The Devil on film

I've been talking some about how the Devil is portrayed in books, now I wanna talk a little about the devil on film.

It's not very common to see the Devil in films. As with books it's a fine line between ridicule and fear. The other problem with the Devil on film, is how does he look like? The classical image of the red Devil with horns, goats' hooves and a pitchfork is to worn out to be scary. Film directors tend to portray the Devil in a human shape, ranging from little children to beautiful women, or as an incorporeal power which is invisible, or a few brave ones even try the classical monster-portrayal of the Devil. I will explore a few examples.

Al Pacino as the Devil in The Devil's Advocate

The film The Devil's Advocate (Hackford, 1997) plays on the popular notion that defense lawyers are Satan himself. Al Pacino gives a memorable performance as a Satan, who in expensive suits and big Manhatten penthouses, tries to orchestrate the arrival of the Antichrist. In a rather obvious reference, his name is John Milton.

Linda Blair possesed by the Devil in The Exorcist

In The Excorcist (Friedkin, 1973), the Devil apparently is without form and requires a human host to manifest itself in reality. The first victim is the young girl Regan Macneil, which the Devil infuses with supernatural powers and a foul language. During the excorcism, the Devil is convinced to switch to the priest Karras, upon which he immediatedly kills himself, and thus entering the cycle (for a while).