A Critical Evaluation of Shudder’s “Cursed Films”, Episode 1 “The Exorcist”
The Content and the Platform
Written, edited and directed by Canadian documentarian Jay Cheel, ‘Cursed Films’ is a five part documentary series which explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror productions, with each episode lasting from 26–29 minutes. This series is only available on the platform ‘Shudder’, a streaming service similar to ‘Netflix’, self-described as the “only premium service for both casual and super fans of thrillers, suspense and horror”. First premiering in April of 2020 ‘Cursed Films’ began the series by taking an in depth look at the horror classic ‘The Exorcist’ and the legends surrounding the tragedies that occurred before, during and after production including: unexplained fires, the deaths of both cast and crew members, alongside frequent injuries during filming.
Genre, Mode and Audience
‘Cursed Films’ is a documentary series with a reflexive and expository approach. The narrative borrows techniques from fiction film such as harsh lighting, emotive music and a small re-enactment to aid the story as told mostly by interviewees. Throughout the episode the participant’s words are complimented by news and film footage, articles and stills of newspapers, along with footage of a “real life” exorcism taking place in present day. As with most documentaries this series uses an audio-visual mode, making it multimodal. The episode couples its individual soundbites with complimentary visual aspects in order to keep the narrative interesting and on topic. Assumedly since the programme was created by and for ‘Shudder’ the targeted demographic of this series would be fans of the horror and thriller genres, who would actively subscribe to the service in order to view programmes and films more specific to their tastes. This episode focuses primarily on the behind the scenes of ‘The Exorcist’ and so fans of the film who may be interested in learning and researching the movie further are likely to be more so invested in what the episode has to offer. Furthermore, those who may have an interest in the topic of conspiracy theories and/or myths and legends are also being targeted here as the title and provided description allude to the narrative being solely to do with this subject. During the episode the audience are often directly addressed by the participating interviewees, with use of language that involves the viewers as a whole i.e. “we”, “you”, “collectively”. Rhetorical questions are also used, along with direct eye contact and gestures towards the camera. Actively involving the audience this way helps to maintain their interest and encourage a connection with the narrative, making them more susceptible to the information being presented whilst also building a sense of trust and familiarity with those telling the stories.
Narrator and Actors
As aforementioned the episode is narrated by multiple interviewees who have actively contributed to the production or the aftermath of ‘The Exorcist’. Participants range from actors who appeared in the film, like Linda Blair and Eileen Dietz, to journalists, film critics, professors and even radiologists who discuss the scientific aspects of the production. They each tell their stories in a non-linear format, recalling upon their own memories which are then spliced in with similar recounts in order to create a smoother and more understandable narrative. Linda Blair in particular is focused upon in the episode as she was a major character in the film and is likely the reason most fans would be watching. Her insight was incredibly important to the episode as she was able to answer, in detail, the questions most fans of the movie had in regards to the productions “curse”, and give more realistic context to specific instances. Alongside Blair’s recounts, journalists and PR representatives were called upon to explain the clever marketing strategies used to promote the film and make it appear to be more controversial than it really was. With tales of audience members fainting, ambulances being parked outside theatres and even rumours of the film causing pregnant women to miscarry, the interviewees explain that this was all just a calculated marketing ploy to drum up sales, which straight away debunks any preconceptions of the supernatural. Each participant is an expert in their field and when introducing themselves this was made clear with the person’s full job title described in text below them. This technique is often done to emphasise a person’s credibility, thus making an audience understand what is being told to them as facts.
Setting, Movement and Additional Narrative Choices
There is no one set location in this episode. Instead, each individual interview is set in the participant’s place of work, usually in offices or rooms which display the person’s credentials (certificates, framed articles etc.). This demonstrates a more professional type of approach, again helping the audience understand the information being presented as factual as opposed to just stories. The majority of the archival footage used was set in Georgetown, where ‘The Exorcist’ was filmed. This allows for a sense of nostalgia and a deeper look into the production as a whole, involving the viewers in the behind the scenes. In terms of the episode’s movement, everything seemed very fast paced while still being comfortable to watch. There was lots of information to digest in a very short amount of time; each episode only covers the surface details of the supposed curses, which results in episode spending more time focused on the legacy and influence of said film rather than the “supernatural” aspects. This could be disappointing to some viewers who were more so interested in this element of production than the aftermath of the film. While the series benefits from its concise and brief delivery, cramming a lot of information into a small package, it perhaps would have been a more interesting watch if the episode was slightly longer. This way it could further expand upon the information presented for those wishing to learn more, particularly where people like Linda Blair are involved. Growing up as a child actor and starring in one of the most prolific horror films of her generation there is a lot more to unpack in her interviews, which would have made the episode a lot more interesting and gave it a personal feel.
Mimesis and Diegesis
As it is presented, ‘Cursed Films’ isn’t interested in sensationalizing film curses with dramatic re-enactments. It is more so interested in the very opposite: de-sensationalizing them. It does not feed into false narratives about demons dwelling in the heart of the film, but rather the straight-forward, rational reality surrounding films as told by the interviewees who were involved in some way with the production. As the episode is factually based we can identify the narrative as being diegesis focused. Mimesis is also used in one instance; however it was a very small portion of the episode that aided in telling a participant’s story. This is a common convention in documentaries.
What’s the Point?
To summarise, the episode used a variety of different techniques that made for an interesting watch. Its use of audio and visual elements to keep a strong pace and the attention to detail, whilst also engaging the audience the entire time, makes the short documentary a successful one. Its niche topic was expertly researched and the contributors were aptly chosen to narrate the episode in an educational, yet still entertaining, manner. Looking critically at it the only real issue I picked up on was the length of the episode. While concise and straight to the point I would have enjoyed the episode more had it been longer and more inclusive of information regarding its namesake. The point of the episode, and of the series it’s a part of, is mostly to educate and I feel it has done this successfully; I personally learned a number of things I had no knowledge of beforehand, despite being a huge fan of ‘The Exorcist’. With a strong rating of 4.5/5 on Shudder’s website it is plausible that other viewers felt the same and enjoyed the experience also.
