The Exorcist Quotes

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Source: The Exorcist

Speaker: Pazuzu-Regan

What an excellent day for an exorcism.

Context

This line is spoken by Pazuzu-Regan, voiced by Mercedes McCambridge and played by Linda Blair, in the movie The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin (1973).

Is The Exorcist the greatest horror movie of all time, like many say? We don't know. What we do know is that we still have emotional scars from when we watched it when we were way too young. In case you don't know, the movie is about a little girl named Regan who gets possessed by a demon named Pazuzu. Murdering, head-spinning, and puking pea soup ensues.

The quote is spoken by Pazuzu in Regan's body, and it's used to mock Father Karras, a priest who's about to get his exorcising on (and no, we don't mean sit-ups).

Check out the clip here, if you dare.

Where you've heard it

What you've probably heard, or seen, more than references to the actual quote are references to Pazuzu's antics while inside the body of Regan. That whole 360-degree-head-spin/vomiting-pea-soup combo freaked out everybody on Earth when they first saw it. Filmmakers have been spoofing it ever since (probably in an attempt to deal with the trauma from when they first watched the movie).

You'll find references in all kinds of stuff from Toy Story to Law and Order to Angel.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Nah, it's not snooty to quote a demon named Pazuzu, but if you do it too often you run the risk of attracting some unholy attention.