This page contains the links for all of the posts published on this blog referencing the Tensions in Exorcism Cinema project.  This project utilizes various critical theories (e.g. feminism, Marxism, post-colonialism, post-modernism, queer theory) to scrutinize the representation of possession and exorcism in film depictions.

This project has culminated in the book Possessed Women, Haunted States: Cultural Tensions in Exorcism Cinema from Lexington Books: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498519090

There appear to be at least five clusterings of movies that make up exorcism cinema: Pre-Exorcist Series, The Exorcist Series, 1970s Exploitations Series, Modern True Movies Series, and Modern B-Movies Series.

Thus, this page organizes the writings on this project and can be used to locate and jump around these writings.

• For an overview of our idea for this project, visit this post.
• For our thoughts on the horror classic that started it all, The Exorcist, visit this post.
• And then there was the bonkers sequel to the horror classic, Exorcist II: The Heretic, discussed here.
• The last of The Exorcist sequels was directed by the man who started it all, as discussed here.
• The storied history of The Exorcist ends with not one but two prequels, which is really just one movie, as compared here.
• After The Exorcist, the real story that inspired it was written as a non-fiction book that became a movie for Showtime.
• The exorcism cinema subgenre was seemingly reinvigorated by the release of a movie that emphasizes the realness of the story.
• The importance of realism is further stressed through the first utilization of the found footage approach to cinematic storytelling.
• A sequel to a found footage goes in a completely different direction in several important ways.
• A non-Catholic approach to possession and the conducting of the exorcism ritual.
• The second found footage movie that manages to upset the audiences, and not for the horror.
• A fictionalization of a case paranormal investigators as directed by the man who mainstreamed torture porn.
• A B-movie that links demonic possession to sexual assault and domestic violence.
• A sequel to The Amityville Horror that possesses a boy to have sex with his sister.
• The sequel to [REC] provides a demonic explanation to those pesky zombies running around.
• Christopher J. Olson and I present our first analysis for this project at the MPCA 2014 conference.
• A B-movie that would be worthless without the appearance of a professional wrestling legend.
• An article on the continual belief in possession and exorcism in religions from around the world.
• The full paper analyzing The Last Exorcism and The Last Exorcism Part II.
• A consideration of the possession of men, such as in the film Deliver Us from Evil.
• David S. Goyer wrote and directed this tale of a dybbuk seeking to enter the world through a young woman.
• A movie about stigmata, atheism, a possessed woman, and the conspiratorial Catholic Church.
• Sir Anthony Hopkins gets realistic about the nature of demonic possession and exorcism in the world.
• A discussion of The Exorcist on the podcast The Pop Culture Lens.
• Thoughts on the Fox TV series The Exorcist.
• The announcement of our book’s release!