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stzzla (1)
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It's one of the most misunderstood scenes in the film. This is going to sound arrogant but I think I know what it's about. It's not a simple jump scare, nothing about the film is simple. The statue is a psychological attack on both the viewer and whoever discovers the statue first.
First and foremost, it's a reminder that we're dealing with a demon who goes where he wants and does what he likes. The opening scenes of the movie sets up the premise that holy ground holds no power for this demon. He can enter churches and deface statues. A direct challenge to gods power when you can walk into his house and start demonizing the joint.
So the statue is a late in the movie reminder. This demon is able to go where he pleases because he can possess who he wants. In the case of this scene, he has possessed Alice into defacing a statue, not only on holy ground, but within 30 meters of the head priest. And he does it to simply show that he can, to remind us of how he's getting around and doing all the murders and to remind us again that holy ground holds no fear for him.
It's a deeper scene than most realise. Some describe it as a cheap jump scare, but I've always liked it, and the above is why. Once you realise you're dealing with a demon who has no fear of god and who can enter gods house at will, it ramps up the terror factor to 11. You probably know that (I think it was Blatty) who said that this is actually a scarier film than the original and this why he said that - because the original featured a less sophisticated possession of a little girl. This film features very advanced possessions of just about anyone, which can get him on holy ground. That I believe is why he said it's a scarier film (although for years I didn't agree because I didn't understand what I understand now - I just thought he was being nuts saying that, or trying to market the film with outrageous claims of it being scarier - in a lot of ways, he's right.....it's psychologically scarier because of the increased skill of the demon.....but not visually scarier imho).
So a jump scare is the least of what the statue is. It's the deeper meaning behind it that is much more scarier than a jump scare can ever be. I love that this movie doesn't make things too obvious, it's a worthy successor to the original.
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