There are many elements of The Exorcist that shock people, one of which is sex, as the dialogue in the movie touches on this theme with extreme vulgarity. In the article titled “The Turn of the Screw and The Exorcist: Demoniacal Possession and Childhood Purity”, Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, examines the sexual undertones of The Exorcist and maintains that it is a major theme in the story.

Beit-Hallahmi parallels demonic possession with “forbidden aggressive and sexual drives” (296). Through the jokes and perversions, he writes that The Exorcist portrays a distortion of sex, which turns into evil. Essentially, the source of evil is seen outside of one’s self, though the sexual drive arises from within; he argues that we have to protect ourselves from the returning evil, which we must exorcise. And so, he concludes, the major theme in The Exorcist is a protection sexuality projected onto evil.

Regan is the only character that represents good, life and asexuality, while all other characters are mixed. The Demon represents evil, death, sex, and bad religion. Beit-Hallahmi claims that Regan thus serves as a battlefield for good and evil, and that only asexual adults (the priests) are able to save children. He urges the ideal of keeping children pure and innocent by saving them from sexual development. Although Beit-Hallahmi holds an unconventional analysis of the film, it is interesting to understand the vast diversity in opinion that emerged from the film. The vulgar treatment of sexuality is in the movie more for shock value, but according to Beit-Hallahmi, provides a deep meaning and lesson to Blatty’s story.