Watching The Exorcist and reading A Head Full of Ghosts, I’ve been trying to apply Isabel Pinedo’s frame for postmodern horror. I’ve come to the conclusion that The Exorcist doesn’t quite fit, retaining more elements of classic horror. Because A Head Full of Ghosts was published so recently, and because of the genre-mashup we already see within the plot in Merry’s life (her life is literally a horror/reality TV show), I think it should fit Pinedo’s qualifications more closely. So, I have some predictions about A Head Full of Ghosts.
First, I want to explain what about The Exorcist departs from Pinedo’s standards for postmodern horror. I think it comes down to two points she identifies the genre fulfilling: the triumph of irrationality and the lack of narrative closure. While The Exorcist follows a system of logic internal to the film (one in which demons are a believable ailment and exorcism a viable treatment), I argue that the protagonists are logical nevertheless. Regan’s mother, when exploring treatment for her, starts with psychiatrist after psychiatrist. When that doesn’t work, she seeks the help of a priest (the next logical step). During the exorcism, even, Father Merrin proceeds calmly through his prayers, performing a pre-planned ritual that should arrive at the desired outcome of dismissing the demon. Though it is Father Karras’ invitation of the demon into his own soul that rids Regan of the burden for good, he’s only in the room because of mom’s and Father Merrin’s logical procession, so logic is not abhorred in The Exorcist by a long shot.
The second departure from the postmodern frame is in the conclusion. Though I’m pretty sure The Exorcist does get a sequel, the plot of the first movie reaches narrative closure. Regan is freed from her demon, who exits into Father Karras, who kills himself. The demon is gone along with him. Regan and her mother move away to start anew, and there is no suggestion in the closing scenes of any loose ends. Here is my prediction for A Head Full of Ghosts: we will not see such narrative closure as we’ve seen in The Exorcist.
The adult blogger Merry has herself pointed out the many similarities between her sister’s affliction and Regan’s, so where will the two girls’ plots diverge? Not with the exorcism … we know the reality show centers around the exorcism of Marjorie’s demon, right? So I say the divergence will be with the happy ending, and I think we’ll get to witness that divergence through Merry. She’s already told us she has trouble differentiating her own memories from the populace’s collective conception of her early life via the TV show. I think this is where the lack of narrative closure will manifest. I bet we never get a satisfactory answer to the question of whether Marjorie was mentally ill or possessed by a demon, and I bet the horror of Merry’s life, young and adult, is her inability to discern the answer through examination of her own memories. This will establish the central antagonist of A Head Full of Ghosts not as the ghost in Marjorie’s head, but as the ghosts in Merry’s: the voices of TV producers and audiences who, thanks to the technology that took over her life, had such undue power over the formation of her young memories.