Ways in which “The Exorcist” still possesses our collective fears

When “The Exorcist” premiered in 1973, it terrified its audience. Screams erupted in dark theaters. Some viewers fainted, others clutched their seats. Some ran from the screen entirely. My father watched the movie in college a few years after its release (Yes, he’s a little old. Sorry Dad, I love you!), and some of his roommates still refused to watch it out of fear that they would get possessed.

Not to brag, but I got through the movie without experiencing any paranormal behavior. At least, I think so. That’s not to say it wasn’t scary—but the commentary it supplies to our society about faith, family, science and mortality made the film much more unsettling than just a twisted neck.

Take Father Damien Karras, for example. His struggle with belief is central to the film’s plot. He works as a priest—specifically serving as a psychiatrist—grappling with guilt over his mother’s death and doubt about God’s existence. This mirrors the broader societal questioning of religion and traditional moral authority in the 1970s. The film uses this to highlight a society in moral flux: one where people are searching for meaning in a world that often seems chaotic and indifferent. The exorcism functions as a symbolic reaffirmation of faith: the idea that confronting evil requires moral courage and spiritual grounding. In this way, “The Exorcist” suggests that societal stability depends on maintaining ethics and spirituality.

The film also delves into the anxieties of repression, taboo and cultural fear. Regan MacNeil’s possession, filled with shocking and grotesque imagery, brings to the surface what society often tries to suppress: the body’s vulnerability and the darker impulses lurking beneath civility. By forcing audiences to confront these taboos, the film exposes the collective cultural unease of an era wrestling with liberation, morality and social change, and it echoes today’s society in the same way.
Even in its most horrifying moments, “The Exorcist” captures the terror of denial. Adults avert their eyes, hesitant to recognize what they cannot comprehend, mirroring a society reluctant to face its own moral and cultural crises. The film’s horror lies not just in the demon itself, but in what it illuminates about the human condition and the fears we carry as a culture.

“The Exorcist” endures as more than a horror story. It is a reflection of societal tension, a confrontation with doubt and repression, and a vivid exploration of the uneasy intersection between science, spirituality and morality. Its power comes from forcing viewers to reckon not only with the supernatural, but with the demons lurking within the world around them… or inside them.

I hear you say, “Lauren, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s a horror film. William Peter Blatty did not care this much when he was writing the book or developing the screenplay.”

You throw tomatoes at me. I wipe my face.

“I’m an English major,” I respond. “Dissecting media and literature—and writing about it—is what I was born to do. And also, you would not be reading this far if you didn’t have at least a little interest, as well.”

I rest my case. Happy Halloween!