Ep. 21 - Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest II: The Exorcist

To celebrate the festive season, Adam and Nate revisit a classic Christmas movie on its 50th anniversary—The Exorcist (1973)! Considered by some to be the scariest movie ever made, this The Simpsons has mostly parodied this William Friedkin joint with blink-and-you-miss-it references, including in “Faith Off” (S11E11).

Also in this episode:

• Why the heck was this movie released the day after Christmas?

• What’s scarier, the demon inside Regan or the medical treatments to get it out?

• How a slow-moving movie can satisfy even an impatient editor’s standards for pacing

• When great directors can’t stop messing with their movies—and can’t keep their stories straight

The boys will be taking a short break for the holidays, but the podcast will return Tuesday, February 13, 2024, with a brand new season of movie and their Simpsons parodies.

Every Simpsons Reference to The Exorcist

By our count, The Exorcist has been directly referenced 4 times in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons, including no full scene or plot parodies. The first reference appears in “Treehouse of Horror” (S2E3) from 1990, 17 years after the release of the movie.

Small References

Treehouse of Horror (S2E3) & Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily (S7E3): When a haunted house turns the Simpson family against one another in the very first Treehouse of Horror, Maggie’s head is suddenly able to rotate 360 degrees, just like possessed Regan. But when the Simpson children are briefly adopted by the Flanderseses, we find out that Maggie’s still able to pull that trick, even outside of the non-canon Halloween specials. (They even got that gross stretching sound effect right!)

Faith Off (S11E11) & I’m Goin’ to Praiseland (S12E19): In “Faith Off,” the first hint that Brother Faith (played by guest star Don Cheadle) may be full of crap is that when healing Cletus, he says, ”The power of faith compels you!” You probably can’t trust a priest that paraphrases famous movie quotes—”The power of Christ compels you!”—rather than the bible.

Later, when Ned Flanders opens a Christian theme park to honor Maude’s memory in “I’m Goin’ to Praiseland,” Bart stops a mob of Springfieldians from getting back in after they find out about the on-site miracle (read: gas leak). He insists, “The power of Christ compels you—to give Ned an extra ten bucks!”

Bonus: References in Deleted Scenes

Treehouse of Horror VII (S8E1): The animatic for an unused opening on the season 8 DVD combines all of the references above into a full scene. Reverend Lovejoy tries to exorcise Lisa as she writhes on her bed, saying, “The power of faith compels you. The Church of Springfield compels you. The Young People’s Outreach Committee compels you.” At the end of the sequence, Lisa’s head rotates 360° before she vomits the title of the episode onto the screen.

Extra Credit

Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.

• From Nate: Cruising (1980), The Exorcist III (1990)

• From Adam: The French Connection (1971), Sorcerer (1977), The Conjuring (2013)

Further Reading & Viewing

• Article: Amy C. Chambers, “‘Somewhere between science and superstition’: Religious outrage, horrific science, and The Exorcist (1973).” History of the Human Sciences, December 2021.

• Article: Tom Brueggemann, “The Exorcist: The Strange Path to Massive Success for the Unlikely Christmas Smash,” Indiewire, December 30, 2020.

• Documentary: Alexandre O. Philippe, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist, Exhibit A Pictures, November 19, 2020.

• Article: Matt Miller, “Searching For the Truth About the Actual Murderer in The Exorcist,“ Esquire, October 25, 2018.

• Article: Richard Buskin, “The Exorcist Unseen,“ Studio Sound, January 2001.

• Documentary: Mark Kermode, The Fear of God - 25 Years of the Exorcist, BBC, June 13, 1998. (Full video available for free online!)