WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first episode of Wellington Paranormal, "Demon Girl," now available via The CW and HBO Max.
Like its parent show What We Do in the Shadows, Wellington Paranormal knows its way around a horror movie reference. The series wastes no time evoking a true classic in its first episode. The opening scene of "Demon Girl" sees series protagonists Officer O'Leary and Officer Minogue encountering the titular possessed teen. Her first act references the most famous scene from the classic The Exorcist, which is soon to have a Halloween reboot-inspired sequel. After a dramatic glare, the possessed teen begins projectile vomiting. It's a direct reference to the iconic scene where possessed child Regan vomits directly in Father Damien Karras' face. It's a scene that's been parodied by everyone from Saturday Night Live to Key & Peele.
Wellington Paranormal's Exorcist homage goes beyond projectile vomit, though. When the officers ask the girl for her name, she says it's Bazu'aal, which is evocative of but legally distinct from The Exorcist's Pazuzu. The girl's voice while possessed is also similar to Reagan's, in that it's deeply distorted and demonic. This sets up a line from Officer Minogue about the girl needing a lozenge that gets a big laugh out of the demon, although it may just be a generically evil one.
While waiting in an interrogation room for the officers to question her, the Bazu'aal-possessed girl uses the space to stretch out. She bends backwards and walks on her hands, performing the same spider walk that Reagan did in The Exorcist. It's a move that's also familiar to wrestling fans thanks to WWE's Bray Wyatt. This is displayed on a surveillance camera as she climbs up the wall.
After the demon girl breaks out of the station, O'Leary and Minogue are specifically requested for a domestic dispute. When they arrive, they find the Bazu'aal has possessed the teen's father, Gary. His wife interprets Gary "breaking the law of gravity" by hanging from the ceiling as a mid-life crisis. After coaxing the possessed Gary down from the ceiling, his head begins twisting in a full 360-degree circle in another classic Exorcist moment.
After their encounter with Gary, it becomes obvious to everyone but O'Leary and Minogue that Bazu'aal can jump between host bodies, as the demon soon switches from Gary to his wife.. This isn't out of Pazuzu's playbook, but is similar to the demon Azazel in Fallen and Loki's Sylvie.
After leading Minogue on a foot chase through a playground, it possesses a dog. Speaking through the dog, Bazu'aal tells Minogue about the explicit endeavors his mother is up to in hell. The line is censored, but it's a reference to Pazuzu's taunt about Father Karass's mother in The Exorcist, which led to the vomiting scene. Minogue seems more disturbed by the idea of a dog talking than what it had to say about his mother -- or the impending apocalypse.
The officers, and their boss, Sergeant Maaka, track Bazu'aal down to the point where the dead will rise in Wellington. When Bazu'aal jumps from the dog to a homeless man, Maaka realizes that he needs to perform an exorcism to stop the demon. After watching a YouTube "how to" video, O'Leary is able to save Minogue from being sacrificed by the demon by saying "the power of Christ compels you," The Exorcist's most famous, parodied line. It's what Fathers Karras and Merrin shout as they attempt to cast Pazuzu out of Regan.
The Exorcist is a good framework to hang Wellington Paranormal's first episode on. The series was able to establish its tone by putting its own spin on a classic that's always been fertile ground for parody.
Starring Mike Minogue, Karen O'Leary and Maaka Pohatu, Wellington Paranormal airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, with episodes available on HBO Max the following day.
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