Creating Exorcism Script

Before I wrote the script for the exorcism part of our opening sequence, I decided to research existing exorcisms in film and cinema to acquire ideas of what to include in order to make our opening sequence as gripping and interesting as possible. The first scene I looked at was the exorcism scene from the 1973 horror The Exorcist. Although this film is quite old, it is one of the most well known and critically acclaimed supernatural horror films in history. A exorcism clip from The Exorcist can be viewed below.

• The strong references to religion ("The power of Christ compels you", "The holy spirit compels you") play a prominent role in what the exorcist says.
• These religious references are relevant as the exorcist in our opening sequence was originally going to be a priest, much like Father Lankester Merrin in The Exorcist.
• There is a lot of repetition in what the exorcist says (e.g. "The power of Christ compels you. The power of Christ compels you" etc.)
• Father Lankester Merrin uses a range of tones through his speech which is effective within the exorcism.

During my research into this exorcism scene from The Exorcist, I also looked at the script from the scene (which is available to view online) as I thought it would give me a better understanding of how to lay out a script for an exorcism scene. A screenshot from the website I viewed the script on is below.

Exorcist's script for our opening sequence

EXORCIST

     (sets up camera in the corner of the room)

Camera is on. The date is 16th of December 2013, time is (looks at his watch) 2109. This is being filmed as video evidence for the exorcism of Anna Thurman. 

     (walks over to bed where possessed girl lays) 

The Devil is inside of you. He controls you- you are him. He must relieve himself of your body.

     (shouts) 

Relieve yourself! Relieve yourself! Christ's power defeats you! Repent! 

     (normal tone) 

Relieve yourself, Satan. 

     (shouts again) 

The Lord commands you! God the Holy Spirit commands you! Give way to Christ! Give way to the mystery of Our Lord! Murderer! You are the highest of murderers! You are guilty before God! You are guilty before Christ!

              

Evaluation

• At the beginning of the script, I included the part where the exorcist sets up the camera in the corner of the room as this plays an important part of the sequence. I thought this was effective as it informs the audience more of what is about to take place in the sequence. 
• As the main character of our sequence is a priest, I made sure that most of what was said held very strong religious connotations. I felt that this string use of religious elements were effective in portraying that type of exorcism is taking place. 
• I used a range of dynamic tones within the exorcist's script, using both loud shouting and a "normal tone". I did this through italicised stage directions.