Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of The Exorcist

By Marlena Williams and Marlena Williams

Book Overview

Never watch The Exorcist, Marlena Williams's mother told her, just as she'd been told by her own mother as a Catholic teen in rural Oregon when the horror classic premiered. And like her mother, Mary, Williams watched it anyway. An inheritance passed from mother to daughter, The Exorcist looms large-in popular culture and in Williams's own life, years after Mary's illness and death. In Night Mother, Williams investigates the film not only as a projection of Americans' worst fears in the tumultuous 1970s and a source of enduring tropes around girlhood, faith, and transgression but also as a key to understanding her mother and the world she came from. The essays in Night Mother delve beneath the surface of The Exorcist to reveal the deeper stories the film tells about faith, family, illness, anger, guilt, desire, and death. Whether tracing the career of its young star, Linda Blair, unpacking its most infamous scenes, exploring its problematic depictions of gender and race, or reflecting on the horror of growing up female in America, Williams deftly blends bold personal narrative with shrewd cultural criticism. Night Mother offers fresh insights for both fans of the film and newcomers alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081425876X
• ISBN13: 9780814258767
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Ohio State University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Some Thoughts

I’m not sure I was the exact demographic for this book, having only seen The Exorcist once; but I thought it was pretty interesting for the most part. I liked learning where the US was at culturally and historically at the time of the movie’s release. I certainly don’t fault the author for tying her personal experiences of the movie into the book but personally I felt like it took away from learning more about The Exorcist for me. I found it sort of jarring to be tossed back and forth between the author’s memories & experiences and the cultural significance/impact of the movie. Again, the author isn’t wrong for it, it just wasn’t for me.