In the 1973 film The Exorcist, director William Friedkin uses the horror genre to explore what society views as despicable. In her article “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, Barbara Creed classifies these things under the word abject. Creed cites the abject as “that which does not respect borders, positions, rules, and that which disturbs identity, system, and order”, and the expulsion of this horror is the abjection. In this film, Friedkin presents the abject as a demon which inhabits the mind and body of a pre-teen girl and forces her to do horrific things, and the film revolves around abjection, or trying to remove the horrific from her. The actions of Regan expose how society feels about the monstrous feminine and other things that are abject.
Of the different forms of the abject that are present in this film, the most obvious is the paranormal force that possesses Regan MacNeil. This entity which overtakes her is from a foreign land and attacks Regan in America, showing how this force is abject because it does not respect the boundaries created by society. Creed also says “the place of the abject is the place where meaning collapses”, and this is very much evident in the film as everyone from Regan’s mother to an army of doctors haven’t the faintest idea of what is doing this to her. This shows that when society deems something un-explainable, it is labeled as the other.
When Regan gets possessed, she goes from a normal 12 year old girl to a foul-mouthed monster. As Regan struggles with the demon, she goes through a drastic physical change and she begins to resemble a corpse (Figure 1). The transformation from living to corpse is listed by Creed as the ultimate abjection because a corpse is “a body without a soul”, and death is the ultimate, universal fear. More abjections come in in the form of bodily wastes like blood, urine, and vomit, which have the intention of pulling the viewer over their own mental boundaries.
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Regan becoming possessed triggered serious physical and emotional changes for her, showing that this demon can be seen as a metaphor for female puberty. When a girl has her first period, dramatic physical changes and hormonal outbursts are sure to follow, and these things are often portrayed very negatively by society. It is almost as if this girl has had her innocence replaced by a monstrous femininity that seeks to castrate, and in this case, kill.
This is made most clear by the change in the relationship of Regan and her mother. At their introduction, they are seen as very loving and caring for each other, but that all changes when Regan is possessed (Figure 2). This represents how mothers are often viewed as abject by their children as they go through puberty. Creed cites that as a child attempts the abjection of the mother, “the child struggles to break free but the mother is reluctant to release it”. As Regan is possessed, her mother keeps on insisting that this monster is not her daughter, showing how mothers often struggle with accepting the maturity of their children. This also shows the overall struggle of humanity in dealing with what society considers to be abject.
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