5. Why Does The Demon React To Tap Water?
The Exorcist
When Father Karras returns to the McNeil household, he sprinkles the possessed Regan with water that he claims is holy water, which prompts the Demon to writhe in pain, but later on he informs Chris that the water was in fact just normal tap water and it was not blessed at all. Because this was the case the Demon should not have reacted to the water in the way it did, but there is, of course, plausible explanation as to why it did. This explanation isn't just that the Demon was mistaken and genuinely believed that the water was actually blessed by a Priest either, do you really want to watch a horror film in which the all powerful Demon is humiliated by a Priest who barely even believes in the possession at this point? Nope, instead the Demon was actually an incredibly clever and highly manipulative entity. It wasn't truly hurt by the water, but simply pretended to be in pain to either test Father Karras, or to make him doubt the fact that the possession was real at all. By this point Father Karras is already struggling with his own problems and is not exactly a believer in his own faith, let alone a horrific force such as Pazuzu, the Demon's real name. By fooling Father Karras into believing that the possession was not real, an exorcism was much less likely to take place, allowing Pazuzu free reign to do as he pleased.
When Father Karras returns to the McNeil household, he sprinkles the possessed Regan with water that he claims is holy water, which prompts the Demon to writhe in pain, but later on he informs Chris that the water was in fact just normal tap water and it was not blessed at all. Because this was the case the Demon should not have reacted to the water in the way it did, but there is, of course, plausible explanation as to why it did. This explanation isn't just that the Demon was mistaken and genuinely believed that the water was actually blessed by a Priest either, do you really want to watch a horror film in which the all powerful Demon is humiliated by a Priest who barely even believes in the possession at this point? Nope, instead the Demon was actually an incredibly clever and highly manipulative entity. It wasn't truly hurt by the water, but simply pretended to be in pain to either test Father Karras, or to make him doubt the fact that the possession was real at all. By this point Father Karras is already struggling with his own problems and is not exactly a believer in his own faith, let alone a horrific force such as Pazuzu, the Demon's real name. By fooling Father Karras into believing that the possession was not real, an exorcism was much less likely to take place, allowing Pazuzu free reign to do as he pleased.