The Exorcist saw the main characters dealing with a powerful demon known as Pazuzu. Many horror movies have been so influential that they have impacted not only the horror genre but cinema in general, but few have matched the legacy and quality of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist was released in 1973 and continues to be regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, spawning a franchise, though not every movie in it was successful.

The Exorcist follows Father Lankester Merrin and Father Damien Karras as they are tasked with performing an exorcism on 12-year-old Regan MacNeil, who started acting violently, speaking in tongues, and even killed one of her mother’s friends. The exorcism turns out to be more complex and dangerous than they expected, as the demon begins to psychologically attack Karras. The demon is named Pazuzu, and The Exorcist wasn’t its only appearance, as it continued to be present in later movies in the franchise.

The Exorcist’s Pazuzu Explained: What The Demon Wants & Why He Possessed Regan

Father Merrin Possibly Unleashed The Demon In Iraq

The Exorcist wasted no time in introducing Pazuzu, with its opening sequences following Father Merrin in northern Iraq as he was part of an archaeological dig where a medallion of Saint Joseph and an artifact representing Pazuzu were unearthed. The Exorcist then took the audience to Georgetown to follow Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter Regan.

The Exorcist established Regan as a sweet girl who was very close to her mother, and they were very honest with each other, so much so that Regan showed Chris the Ouija board she had found in the attic and told her she had been using it, and she even met a new “friend” she called “Captain Howdy” – little did she know, she had been communicating with Pazuzu and letting him in.

In the novel, Pazuzu was also the reason for Regan’s possession, and though it’s not explicitly stated that the statue uncovered in the prologue by Merrin in Iraq was the demon, there are references to their connection. Pazuzu returned in the sequel novel Legion, where it was looking for revenge after being thrown out of Regan’s body, so it drove the Gemini Killer’s soul into the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ body of Father Karras.

In the Exorcist movies, Pazuzu’s possession is shown through physical changes in the characters, such as their skin turning gray, their eyes changing color into an unnatural yellow tone, scratches and bruises appearing all over their bodies (particularly in their faces), and their voices completely changing into a deep and unsettling tone. Pazuzu itself is depicted as a combination of animal and human parts, but the movies show quick glimpses at its face, which is white with dark rings around its red eyes, and brown, crooked, rotting teeth.

How Pazuzu Is Released In The Exorcist Movies

Pazuzu Was Entrapped In The Church Eons Before

Pazuzu’s release in The Exorcist movies involves Father Merrin. The prequels Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist followed Merrin during an excavation where they discovered a Byzantine-era church that was buried immediately after its construction was completed with the purpose of trapping Pazuzu there, and after exploring the place, Merrin and company found a pᴀssageway that led to a cave underneath the church, where an ancient pagan temple with the statue of Pazuzu was kept.

At the end of Dominion, Merrin was warned that the demon they had unleashed from the church during the excavation would pursue him, and it turned out to be correct as Merrin and Pazuzu crossed paths again years later. As mentioned above, The Exorcist begins with Merrin in an archaeological dig, and as he prepares to leave, he sees a large statue of the demon and two dogs fighting near it, serving as an omen of Pazuz’s presence, as he had now been unleashed.

Merrin took the amulet of Pazuzu with him, possibly carrying the demon with him, but it’s important to remember that Regan was possessed through her use of the Ouija board, and Merrin didn’t meet her until he was called to perform the exorcism. In order to free Regan from Pazuzu, Karras offered himself as the vessel, but before possessing him, Pazuzu ripped the medallion of Saint Joseph from Karras’ neck.

Karras fought the demon long enough to throw himself out of the window, putting an end to Pazuzu’s possessions – for a while, at least. Exorcist II: The Heretic revealed that Pazuzu attacks people with psychic healing abilities, and years before the events of the movie, it possessed a young boy in Africa named Kokumo, who tried to get rid of the demon, who was presenting itself as a swarm of locusts, with a bullroarer ritual, but ended up being possessed.

In The Exorcist III, as revenge for being exorcised, Pazuzu used Karras’ body as a conduit for the Gemini Killer, allowing him to continue his killing spree, and after a brief moment in which Karras regained his free will and asked Lt. William F. Kinderman to shoot him, Karras was killed and the Gemini Killer and the demon were freed.

In The Exorcist: The Beginning, Merrin was tasked with recovering an ancient relic of a demon from the above-mentioned underground church that turned out to be linked to Pazuzu, and though he didn’t get the object, he did witness a possession and the destructive influence of Pazuzu after the church was discovered and the demon was released. In Dominion, Pazuzu was also released after Merrin and company found the underground church.

Pazuzu’s Real Mythological Inspirations & Movie Changes Explained

Pazuzu Is Based On An Ancient Mesopotamian Enтιтy

The Exorcist’s Pazuzu is based on an ancient Mesopotamian enтιтy of the same name, though it’s also known as Fazuzu or Pazuza. Pazuzu was a personification of the southwestern wind and was considered a destructive and dangerous wind, but also a repellant to other demons, safeguarding the home from their influence, being especially protective of women and mothers.

Just like its version in The Exorcist, Pazuzu was depicted as a combination of animal and human parts, with a body of canine form (without fur), bird’s talons for feet, two sets of wings, a scorpion’s tail, and a serpentine penis, and he holds his right hand up and his left hand down. Unlike Pazuzu in The Exorcist, the Mesopotamian enтιтy was used to protect homes.

Various Protective objects related to him have been found throughout the years, and though he’s considered an evil spirit and is ᴀssociated with the plague, he’s not believed to be malicious and there aren’t stories of demonic possession involving him.

Every Character Possessed By Pazuzu In The Exorcist Movies

At Least Seven People Were Possessed In The Exorcist Films

The first character possessed by Pazuzu in The Exorcist movies, following the order in which the movies were released, was Regan MacNeil, who contacted the demon through an Ouija board. In Exorcist II: The Heretic, it was revealed that Pazuzu possessed Kokumo many years earlier, and it presented itself as a succubus and a doppelgänger of Regan. In The Exorcist III, Pazuzu used the Gemini Killer, who had been killed 15 years before the events of the movie, to possess Karras’ body, with both being freed at the end when Karras was sH๏τ.

Exorcist: The Beginning saw archeologist Monsieur Bession being “touched” by Pazuzu, with Doctor Sarah Novak being possessed by the demon at the end of the movie. Last but not least, Dominion saw the possession of a young man named Cheche, but Pazuzu’s presence was so strong that it influenced the actions of others in town.

Who Voices Pazuzu In The Exorcist Movies

Six Different Voice Actors Voiced Pazuzu

As mentioned above, one of the changes Pazuzu’s victims go through when the demon takes over them is a disturbing change in their voices, so the possessed characters had to have some extra help from voice actors.

In The Exorcist, Pazuzu’s dialogue was provided by Mercedes McCambridge and Ron Faber; in Exorcist II: The Heretic, Pazuzu’s voice was the work of Karen Knapp; the few lines of dialogue Pazuzu had in The Exorcist III were provided by Colleen Dewhurst; Exorcist: The Beginning had Rupert Degas as the voice of Pazuzu and Mary Beth Hurt played the role in Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist.

Do Other Demons Appear In The Exorcist Franchise?

Pazuzu Is Not The Demon In The Exorcist: Believer

For much of The Exorcist: Believer, viewers were led to believe the demon possessing the two little girls was once again Pazuzu. This was even furthered when Regan’s mother, Chris, showed up to help give her first-hand experience to the people trying to save the children. The demon was never named, and while most people ᴀssumed it was Pazuzu, it was not. When the film was released, director David Gordon Green said that it was a new demon, but he refused to go further at the time (via IGN).

“I’d said a lot in three films and was contemplating what comes next — but [The Exorcist] was too amazing of an opportunity to pᴀss up… We could exercise new muscles, try something different, and utilize our drama tools in horror environments.​​​​​​​.. We’re not dismissing the other sequels, there’s just not a real relationship.​​​​​​​ We use a new demon, no Pazuzu. We feature a demon who studied demonologists might know.”

That demon is another Mesopotamian demon, a goddess named Lamashtu. In mythology, Lamashtu usually targets young women and children, and that is what happens in The Exocrist: Believer, when she attaches herself to two young girls in Angela and Katherine. However, Pazuzu is still connected to this Exorcist demon – they are usually at odds in Mesopotamian mythology. Lamashtu is a wrathful demon seeking to hurt people and Pazuzu a protector in ancient myths.

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