtroom drama to decide if priests and medical professionals were negligent in performing rites. The film offers more energetic, unbelievable scenes that lean toward possession, but as they are told by those involved, the true nature is unknown. Emily Rose also offers the open-minded female lawyer, played by Laura Linney, who despite being agnostic, finds herself defending the clergy.
The true story of Anneliese Michel is far more distressing and it is difficult to see how anyone could condone the treatment she endured. The fact that photographs of her suffering exist online serve both as a warning about these practices as well as feeling like further exploitation of a very troubled young girl. The fact that many films seize on her case as inspiration while focusing on the physical trauma undertaken by young women is troubling, but it remains a frequent occurrence within the genre.
For women, the risk of possession is dismemberment, loss of dignity and often eventual death. Usually, women are seen to have put themselves at risk due to indulging in sin or other disobedience. Regan’s possession is brought on by her discovery of the Ouija board that she begins to play with, referencing a mysterious Captain Howdy. There is plenty of material within The Exorcist to make it a ‘family panic’ film, where the broken family unit with a working mother opens young children to danger. A popular theme within the 1970s, the all-female unit at the outset of The Exorcist calls upon male figures for help and in that sense, represents religious values coming back to ‘save’ them from themselves. That is possibly a more cynical reading of the text and this isn’t to say I don’t love The Exorcist as a film, but there are inherently conservative elements within it that are difficult to ignore. Indeed, Emily Gaudette of Bitch Media’s article sums this up within the title as ‘In Most Films About Demonic Possession, Women are Simply Vessels’. Similarly, Maribel Hermosillo’s Mic article posits that exorcism films are about shaming women.
In Requiem, Michaela’s behaviour is more restrained. In Emily Rose, the titular character does undergo unnatural movements, hoarse screaming and frequently falls into the ‘dirty nightdress’ territory of Regan’s possession. The use of a white nightdress as a basic symbol of domesticity and purity that comes to be soiled and broken is self-explanatory as far as metaphors go, especially when so many victims of possession in these films are introduced as innocent young girls. Nell from The Last Exorcism isn’t a child but is certainly child-like at the outset of the film with one of the first signs of her possession being an increased interest in sexual activity. While this level of conservatism is somewhat understandable in the early 1970s it speaks to the ongoing fear of burgeoning female sexuality in more modern, supposedly more enlightened times. The Taking of Deborah Logan (acknowledging this film is not ideal due to Bryan Singer’s role as a producer) takes the traditional ‘look’ of the possessed young woman and transfers it to an older woman but considerably mutes the sexual elements. Even when under the influence of a demon, older women are still seemingly barred from being presented as sexual beings in their own right.
For men, there is an opportunity to become a saviour, avenge past failings and forge a closer connection to God (after the obligatory questioning). Even in The Exorcist where both priests die, it is framed as for a noble cause. In contrast to the simple, soiled clothing of the girls they seek to help, much is made of how the priests dress and prepare solemnly for their ritual. Despite the reverence to the tradition depicted in these preparation scenes, the male priests are almost always positioned as oppositional to the Church establishment in one form or another. For Karras (Jason Miller) this is a loss of faith spurred on by his mother’s illness, while Merrin (Max von Sydow) struggles with his health and ability to continue in his role. Often, the decision to undertake an exorcism is framed as a thoughtful one, furthering the idea of men as rational, against the hysterical nature of possessed women they attempt to save.
As already covered in The Devil and Father Amorth section, there is a wealth of material that exists concerning ‘real’, documented possessions and the fallout from them. These are important artefacts in seeing how culture (and by that I mean both the culture one grows up in and the more narrow art definition) defines how we understand the concept of possession. More importantly, it reveals even more about the gendered differences and perhaps hints that the representations of female victims and knowledgable male saviours both influence and are influenced by popular culture.
Hostage to the Devil tells the story of Malachi Martin – where people consider his death to be a direct result of the last exorcism he performed on a young girl. There is considerable debate around his claims. Martin often criticised the Vatican hierarchy and was also criticised by Exorcist writer Blatty for attempting to cash in on the success of the book and film by claiming to be an exorcist. He was a prolific writer and his keen interest in the supernatural elements of religion made him an interesting (and polarising) figure. His death garnered a considerable amount of suspicion with some alleging he had been pushed by a demonic force. Before his death, it is said that he was visiting a young girl who was showing signs of possession.
Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses is an interesting documentary as it moves away from the traditional representation of exorcism as a Catholic concern and into a New Zealand, Māori context. The film chronicles how the family of Janet Moses, believing her to be possessed undertook a mākutu lifting. Nine people in the family were originally charged following Moses’ death from drowning during the rituals. The details are upsetting, with family members using vast amounts of water to cleanse her, forgoing toilet breaks and suspending all other activity over the four days until she passed away. Mākutu lifting, it is stressed by community elders does not involve this and should be a last resort – much in the same way that exorcism is referenced by Catholics. Indeed, in many true tales of exorcism, victims are overwhelmingly female. The following link, detailing the circumstances of Vilma Trujillo’s death is incredibly upsetting but shows how her exorcism is linked to wider issues of misogyny and femicide. Ideas about women being dangerous, unsuitable mothers contribute to a need to take control of their behaviour and in religious or spiritual communities, this seems to take the form of cleansings or other rituals that put women at risk.
A key issue in the act of women undergoing an exorcism is consent. Many women are seen to request an exorcism to rid themselves of imagined demons or untreated health problems. As a result, this often absolves the exorcist of abuses and harsh treatment because the inhabited victim has requested the removal of the demon. In this sense, supposed mental health checks seem ineffective – it feels impossible to imagine that anyone otherwise healthy would consent to many of the actions performed as part of exorcisms.
It is possible to find rare examples of women who perform exorcisms. The ‘teen exorcists’ are likely the most infamous example. The trio of hyper-religious martial arts enthusiasts preach against ‘demonic’ elements like Harry Potter novels and travel around the world offering spiritual salvation under the watchful eye of a pastor who is the father of two of the girls. Again, the emphasis is on ruling out mental health problems before undertaking any exorcisms, but the appearances on chat shows and claims that exorcism, like drug rehab, is a service that requires payment does give the appearance of a profitable gimmick.
One of the most refreshing things about the regrettably-cancelled The Exorcist series was that in their second season they made Jon Chow’s loving father Andy the subject of possession instead of the traditional choice of troubled teen Verity (Brianna Hildebrand). It also gave the central priests recurring issues that could not be overcome or escaped through death. Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) is a gay man who struggles with his faith in a way that feels less solemn and with far more flippancy than would be found in more traditional representations. Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) is just as susceptible to possession as any of the victims they attempt to help but is not given an easy, or noble way out. In contrast, Verity, although troubled, is thoughtful and resourceful, essentially managing to save herself. In one scene, she adopts Danny Torrance’s walking backwards through the snow from The Shining to great effect, positioning her as a genre-savvy heroine. This subversion is just one of the reasons I wish the show had been given more time to breathe and grow.
Similarly, Shudder’s Belzebuth offers a more balanced version of possession – offering a gender balance in those possessed. Emmanuel Ritter (Joaquín Cosio) is seen to undergo the physical transformation more commonly seen in female victims. Both Andy in The Exorcist season two and Emmanuel undergo more invasive physical trauma than any of the previous priests. The Exorcist season two also furthers the idea of demons within the Vatican so that Tomas and Marcus, even with their struggles still maintain a sense of integrity that is lost in the institution. Belzebuth also relies on isolated individuals banding together against evil, rather than the established powers.
So, are modern horrors starting to overturn the idea of the possessed female victim and if so, why? In a religious context, it is worth suggesting that faith in institutions has been rocked by repeated accusations of corruption and abuse so religious figures who are part of that system no longer inspire the authority and trust they had previously. Aislinn Clarke’s The Devil’s Doorway points to abuses within the Irish Catholic church and blends this perfectly with the supernatural in a way that feels genuinely scary but also a scathing critique of people endowed with too much power. The behaviour of men, in general, is perhaps under more scrutiny than ever before. The idea of men as rational, knowledgable figures who can save women from themselves is now challenged perhaps more than ever, both on and off-screen.
There is research into an inequality that exists in terms of medical treatment for women (and even more so for black men and women). Due to my cis-ness and whiteness, I feel unable to discuss issues with black or trans racial bias in healthcare though would always invite anyone who wanted to share their experience to do so. I am, however, undergoing treatment for an ongoing injury, for which I’ve been questioned about pain and the possibility of my mood influencing the pain, despite having evidence in the form of an MRI scan. Possibly because men under-report health issues, it is seen that women are more likely to complain of pain or ailments. The research suggests that women are less likely to be taken seriously. More distressingly, black Americans are said to receive less effective pain relief than their white counterparts. With such inequality, it is a possible explanation for people seeking answers and treatment outside of the medical establishment.
From a creative standpoint, movements like Women In Horror Month and resultant festivals seek to explore work by female and non-binary creatives. The wealth of voices finally finding an outlet means that oppositional takes on the subgenre can emerge and find an audience more easily than before. Different voices can represent a different way of telling the same story. While the popularity and endurance of the exorcism film mean we are unlikely to ever be free of the grubby nightdress, there is certainly room for growing nuance, humanity and critique within those stories.
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