Horror Film Countdown Day 2 – Movies Anxious Parents Should Avoid

To recap this series;

Each day we will cover an aspect of my personal brand of crazy as it relates to the films I love and how they affect me as a mom by listing the most anxiety-inducing films I, personally, have ever seen.

It’s October 2nd and today we get to cover a film that has been called “one of the most terrifying films of all time”;

Disclaimer: Trigger warnings are a given when you talk about horror, but I’m going to say it anyway.  Many subjects covered by horror films are disturbing to parents in ways we can’t possibly understand and each is unique to the parent and his/her experiences. Tread carefully and know your limits.  If this begins to be too much, there’s no shame in closing the window.  Also, this post contains some spoilers throughout. 

30. The Exorcist

So, at what point should I be concerned if my child decides to start talking to me in her made up language that may or may not be a dead and forgotten tongue used by demons in ancient Mesopotamia?

For reals, though – the issue here isn’t the possessed girl or the demonic things, even the “spider walk” wasn’t all that terrifying to me.  Maybe that is because I saw this film for the first time as an adult, long after I’d been watching horror films for years.  Maybe it’s becuase I was not raised in a traditionally religious home.  Most people I know who were truly impacted by this film saw it at young ages and also came from a religious background where things like demons and possession were actually possible.  Since I don’t fall into either of those categories, something else about this film hit me far more than all that.

It’s the beginning.  When there is something wrong with her daughter and they can’t figure it out.  The tests, the sobbing, the screaming and fear this poor little girl feels as she’s put into a terrifying contraption that she doesn’t understand.  It’s not the demon that scares me in this movie, it’s the reality that some things are beyond our control as parents.  No matter how much science is used to figure out what it is, we may be powerless to protect our babies and that simple, yet profound inability to understand and control their safety is truly horrifying.  Disease, mental disorders, so many things we can’t protect our children from – we can try, but no matter how much we do, it’s still never a guarantee that our efforts will pay off.  That is what terrifies me and is so powerfully displayed in this film.

Also, the angry fit-throwing, unwakable night-terrors and the peeing on the floor for no reason while staring off into space has totally happened already, so I’m guessing that’s not really an issue. …right?

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s review!