1 00:00:13,535 --> 00:00:23,371 ♪♪♪ 2 00:00:23,458 --> 00:00:33,294 ♪♪♪ 3 00:00:33,381 --> 00:00:36,253 ♪♪♪ 4 00:00:39,909 --> 00:00:46,133 ♪♪♪ 5 00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:48,613 - The Exorcist is a tremendously disturbing film 6 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:50,137 even today. 7 00:00:52,704 --> 00:00:55,707 To see this angelic-looking young girl 8 00:00:55,794 --> 00:00:58,928 transformed into this canker-sored, 9 00:00:59,015 --> 00:01:00,886 vomit-spewing... 10 00:01:00,973 --> 00:01:02,410 [Splattering] 11 00:01:02,497 --> 00:01:03,846 Profane... 12 00:01:03,933 --> 00:01:05,369 - Your mother sucks cocks in hell! 13 00:01:05,456 --> 00:01:07,763 - Violent... [Loud gasp, hard thud] 14 00:01:07,850 --> 00:01:09,852 Coarsely sexual... 15 00:01:09,939 --> 00:01:11,636 - Let Jesus fuck you! 16 00:01:11,723 --> 00:01:13,508 - ...monstrosity on the screen 17 00:01:13,595 --> 00:01:16,511 is extremely, extremely unsettling. 18 00:01:18,078 --> 00:01:20,123 All the more so when it premiered 19 00:01:20,210 --> 00:01:22,038 more than a generation ago. 20 00:01:23,387 --> 00:01:26,912 - The Exorcist was sold on controversy from day one. 21 00:01:28,262 --> 00:01:29,959 Certainly, you're not going to shy away 22 00:01:30,046 --> 00:01:32,004 from that kind of marketing. 23 00:01:32,092 --> 00:01:35,356 And it lends itself well to the idea of a curse. 24 00:01:36,444 --> 00:01:39,229 - Thinking of "The Exorcist" as cursed 25 00:01:39,316 --> 00:01:42,493 adds to the legacy of the film. 26 00:01:42,580 --> 00:01:44,234 If you're a fan of horror, 27 00:01:44,321 --> 00:01:46,802 you're looking for these connections. 28 00:01:46,889 --> 00:01:50,458 It's logical to look at some of the truly wild things 29 00:01:50,545 --> 00:01:52,242 that happened on the set 30 00:01:52,329 --> 00:01:53,417 and to people involved with the production 31 00:01:53,504 --> 00:01:55,767 and say, this thing was cursed. 32 00:01:55,854 --> 00:02:00,032 ♪♪♪ 33 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:01,382 - There was a moment during production 34 00:02:01,469 --> 00:02:03,210 when their sets caught fire. 35 00:02:04,515 --> 00:02:07,344 It happened at night, no one was injured, 36 00:02:07,431 --> 00:02:10,608 but most of their sets were consumed. 37 00:02:10,695 --> 00:02:14,090 Regan's bedroom was mysteriously undamaged. 38 00:02:15,787 --> 00:02:17,485 - I think it was after that 39 00:02:17,572 --> 00:02:20,357 that they brought in a Jesuit Priest to bless the set. 40 00:02:22,142 --> 00:02:24,405 There had been a number of people 41 00:02:24,492 --> 00:02:26,276 either related to cast members, 42 00:02:26,363 --> 00:02:28,278 or people who had been in the film, 43 00:02:28,365 --> 00:02:31,455 or working on the production, who had died. 44 00:02:31,542 --> 00:02:34,545 Linda Blair's grandfather died. 45 00:02:34,632 --> 00:02:37,157 Two actors who were in the film died. 46 00:02:38,506 --> 00:02:42,205 - Max von Sydow's brother dies on the first day of filming. 47 00:02:42,292 --> 00:02:44,207 - A special effects expert, 48 00:02:44,294 --> 00:02:47,732 who was supposed to keep the set cool, died. 49 00:02:47,819 --> 00:02:54,217 ♪♪♪ 50 00:02:54,304 --> 00:02:55,958 - There was all of this information 51 00:02:56,045 --> 00:02:59,091 about the movie being cursed. 52 00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:01,006 We have a couple different things to address. 53 00:03:01,093 --> 00:03:03,270 Number one: 54 00:03:03,357 --> 00:03:05,272 Billy's a genius. 55 00:03:05,359 --> 00:03:07,274 When you work with somebody that's a genius, 56 00:03:07,361 --> 00:03:09,885 you're gonna go for a ride, let me tell you. 57 00:03:11,321 --> 00:03:13,976 I'm laced into this piece of equipment. 58 00:03:14,063 --> 00:03:17,327 It is literally manipulated by men. 59 00:03:18,937 --> 00:03:21,244 In this particular take, 60 00:03:21,331 --> 00:03:24,291 the lacing came loose. 61 00:03:24,378 --> 00:03:27,990 I am... having my back pounded. 62 00:03:29,992 --> 00:03:32,951 I mean, I'm crying, I'm screaming. 63 00:03:33,038 --> 00:03:34,997 They think I'm acting up a storm. 64 00:03:36,651 --> 00:03:38,130 It fractured my lower spine. 65 00:03:38,218 --> 00:03:40,132 No, they didn't send me to a doctor. 66 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,352 It is the footage that's in the movie. 67 00:03:44,354 --> 00:03:47,662 - William Friedkin is famously a two-fisted director. 68 00:03:48,793 --> 00:03:51,013 He would fire a gun off behind somebody 69 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:53,058 to get them to jump if he needed them to do that. 70 00:03:53,145 --> 00:03:55,278 - I mean, sometimes the things he did were, 71 00:03:55,365 --> 00:03:57,889 were, were... pretty harsh. 72 00:03:59,151 --> 00:04:01,806 What would happen if I shoot the gun? 73 00:04:01,893 --> 00:04:03,808 [Gunshot pops] 74 00:04:03,895 --> 00:04:06,333 So if I'd be in the bed and he's gonna shoot a gun, 75 00:04:06,420 --> 00:04:08,944 he has to tell me because I'm not allowed to do that, right? 76 00:04:09,031 --> 00:04:11,033 I can't jum-- the devil can't jump. 77 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:13,340 [Gun fires, screaming] 78 00:04:13,427 --> 00:04:15,342 - That's done during the first time 79 00:04:15,429 --> 00:04:19,171 they see Regan looking like the demon. 80 00:04:19,259 --> 00:04:22,610 And I played that scene, so I was there. 81 00:04:22,697 --> 00:04:25,743 Yeah, I was originally hired 'cause they felt Linda Blair 82 00:04:25,830 --> 00:04:27,528 was too young to do... 83 00:04:27,615 --> 00:04:29,704 what turned out to be the masturbation scene. 84 00:04:29,791 --> 00:04:32,446 But then I ended up doing the masturbation scene, 85 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:35,318 the vomiting scene, the levitation scene, 86 00:04:35,405 --> 00:04:38,103 and I played Pazuzu's face. 87 00:04:38,190 --> 00:04:39,714 So it was a very, very long movie. 88 00:04:39,801 --> 00:04:41,629 It was kind of like, uh, 89 00:04:41,716 --> 00:04:44,327 who do you have to fuck to get off this movie? [Chuckles] 90 00:04:44,414 --> 00:04:46,982 [Shrill scream, glass shattering] 91 00:04:47,069 --> 00:04:48,723 - In every movie, 92 00:04:48,810 --> 00:04:50,333 if it has anything to do with action and things, 93 00:04:50,420 --> 00:04:53,031 somebody is always gonna get hurt. 94 00:04:53,118 --> 00:04:55,382 - When Regan slaps Chris across the room, 95 00:04:55,469 --> 00:04:57,949 that was achieved by putting Ellen Burstyn in a harness. 96 00:04:58,036 --> 00:04:59,342 [Loud gasp, hard slap] 97 00:04:59,429 --> 00:05:01,126 The first take, 98 00:05:01,213 --> 00:05:03,346 it wasn't particularly brutal enough for Friedkin, 99 00:05:03,433 --> 00:05:04,695 so he had a word with the gentleman 100 00:05:04,782 --> 00:05:06,175 on the other end of the rope 101 00:05:06,262 --> 00:05:08,046 to... give it to her - 102 00:05:08,133 --> 00:05:10,701 yank a little extra hard on Ellen Burstyn's harness 103 00:05:10,788 --> 00:05:13,051 to get her to fly across the room as needed - 104 00:05:13,138 --> 00:05:16,359 uh, resulting in Ellen Burstyn being injured from that scene. 105 00:05:16,446 --> 00:05:18,405 And that's the shot that's in the film. 106 00:05:21,930 --> 00:05:23,975 - It's an agreement actors and directors 107 00:05:24,062 --> 00:05:26,064 and productions make to get a performance 108 00:05:26,151 --> 00:05:28,763 for something that entertains millions across the world. 109 00:05:30,504 --> 00:05:32,984 And what's it for? For you. 110 00:05:33,071 --> 00:05:34,682 - Certainly, if you're marketing that film, 111 00:05:34,769 --> 00:05:38,250 you're going to tacitly embrace such stories. 112 00:05:38,338 --> 00:05:39,991 - That's something that... 113 00:05:40,078 --> 00:05:42,429 that's been happening since Hitchcock or before. 114 00:05:43,647 --> 00:05:47,216 That's him building up hysteria around Psycho; 115 00:05:47,303 --> 00:05:49,131 that you can't come into the film late, 116 00:05:49,218 --> 00:05:50,959 and people were getting sick. 117 00:05:51,046 --> 00:05:53,788 So, you see, Friedkin and the PR folks, uh, 118 00:05:53,875 --> 00:05:55,833 who were handling "The Exorcist" 119 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,141 when that came out, helped people buy into the hysteria 120 00:05:59,228 --> 00:06:01,448 of what the curse behind this movie is. 121 00:06:01,535 --> 00:06:03,624 And it also sold a lot of tickets. 122 00:06:05,495 --> 00:06:08,803 - A few months ago, I was listening to an old podcast 123 00:06:08,890 --> 00:06:12,589 and they had mentioned that there was an actual murderer 124 00:06:12,676 --> 00:06:14,722 who was in "The Exorcist". 125 00:06:14,809 --> 00:06:17,420 There had always been, you know the, the stories 126 00:06:17,507 --> 00:06:19,814 about the curse of "The Exorcist", 127 00:06:19,901 --> 00:06:23,557 but this one... just seemed to be left out. 128 00:06:23,644 --> 00:06:25,385 So it fascinated me 129 00:06:25,472 --> 00:06:28,388 and I set out writing a report for Esquire. 130 00:06:30,738 --> 00:06:33,480 In 1972, William Friedkin went to the... 131 00:06:35,133 --> 00:06:36,918 NYU radiology department 132 00:06:37,005 --> 00:06:39,573 and watched them perform a procedure 133 00:06:39,660 --> 00:06:41,313 that was essentially taking pictures 134 00:06:41,401 --> 00:06:43,881 of the blood vessels in somebody's brain. 135 00:06:43,968 --> 00:06:45,579 It looked pretty gruesome 136 00:06:45,666 --> 00:06:47,581 and he saw that, and, you know, 137 00:06:47,668 --> 00:06:49,626 thought that it was perfect for his horror movie. 138 00:06:50,975 --> 00:06:54,762 During my research, I spoke with a number of people 139 00:06:54,849 --> 00:06:58,809 who were involved in filming that scene. 140 00:06:58,896 --> 00:07:00,942 One of them was Barton Lane 141 00:07:01,029 --> 00:07:04,511 who's actually the man in the film performing the procedure. 142 00:07:06,121 --> 00:07:08,166 - Okay, you're gonna feel some pressure here. 143 00:07:08,253 --> 00:07:09,907 Now don't move. 144 00:07:09,994 --> 00:07:11,605 - I happened to be doing a procedure one day 145 00:07:11,692 --> 00:07:14,346 when the Chief of my department came by with a visitor. 146 00:07:14,434 --> 00:07:16,131 - [Whimpering] 147 00:07:16,218 --> 00:07:17,959 - At the end of the procedure, I was introduced to, 148 00:07:18,046 --> 00:07:20,135 uh, Mr. Friedkin, and they said, 149 00:07:20,222 --> 00:07:22,224 "We're gonna be making a movie here in a few months," 150 00:07:22,311 --> 00:07:24,269 and, uh, my Chairman said, "Would you like to be in it?" 151 00:07:24,356 --> 00:07:26,402 I said, "Yes." 152 00:07:29,318 --> 00:07:31,189 So here are some photographs that were taken 153 00:07:31,276 --> 00:07:34,497 during the filming of the angiography sequence. 154 00:07:34,584 --> 00:07:37,544 This first one is Mr. Friedkin and myself 155 00:07:37,631 --> 00:07:39,633 and the make-up artist. 156 00:07:43,027 --> 00:07:45,073 - Friedkin wanted everybody who... 157 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:46,901 was performing that procedure, that day 158 00:07:46,988 --> 00:07:49,904 to be in his movie, and one of them included 159 00:07:49,991 --> 00:07:53,124 a young technician named Paul Bateson, 160 00:07:53,211 --> 00:07:55,126 and so he ends up being in the film. 161 00:07:56,171 --> 00:07:59,522 - Paul was the Chief neuro radiology technologist. 162 00:07:59,609 --> 00:08:02,873 I worked with him on an almost daily basis for four years. 163 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,528 - Regan, I'm just gonna move you down on the table, okay? 164 00:08:05,615 --> 00:08:08,052 - I would characterize him as being quiet, 165 00:08:08,139 --> 00:08:09,837 very nice to the patients. 166 00:08:11,099 --> 00:08:14,015 - September 14th, 1977, 167 00:08:14,102 --> 00:08:17,671 the body of a variety reporter named, Addison Verrill, 168 00:08:17,758 --> 00:08:20,412 was found in his West Village apartment. 169 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:23,067 One Village Voice reporter named, Arthur Bell, 170 00:08:23,154 --> 00:08:25,896 noted that this looked like an assailant 171 00:08:25,983 --> 00:08:28,203 that the victim knew. 172 00:08:28,290 --> 00:08:31,859 And Arthur Bell gets a phone call from an anonymous person 173 00:08:31,946 --> 00:08:32,599 who says... 174 00:08:33,904 --> 00:08:36,385 "I killed Addison Verrill." 175 00:08:37,865 --> 00:08:40,389 This caller explained that he wasn't a psychopath; 176 00:08:40,476 --> 00:08:42,130 that he was an alcoholic 177 00:08:42,217 --> 00:08:43,958 and that this was a crime of passion, 178 00:08:44,045 --> 00:08:47,135 and that he and Verrill had sex and did drugs 179 00:08:47,222 --> 00:08:49,224 until early in the morning, 180 00:08:49,311 --> 00:08:51,792 and then gone back to Verrill's apartment 181 00:08:51,879 --> 00:08:54,272 where he hit him over the head with a pan 182 00:08:54,359 --> 00:08:56,579 and then stabbed him in the chest. 183 00:08:56,666 --> 00:09:00,017 He also had mentioned that if he gets caught 184 00:09:00,104 --> 00:09:02,324 he would never be able to practice again. 185 00:09:03,412 --> 00:09:06,981 The phone call eventually led police to Paul Bateson. 186 00:09:08,373 --> 00:09:09,940 When they got to Paul's apartment, 187 00:09:10,027 --> 00:09:13,248 he told police, "I know why you're here." 188 00:09:13,335 --> 00:09:14,989 And they took him into custody 189 00:09:15,076 --> 00:09:19,254 where he eventually confessed to the, the crime. 190 00:09:21,299 --> 00:09:23,911 It makes sense for people to connect 191 00:09:23,998 --> 00:09:25,956 this larger real-life horror 192 00:09:26,043 --> 00:09:29,090 to this curse of "The Exorcist"; 193 00:09:29,177 --> 00:09:32,572 that these horrors are real, evil is real. 194 00:09:33,747 --> 00:09:37,272 - In 1972, Pope Paul VI issued a proclamation 195 00:09:37,359 --> 00:09:39,796 lamenting the loss of belief in evil 196 00:09:39,883 --> 00:09:41,972 as a real entity, 197 00:09:42,059 --> 00:09:43,539 as a real metaphysical entity, 198 00:09:43,626 --> 00:09:46,281 and in the devil as a real entity. 199 00:09:46,368 --> 00:09:49,763 And then it's after that that you get "The Exorcist", 200 00:09:49,850 --> 00:09:53,593 which is trying to prove the existence of, of the devil. 201 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:56,683 "The Exorcist" starts actually in Mesopotamia 202 00:09:56,770 --> 00:09:59,424 trying to show you that evil goes way back. 203 00:09:59,511 --> 00:10:01,252 Not only goes way back, 204 00:10:01,339 --> 00:10:03,559 but it can still intrude into a family 205 00:10:03,646 --> 00:10:05,474 and disrupt their whole life. 206 00:10:07,389 --> 00:10:09,739 - To say that "The Exorcist" is a cursed film 207 00:10:09,826 --> 00:10:12,655 taps into the Catholicism of the people watching it. 208 00:10:12,742 --> 00:10:15,702 It, it taps into the imagery in the film 209 00:10:15,789 --> 00:10:18,705 of the guy digging up an idol and unleashing this demon. 210 00:10:21,446 --> 00:10:23,448 [Traffic rumbles] 211 00:10:25,625 --> 00:10:27,061 - The people who made "The Exorcist" 212 00:10:27,148 --> 00:10:29,716 definitely did their research. 213 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,459 The fact that the movie opens up with this excavation 214 00:10:34,546 --> 00:10:37,201 at the site of Hatra in Northern Iraq, 215 00:10:37,288 --> 00:10:39,508 is very much accurate 216 00:10:39,595 --> 00:10:42,337 because Pazuzu does come from Northern Iraq. 217 00:10:43,773 --> 00:10:49,126 - Pazuzu turned out to be the icon of the entire movie. 218 00:10:49,213 --> 00:10:50,911 'Cause the way they did it - 219 00:10:50,998 --> 00:10:52,347 they like to call it subliminal, 220 00:10:52,434 --> 00:10:53,957 but it's not subliminal 221 00:10:54,044 --> 00:10:56,568 'cause subliminal means that you don't see it, 222 00:10:56,656 --> 00:10:59,484 but it certainly was that flash. 223 00:10:59,571 --> 00:11:01,704 And people said, "Did you see that?" 224 00:11:01,791 --> 00:11:03,271 "See what?" "You see that face?" 225 00:11:03,358 --> 00:11:04,751 "What face?" "The face!" 226 00:11:06,709 --> 00:11:08,668 - This is made out of bronze, so it's cast metal. 227 00:11:08,755 --> 00:11:11,801 You might wear this if you were, say, a pregnant woman, 228 00:11:11,888 --> 00:11:15,718 um, or you might put it as an amulet on a newborn baby 229 00:11:15,805 --> 00:11:19,200 because Pazuzu's enemy Lamashtu, 230 00:11:19,287 --> 00:11:21,811 um, was especially interested 231 00:11:21,898 --> 00:11:24,118 in pregnant women and in babies. 232 00:11:25,206 --> 00:11:26,947 That giant statue of Pazuzu, 233 00:11:27,034 --> 00:11:29,514 while it looks great and it's terrifying, 234 00:11:29,601 --> 00:11:32,604 it's much bigger than any images of Pazuzu 235 00:11:32,692 --> 00:11:34,041 that we know. 236 00:11:34,128 --> 00:11:36,304 Usually he's a small amulet 237 00:11:36,391 --> 00:11:39,133 and it seems like a demon with his power 238 00:11:39,220 --> 00:11:41,570 would be dangerous to make on a large scale. 239 00:11:41,657 --> 00:11:45,966 ♪♪♪ 240 00:11:46,053 --> 00:11:49,926 - How does horror treat what is probably 241 00:11:50,013 --> 00:11:54,539 the single most important meaning making system 242 00:11:54,626 --> 00:11:57,020 that human beings have evolved over time? 243 00:11:57,107 --> 00:11:59,806 Which is to say, how does it treat religion? 244 00:12:02,678 --> 00:12:04,462 Horror is a really, 245 00:12:04,549 --> 00:12:07,291 really powerful artifact 246 00:12:07,378 --> 00:12:09,816 that speaks clearly and directly 247 00:12:09,903 --> 00:12:12,819 to the fact that we are still concerned 248 00:12:12,906 --> 00:12:15,604 with really important questions. 249 00:12:15,691 --> 00:12:19,651 Which is why I call horror and religion cultural siblings. 250 00:12:19,739 --> 00:12:21,436 You don't get horror building on religion, 251 00:12:21,523 --> 00:12:23,177 so much as they are dealing 252 00:12:23,264 --> 00:12:25,832 With exactly the same questions: 253 00:12:27,268 --> 00:12:30,097 Where do we go when we die? How did we get here? 254 00:12:30,184 --> 00:12:32,969 Does life have any meaning? Is there a God? 255 00:12:33,056 --> 00:12:35,363 Why do we suffer? 256 00:12:35,450 --> 00:12:37,800 Religions claim to have answered those questions, 257 00:12:37,887 --> 00:12:40,237 but the answers are never 258 00:12:40,324 --> 00:12:42,544 really very satisfactory 259 00:12:42,631 --> 00:12:44,894 for a very long time. 260 00:12:44,981 --> 00:12:48,376 - I have been working on a book project 261 00:12:48,463 --> 00:12:51,858 on how horror is used as a missionary tool. 262 00:12:51,945 --> 00:12:54,425 - I do not believe. 263 00:12:54,512 --> 00:12:56,819 So, to recap, four words necessary to destroy 264 00:12:56,906 --> 00:12:59,691 the forces of the supernatural, witchcraft, 265 00:12:59,779 --> 00:13:01,868 superstition, psychic, et cetera, et cetera. 266 00:13:01,955 --> 00:13:03,826 - There is a subgenre of horror films 267 00:13:03,913 --> 00:13:05,828 where a character who's a skeptic 268 00:13:05,915 --> 00:13:08,265 confronts evidence of the supernatural. 269 00:13:08,352 --> 00:13:10,615 - ...and can only exist in an atmosphere of belief. 270 00:13:10,702 --> 00:13:11,878 Belief is final. 271 00:13:13,662 --> 00:13:17,144 - And in the process, the skeptic becomes a believer. 272 00:13:17,231 --> 00:13:18,710 For example, "Night of the Demon," 273 00:13:18,798 --> 00:13:20,843 from 1957, I believe. 274 00:13:20,930 --> 00:13:22,671 - Oh, but, uh, if I could make my point, 275 00:13:22,758 --> 00:13:24,368 I could persuade you. 276 00:13:24,455 --> 00:13:26,631 - I'm not open to persuasion. 277 00:13:26,718 --> 00:13:29,112 - But a scientist should have an open mind. 278 00:13:29,199 --> 00:13:31,375 - That's what investigations are for. 279 00:13:31,462 --> 00:13:33,334 - All of those films, 280 00:13:33,421 --> 00:13:35,858 uh, are meant to show you 281 00:13:35,945 --> 00:13:38,600 that evil does exist. 282 00:13:38,687 --> 00:13:42,038 At the end, for example, of "The Exorcist", 283 00:13:42,125 --> 00:13:45,607 you have a message that the devil exists 284 00:13:45,694 --> 00:13:47,261 and that the church and Christianity 285 00:13:47,348 --> 00:13:49,480 is the answer to that. 286 00:13:50,830 --> 00:13:53,093 - The good guys in this movie 287 00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:56,270 were not the rationalists, the doctors, 288 00:13:56,357 --> 00:13:59,708 the psychiatrists, the sophisticated partygoers, 289 00:13:59,795 --> 00:14:02,319 but they were the figures of faith 290 00:14:02,406 --> 00:14:03,930 who seemed to have the answers 291 00:14:04,017 --> 00:14:06,323 and were willing to make the sacrifices. 292 00:14:08,021 --> 00:14:10,414 - A lot of the development in horror film 293 00:14:10,501 --> 00:14:11,894 has come as a reaction 294 00:14:11,981 --> 00:14:15,071 to the fear of the loss of belief in God 295 00:14:15,158 --> 00:14:17,726 and the fear of the loss of belief in the devil. 296 00:14:18,727 --> 00:14:20,642 Horror films, at least some of them, 297 00:14:20,729 --> 00:14:23,645 are there to counteract the secularization 298 00:14:23,732 --> 00:14:26,648 that, uh, is perceived to be taking place. 299 00:14:26,735 --> 00:14:28,563 - As a matter of fact, the Pope himself 300 00:14:28,650 --> 00:14:32,045 is being quoted as part of the film's publicity campaign. 301 00:14:32,132 --> 00:14:34,699 Demol-- Demonology, he said, 302 00:14:34,786 --> 00:14:37,789 is an important part of Catholic doctrine 303 00:14:37,877 --> 00:14:40,096 that really ought to be studied again. 304 00:14:40,183 --> 00:14:43,012 - I've heard an interview with Blatty, 305 00:14:43,099 --> 00:14:44,971 the author of "The Exorcist", 306 00:14:45,058 --> 00:14:48,322 who said he heard Billy Graham say that the devil, 307 00:14:48,409 --> 00:14:51,499 it's in the celluloid film itself. 308 00:14:51,586 --> 00:14:53,588 - There were stories that projecting the film 309 00:14:53,675 --> 00:14:56,243 would invite demons into your theater. 310 00:14:56,330 --> 00:14:57,984 That's an urban legend happening right in front of you 311 00:14:58,071 --> 00:15:00,116 for the movie that you've got in release. 312 00:15:01,857 --> 00:15:03,946 There's a trailer that had to be pulled 313 00:15:04,033 --> 00:15:07,123 because it was potentially seizure-inducing. 314 00:15:09,038 --> 00:15:11,606 They were leaning very hard into the controversial nature 315 00:15:11,693 --> 00:15:13,913 and the illicit and the taboo. 316 00:15:15,697 --> 00:15:18,004 You're gonna be fucked up if you watch this movie. 317 00:15:20,484 --> 00:15:22,573 - David Sheehan is with us tonight to talk about a movie 318 00:15:22,660 --> 00:15:24,532 that has people passing out. 319 00:15:24,619 --> 00:15:26,403 - The manager of The National Theater in Westwood 320 00:15:26,490 --> 00:15:29,276 says that there indeed are at least a dozen people 321 00:15:29,363 --> 00:15:32,192 who faint or become ill during every showing. 322 00:15:32,279 --> 00:15:34,716 - I fainted like ten minutes after the... 323 00:15:34,803 --> 00:15:36,631 first beginning of the movie. 324 00:15:36,718 --> 00:15:38,067 - I passed out. - You did? 325 00:15:38,154 --> 00:15:40,591 - In about the first half hour, yeah. 326 00:15:41,941 --> 00:15:43,681 - "The Exorcist" was no longer 327 00:15:43,768 --> 00:15:46,206 just the most successful motion picture in film history, 328 00:15:46,293 --> 00:15:50,427 but had become an unquestioned sociological phenomenon. 329 00:15:50,514 --> 00:15:53,430 - What made "The Exorcist" different, 330 00:15:53,517 --> 00:15:56,781 it had the hook of the true story. 331 00:15:56,868 --> 00:15:59,132 Billy Friedkin makes "The Exorcist" 332 00:15:59,219 --> 00:16:01,308 based on this true story 333 00:16:01,395 --> 00:16:04,267 that William Peter Blatty wrote about. 334 00:16:04,354 --> 00:16:06,052 People who are Catholic 335 00:16:06,139 --> 00:16:08,271 know that there is... 336 00:16:08,358 --> 00:16:10,708 a thing called exorcism in the church. 337 00:16:10,795 --> 00:16:13,320 They may not know anybody who's been a part of it, 338 00:16:13,407 --> 00:16:14,669 but they at least know that 339 00:16:14,756 --> 00:16:16,279 it's a part of Catholic culture. 340 00:16:16,366 --> 00:16:18,064 - Some psychiatrists are calling "The Exorcist" 341 00:16:18,151 --> 00:16:19,456 a dangerous movie 342 00:16:19,543 --> 00:16:21,328 because it does give credibility 343 00:16:21,415 --> 00:16:23,373 to a variety of superstitions, 344 00:16:23,460 --> 00:16:26,202 including the devil myth and the power of ritual. 345 00:16:28,422 --> 00:16:32,078 - There has been a significant uptick 346 00:16:32,165 --> 00:16:33,775 of exorcisms recently, 347 00:16:33,862 --> 00:16:35,472 and this is a fact. 348 00:16:35,559 --> 00:16:37,431 Some of that might be fueled 349 00:16:37,518 --> 00:16:39,259 by the great popularity 350 00:16:39,346 --> 00:16:42,044 of possession-based horror movies, 351 00:16:42,131 --> 00:16:44,568 all of which are sort of twigs 352 00:16:44,655 --> 00:16:48,094 growing off the tree of "The Exorcist". 353 00:16:48,181 --> 00:16:49,791 There are people in our society 354 00:16:49,878 --> 00:16:51,532 who never would have heard of exorcism, 355 00:16:51,619 --> 00:16:53,708 who never would have heard of possession, 356 00:16:53,795 --> 00:16:56,580 were it not for "The Exorcist". 357 00:16:58,147 --> 00:17:01,150 - When we look at the movie called "The Exorcist", 358 00:17:01,237 --> 00:17:03,065 what, to me, that movie did 359 00:17:03,152 --> 00:17:05,111 was bring it on the big screen, 360 00:17:05,198 --> 00:17:08,244 the reality that an exorcism 361 00:17:09,898 --> 00:17:12,379 can and will be successful 362 00:17:12,466 --> 00:17:14,163 if done correctly. 363 00:17:16,948 --> 00:17:19,603 An exorcism can look frightening, 364 00:17:19,690 --> 00:17:21,823 but does not need to be. 365 00:17:21,910 --> 00:17:24,086 It's not dangerous 366 00:17:24,173 --> 00:17:26,175 as long as it is done biblically. 367 00:17:27,524 --> 00:17:29,961 My name is Vincent Bauhaus 368 00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:31,963 and I am an exorcist. 369 00:17:32,051 --> 00:17:33,530 [Knocking] 370 00:17:33,617 --> 00:17:36,098 - Hi, how are you? - I'm good, how are you? 371 00:17:36,185 --> 00:17:38,318 - Fine. Welcome back. - Good to see you again. 372 00:17:38,405 --> 00:17:40,233 - You too. How are you? - I'm very well. 373 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,845 The people that we are going to meet are people 374 00:17:43,932 --> 00:17:46,630 that have been the victim 375 00:17:46,717 --> 00:17:48,415 of attack, 376 00:17:48,502 --> 00:17:50,156 of witchcraft. 377 00:17:50,243 --> 00:17:53,289 - Someone somewhere, he's monitoring me. 378 00:17:53,376 --> 00:17:55,117 I don't know who, I don't know where. 379 00:17:55,204 --> 00:17:56,510 They are always there attacking me. 380 00:17:56,597 --> 00:17:58,903 - Mhmm. - So I don't know what it is, 381 00:17:58,990 --> 00:18:01,993 and now I'm feeling they are inside of me. 382 00:18:02,081 --> 00:18:04,996 - Yeah. - Like a python spirit is there. 383 00:18:05,084 --> 00:18:06,346 - And then very interestingly, 384 00:18:06,433 --> 00:18:08,304 we're gonna see a gentleman 385 00:18:09,392 --> 00:18:12,178 who has played with a Ouija Board 386 00:18:13,266 --> 00:18:15,311 on a daily basis 387 00:18:15,398 --> 00:18:17,270 for four years. 388 00:18:17,357 --> 00:18:19,402 - Hey, where'd this come from? 389 00:18:19,489 --> 00:18:22,144 - I started messing around with a Ouija Board more 390 00:18:22,231 --> 00:18:24,538 and even worshipping and calling upon the devil. 391 00:18:24,625 --> 00:18:26,192 - Oh, you was worshipping the devil? 392 00:18:26,279 --> 00:18:28,194 - Well, basically, it got to that point 393 00:18:28,281 --> 00:18:30,326 because I felt like God, you know, has abandoned me. 394 00:18:30,413 --> 00:18:32,023 He wouldn't hear me. 395 00:18:32,111 --> 00:18:35,505 - And we're gonna see a person very wounded 396 00:18:35,592 --> 00:18:37,725 by their childhood. 397 00:18:37,812 --> 00:18:39,161 Have seat. 398 00:18:39,248 --> 00:18:40,684 - Okay, let me turn my phone off. 399 00:18:41,685 --> 00:18:43,252 - You got time, dude. I got a story, 400 00:18:43,339 --> 00:18:45,341 it's like straight out of Hollywood. 401 00:18:45,428 --> 00:18:46,864 - Once my dad left, 402 00:18:46,951 --> 00:18:49,911 it's like all hell broke loose on me. 403 00:18:49,998 --> 00:18:53,001 This thing wanted to choke me somehow and kill me. 404 00:18:53,088 --> 00:18:54,916 'Cause I remember driving my truck 405 00:18:55,003 --> 00:18:56,918 to go get another load 406 00:18:57,005 --> 00:18:58,789 in the middle of the daytime 407 00:18:58,876 --> 00:19:01,705 and I saw that seatbelt trying to get around me. 408 00:19:01,792 --> 00:19:04,708 - We're gonna see those people get set free 409 00:19:04,795 --> 00:19:06,754 from that terrible curse 410 00:19:06,841 --> 00:19:08,625 that was placed upon them. 411 00:19:08,712 --> 00:19:10,932 - Are we going to read the word of God 412 00:19:11,019 --> 00:19:12,194 or what do we...? 413 00:19:12,281 --> 00:19:14,240 - We're gonna pray. - Amen. 414 00:19:15,632 --> 00:19:16,981 - Oh, thank you Lord Almighty God, 415 00:19:17,068 --> 00:19:19,506 and loose the anointing upon Victoria. 416 00:19:19,593 --> 00:19:21,247 Lord let that anointing 417 00:19:21,334 --> 00:19:23,249 penetrate her right now. 418 00:19:23,336 --> 00:19:27,601 There will be a healing of that broken and wounded soul 419 00:19:27,688 --> 00:19:29,298 or wounded heart. 420 00:19:29,385 --> 00:19:30,299 Who are you? 421 00:19:30,386 --> 00:19:32,171 - [Whimpering] 422 00:19:33,781 --> 00:19:35,609 - Who are you? 423 00:19:37,872 --> 00:19:40,004 Don't hide from me. 424 00:19:40,091 --> 00:19:41,876 Say, I renounce... - I renounce... 425 00:19:41,963 --> 00:19:43,660 - Witchcraft. - Witchcraft. 426 00:19:43,747 --> 00:19:47,447 - I also renounce... - I also renounce... 427 00:19:47,534 --> 00:19:49,231 - Opening... - Opening... 428 00:19:49,318 --> 00:19:50,972 - My mind... - My mind... 429 00:19:51,059 --> 00:19:54,845 - To the demonic realms. - To the demonic realms. 430 00:19:54,932 --> 00:19:56,630 Smite it! 431 00:19:56,717 --> 00:19:58,153 You... 432 00:19:59,372 --> 00:20:01,939 whether you are python... 433 00:20:03,332 --> 00:20:05,073 or religion. 434 00:20:12,820 --> 00:20:14,169 Get out. 435 00:20:17,390 --> 00:20:20,219 - [Coughing] 436 00:20:22,351 --> 00:20:24,875 Get loose! 437 00:20:24,962 --> 00:20:26,442 - [Coughing] - Get out. 438 00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:31,317 Loose Elena! 439 00:20:32,361 --> 00:20:34,537 - Say "I lift." - Oh no... Lord! 440 00:20:34,624 --> 00:20:36,974 - Say, I lift... Say, I lift... 441 00:20:38,062 --> 00:20:39,847 I lift... - I lift... 442 00:20:39,934 --> 00:20:42,110 - Lift the... - The... 443 00:20:42,197 --> 00:20:44,155 - Curse! Curse! - [Groaning] 444 00:20:44,243 --> 00:20:45,374 - Say it! - Curse! 445 00:20:45,461 --> 00:20:46,680 - We... - We... 446 00:20:46,767 --> 00:20:48,159 - Lift... - Lift... 447 00:20:48,247 --> 00:20:49,465 - The... - The... 448 00:20:49,552 --> 00:20:51,467 - Curse. - Curse. 449 00:20:51,554 --> 00:20:53,339 - All in the name of Jesus Christ, get out of him! - Oh! 450 00:20:53,426 --> 00:20:55,341 - I'd wanna be very careful 451 00:20:55,428 --> 00:20:58,300 that the individual, who may be very earnest, 452 00:20:58,387 --> 00:21:00,737 is not riffing off of something 453 00:21:00,824 --> 00:21:03,914 that had its point of origin 454 00:21:04,001 --> 00:21:06,134 from a horror movie. 455 00:21:06,221 --> 00:21:08,092 - What you notice is a lot of the language 456 00:21:08,179 --> 00:21:09,964 sounds very much like 457 00:21:10,051 --> 00:21:12,445 late-night television... uh, language. 458 00:21:12,532 --> 00:21:16,144 Like, uh, my name is Legion, or I am Lucifer. 459 00:21:17,232 --> 00:21:18,538 [Man groans] 460 00:21:19,626 --> 00:21:21,454 - Who are you? 461 00:21:22,933 --> 00:21:25,588 - There's this principle called the availability heuristic. 462 00:21:25,675 --> 00:21:29,592 It basically means that the more easily that we can draw 463 00:21:29,679 --> 00:21:32,203 an example of something to mind, 464 00:21:32,291 --> 00:21:35,381 the more likely we are to think that thing is true 465 00:21:35,468 --> 00:21:38,906 and to kind of use it to fill in the blanks. 466 00:21:38,993 --> 00:21:42,649 When an exorcist says, I wanna speak to the demon, 467 00:21:43,867 --> 00:21:45,391 you're gonna give that person a demon 468 00:21:45,478 --> 00:21:47,349 in the only way you know how. 469 00:21:47,436 --> 00:21:50,178 Whether you got it from late-night television... 470 00:21:50,265 --> 00:21:51,875 [Vomiting, vomit splatters] 471 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,792 or some dimly remembered experience 472 00:21:55,879 --> 00:21:57,403 at the theatre, 473 00:21:57,490 --> 00:21:59,361 you're gonna fill that in 474 00:21:59,448 --> 00:22:01,407 with the information that you have. 475 00:22:01,494 --> 00:22:03,409 - [Whimpers] 476 00:22:03,496 --> 00:22:05,193 - Severed. 477 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,327 The evil spirit will no longer be able to hide 478 00:22:08,414 --> 00:22:11,939 in that pain or in that trauma. 479 00:22:12,026 --> 00:22:14,681 Loose! I command you! 480 00:22:14,768 --> 00:22:16,900 Loose the anointing upon you! 481 00:22:16,987 --> 00:22:17,901 Now leave! 482 00:22:17,988 --> 00:22:19,773 - [Sniffling] 483 00:22:19,860 --> 00:22:21,427 [Coughing] 484 00:22:21,514 --> 00:22:23,037 - Fire! 485 00:22:23,124 --> 00:22:24,865 Fire! 486 00:22:26,606 --> 00:22:28,651 Loose! Out! 487 00:22:28,738 --> 00:22:30,784 Snake, get out! 488 00:22:33,656 --> 00:22:35,528 [Vomits] 489 00:22:37,181 --> 00:22:40,228 In the name of Jesus Christ, 490 00:22:40,315 --> 00:22:43,318 that's witchcraft... coming out. 491 00:22:47,627 --> 00:22:50,456 When is a horror movie a problem? 492 00:22:53,154 --> 00:22:55,243 It is very dangerous 493 00:22:55,330 --> 00:22:58,594 and it's a very real possibility 494 00:22:58,681 --> 00:23:01,554 that a child could definitely develop 495 00:23:01,641 --> 00:23:03,947 a spiritual problem 496 00:23:04,034 --> 00:23:06,297 with evil spirits, with demons, 497 00:23:06,385 --> 00:23:08,996 if it's watching a horror movie. 498 00:23:10,084 --> 00:23:11,477 [Reporters chatter] 499 00:23:12,565 --> 00:23:14,436 - Linda, there's are various rumors 500 00:23:14,523 --> 00:23:16,960 that you were affected psychologically by the film, 501 00:23:17,047 --> 00:23:19,136 which are, no doubt, untrue, but what is the situation? 502 00:23:19,223 --> 00:23:20,442 Didn't it disturb you in any way? 503 00:23:20,529 --> 00:23:22,270 - No, it didn't at all. 504 00:23:22,357 --> 00:23:24,011 So the movie comes out 505 00:23:24,098 --> 00:23:26,883 and journalists were asking me, like, are you okay? 506 00:23:26,970 --> 00:23:29,103 Are you mentally ill? 507 00:23:29,190 --> 00:23:30,496 I don't think there's many young people 508 00:23:30,583 --> 00:23:32,454 that could've survived it. 509 00:23:32,541 --> 00:23:34,804 It was hard. 510 00:23:34,891 --> 00:23:37,546 People, they would run. 511 00:23:37,633 --> 00:23:40,201 People were so afraid of me. 512 00:23:41,942 --> 00:23:45,206 - One of the problems with these ideas of curses 513 00:23:45,293 --> 00:23:47,426 is that perhaps we could be projecting 514 00:23:47,513 --> 00:23:50,385 onto an actual person after they're done filming. 515 00:23:50,472 --> 00:23:52,343 If you look at someone like Linda Blair, 516 00:23:52,431 --> 00:23:55,738 the studio had to get bodyguards for her 517 00:23:55,825 --> 00:23:58,741 because people actually thought that she might be evil. 518 00:24:00,613 --> 00:24:03,529 If you can think back to being a young teenager, 519 00:24:03,616 --> 00:24:07,097 could you imagine being seen as the devil? 520 00:24:15,454 --> 00:24:17,151 - I won't talk about it. 521 00:24:17,238 --> 00:24:19,501 - No, there's stuff that I don't talk about. 522 00:24:19,588 --> 00:24:23,200 Um... so what's another one? 523 00:24:24,724 --> 00:24:27,161 - The kid from "The Omen" didn't need bodyguards. 524 00:24:27,248 --> 00:24:30,947 He didn't get stigmatized the way she did. 525 00:24:31,034 --> 00:24:33,297 And, in a weird way, she's a victim in this movie; 526 00:24:33,384 --> 00:24:35,038 she's not the demon, 527 00:24:35,125 --> 00:24:38,825 but the female character gets branded as evil 528 00:24:38,912 --> 00:24:40,783 and, and, of the devil 529 00:24:40,870 --> 00:24:42,655 and, and that kid gets to sort of slip back into anonymity, 530 00:24:42,742 --> 00:24:44,657 which I find curious. 531 00:24:44,744 --> 00:24:46,572 I think it's somewhat telling 532 00:24:46,659 --> 00:24:48,530 that she has now kind of walked away from all of that 533 00:24:48,617 --> 00:24:51,925 and, in fact, spends her time saving animals. 534 00:24:52,926 --> 00:24:56,103 It's a very interesting coda to what she's been through. 535 00:24:57,278 --> 00:25:00,847 - Sure, there are things that happened I wish didn't, 536 00:25:00,934 --> 00:25:03,980 but it's what, it was what's made me, me. 537 00:25:04,067 --> 00:25:06,592 Look at me, look at me, look at me. 538 00:25:06,679 --> 00:25:08,550 ♪ Do-do do do-do do-do do-do ♪ 539 00:25:08,637 --> 00:25:10,509 ♪ Da-da-da da, da-da da... ♪ 540 00:25:10,596 --> 00:25:12,946 What did Linda want in life? Linda, at a young age, 541 00:25:13,033 --> 00:25:15,209 wanted to be a veterinarian. 542 00:25:16,210 --> 00:25:19,387 But one day we got a call for a movie 543 00:25:19,474 --> 00:25:22,390 and it was called "The Exorcist". 544 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,569 - "The Exorcist" had long been awaited 545 00:25:27,656 --> 00:25:31,747 but no one, no matter how close or deeply involved in the film, 546 00:25:31,834 --> 00:25:33,793 could possibly have anticipated 547 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,056 what was to happen at every theater 548 00:25:36,143 --> 00:25:38,232 where this film played. 549 00:25:38,319 --> 00:25:40,582 - Warner Brothers did not believe this movie 550 00:25:40,669 --> 00:25:43,411 was going to do anything. 551 00:25:44,673 --> 00:25:46,675 And there's a certain PR person - um, 552 00:25:48,721 --> 00:25:51,593 and she divulged to me years later 553 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:53,726 when we became friendly as adults - 554 00:25:53,813 --> 00:25:55,641 and she said she was told 555 00:25:56,685 --> 00:25:59,079 to create this whole fear 556 00:26:00,210 --> 00:26:01,647 around the movie 557 00:26:01,734 --> 00:26:04,214 to try to bring in an audience. 558 00:26:04,301 --> 00:26:06,173 You know, pregnant women shouldn't go. 559 00:26:06,260 --> 00:26:07,914 People are throwing up. 560 00:26:08,001 --> 00:26:10,177 They parked the ambulances outside the theaters. 561 00:26:10,264 --> 00:26:11,918 A lot of this was PR. 562 00:26:12,919 --> 00:26:15,530 [Ave Maria plays] 563 00:26:18,751 --> 00:26:20,535 - Is this really real? 564 00:26:23,494 --> 00:26:25,279 As an exorcist, 565 00:26:25,366 --> 00:26:26,672 all I can say, 566 00:26:27,803 --> 00:26:30,066 is that an exorcism proves 567 00:26:30,153 --> 00:26:32,329 that there is evil. 568 00:26:32,416 --> 00:26:34,680 If there is evil, there must be a devil. 569 00:26:34,767 --> 00:26:37,683 And if there is a devil, there certainly is a God. 570 00:26:40,990 --> 00:26:43,340 - Someone who requests an exorcism 571 00:26:43,427 --> 00:26:45,604 might be very sincere, 572 00:26:45,691 --> 00:26:47,388 but they haven't asked themselves 573 00:26:47,475 --> 00:26:48,868 Where's this idea really coming from? 574 00:26:48,955 --> 00:26:51,000 And who is this so-called Exorcist 575 00:26:51,087 --> 00:26:53,046 who's coming along to help me? 576 00:26:53,133 --> 00:26:56,353 Does this person have any sort of church 577 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:57,920 or organization, 578 00:26:58,007 --> 00:27:00,793 or oversight at his or her back? 579 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,752 Or is this just sort of a, uh, religious troubadour 580 00:27:03,839 --> 00:27:06,146 who's charging money? 581 00:27:06,233 --> 00:27:09,758 - Before I became involved in performing exorcisms, 582 00:27:09,845 --> 00:27:13,719 I... used to run a furniture company. 583 00:27:14,937 --> 00:27:16,286 You don't live too far from here, 584 00:27:16,373 --> 00:27:18,332 so it's good I'm here very regularly. 585 00:27:18,419 --> 00:27:20,290 - Okay. - And I think we're gonna do 586 00:27:20,377 --> 00:27:22,292 a bit more on the, on the, on the, on the, on the... 587 00:27:22,379 --> 00:27:24,730 the FaceTime thingy. - Okay. 588 00:27:24,817 --> 00:27:27,689 - People are probably not gonna wanna hear this. 589 00:27:29,299 --> 00:27:32,041 I think we bring upon our own hell 590 00:27:32,128 --> 00:27:33,739 and our own heaven, 591 00:27:35,218 --> 00:27:37,743 and we bring curses upon us. 592 00:27:37,830 --> 00:27:39,483 Otherwise, you have to believe 593 00:27:39,570 --> 00:27:41,703 that there are really demonic forces out there. 594 00:27:41,790 --> 00:27:43,531 - So we're good, right? - Yeah. 595 00:27:43,618 --> 00:27:45,098 - Awesome! Great, man! 596 00:27:45,185 --> 00:27:47,796 I'm just a simple guy. I just... 597 00:27:47,883 --> 00:27:50,538 wanna be able to, you know, 598 00:27:50,625 --> 00:27:52,192 live my life here. 599 00:27:52,279 --> 00:27:54,107 One... 600 00:27:54,194 --> 00:27:55,761 I don't have a house, I don't have an apartment, 601 00:27:55,848 --> 00:27:57,588 I don't have anything. 602 00:27:57,676 --> 00:27:59,895 Four, five... I'm glad to do this. 603 00:27:59,982 --> 00:28:01,592 It's like the money comes through one hand 604 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,507 and goes through the other. 605 00:28:03,594 --> 00:28:05,858 - Maybe we are disturbing the forces. 606 00:28:05,945 --> 00:28:07,773 I went to work every day 607 00:28:07,860 --> 00:28:11,167 and I said, "This is just a movie."