Pazuzu

Pazuzu is the name of a fictional demon featured in The Exorcist novel and film series. It was first addressed by name in the 1971 book by William Peter Blatty. It first appeared in film in the 1973 movie adaptation of The Exorcist. Pazuzu took on three forms in the film. He appeared as a statue in the beginning of the movie, he appeared as a quasi-humanoid demonic face seen in various bits throughout the film and he appeared as the distorted face of Regan MacNeil, whom he had possessed. Actress Mercedes McCambridge provided the voice for Pazuzu in the film. Pazuzu also appeared in the 1977 sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic where it was first addressed by name. It also appeared in the prequel films, Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist.

Overview
Pazuzu is that jackass demon that once possessed a little African boy and it took Father Lankaster Merrin some ungodly amount of time to drive the pecker out. Pazuzu bided his time however, keeping tabs on Merrin's activities, awaiting the day that it might once again be able to get its demonic meat hooks into him.

That day came in 1973 when Pazuzu was able to take possession of a twelve-year-old girl named Regan MacNeil, who lived with her mother in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Pazuzu performed all of his favorite tricks including levitating the bed, spinning Regan's head around 360 degrees, upchucking a violent stream of green puke and stabbing herself repeatedly in the va-jay-jay with a crucifix (okay, that last one might have just been Regan all by herself). With the help of a younger priest named Damian Karras, Father Lankaster Merrin was able to help exorcise the demon from Regan's body, but at the cost of his own life. Father Karras had to complete the ritual and did so by taking the demon's essence into his own body then pitching himself through the window to his doom.

Notes & Trivia

 * Director William Friedkin had actress Mercedes McCambridge liquored up and made her smoke a ton of cigarettes in order to get her voice shitty enough to sound demonic.


 * Pazuzu at one point refers to himself as Legion, indicating that he is but one of many such demons to take possession of Regan MacNeil.


 * The famous statue of Pazuzu where he is giving up a hi-five is also seen in the art collection of Raymond Beaumont from the 1997 horror film Wishmaster.


 * In the original unaired pilot episode of the WB Network television series Charmed, a character asks Phoebe Halliwell about the effects of an incantation, to which she replies, "...her head spun around and she vomited split pea soup", which is a reference to Pazuzu's actions in The Exorcist.


 * Portraying the voice of Pazuzu is Karen Knapp's first professional film work. She was uncredited for her work in Exorcist II: The Heretic.