the EXORCIST (1973)

RCMerchant · September 25, 2018, 05:47:07 PM

Lotsa folks have very varied opinions on this film.
I love it,myself. But I have spoken to people who hate it, or refuse to watch it.
I think it's gotten a bad rap. Yeah-there are shock scenes that were made to do just that-shock. But what for me makes those scenes work is how quiet ,yet intense, the rest of the film is.
What do you think?

Allhallowsday · September 25, 2018, 06:00:25 PM

The reason we are friends is because we usually agree. I think THE EXORCIST is STILL shocking. It's a masterpiece.

The Burgomaster · September 25, 2018, 06:09:00 PM

Great movie. The scariest movie ever made.

RCMerchant · September 25, 2018, 06:09:14 PM

I agree. It is a masterpiece of not only horror, but how to make horror films work.
Blood and jump scares are only good if what leads up to it is good. HALLOWEEN (1978) and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) are good examples, I think.

lester1/2jr · September 25, 2018, 06:37:36 PM

"take the tannis root..."

Allhallowsday · September 25, 2018, 07:44:14 PM

Quote from: The Burgomaster on September 25, 2018, 06:09:00 PM
Great movie. The scariest movie ever made.

I think it's a scary movie, but more shocking than scary. It's also damned challenging. The scariest movie is TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, which is incomparable and also a masterpiece.

RCMerchant · September 25, 2018, 07:54:34 PM

Quote from: Allhallowsday on September 25, 2018, 07:44:14 PM
Quote from: The Burgomaster on September 25, 2018, 06:09:00 PM
Great movie. The scariest movie ever made.
I think it's a scary movie, but more shocking than scary. It's also damned challenging. The scariest movie is TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, which is incomparable and also a masterpiece.

The first time I saw it I was crawling in my chair. I was eating a candy wrapper. Tearing it up and chewing it into little pieces.
When Leatherface chases Marilyn Burns through the woods I was screaming-"RUN! RUN!".
When a movie can f**k you up like that-you know it's good.

FatFreddysCat · September 26, 2018, 10:41:56 AM

I keep meaning to revisit Exorcist cuz it's been years since I last saw it, but I have yet to get around to it.

I think I've told this story before but I was literally afraid to see it when I was a kid. It had a reputation as THE scariest movie ever made, and legend around the school yard had it that if you watched it you'd pee your pants, Satan would possess your soul, you'd have nightmares for the rest of your life, blah blah blah.

So by the time I finally did see it I was in my late teens (this would've been the late 80s/early 90s) and by that point I'd seen lots and lots of horror movies, and my reaction was basically, "So that's it, huh?" I mean, I enjoyed it, but I wasn't as blown away by it as I'd expected.

As far as '70s "Satan" movies go, I've always said I preferred "The Omen," but the first time I saw that one, I was at a much more impressionable age.

RCMerchant · September 26, 2018, 10:49:05 AM

Quote from: FatFreddysCat on September 26, 2018, 10:41:56 AM
I keep meaning to revisit Exorcist cuz it's been years since I last saw it, but I have yet to get around to it.

I think I've told this story before but I was literally afraid to see it when I was a kid. It had a reputation as THE scariest movie ever made, and legend around the school yard had it that if you watched it you'd pee your pants, Satan would possess your soul, you'd have nightmares for the rest of your life, blah blah blah.

So by the time I finally did see it I was in my late teens (this would've been the late 80s/early 90s) and by that point I'd seen lots and lots of horror movies, and my reaction was basically, "So that's it, huh?" I mean, I enjoyed it, but I wasn't as blown away by it as I'd expected.

As far as '70s "Satan" movies go, I've always said I preferred "The Omen," but the first time I saw that one, I was at a much more impressionable age.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Age has lots to do with it. I saw it in 1973,but I was 11.
Thing is though, it only got better for me the more I watched it.
Jason Miller is very good. All the players are very good.

ER · September 26, 2018, 06:50:45 PM

OK, I know it's a joke from Beetlejuice, but in all honesty I have always found The Exorcist funny because it's so campy.

RCMerchant · September 28, 2018, 06:01:43 PM

Quote from: ER on September 26, 2018, 06:50:45 PM
OK, I know it's a joke from Beetlejuice, but in all honesty I have always found The Exorcist funny because it's so campy.

I reckon it could be funny...if you were in the right mood...!

Alex · September 28, 2018, 06:08:47 PM

I got to see The Exorcist when it was rereleased in the cinema sometime in my 20's. I'd read the book of it beforehand and enjoyed that, but watching it on the big screen... Honestly, I fell asleep watching it, and yet I've met a woman who had a nervous breakdown after she saw it. I think if you believe in Christianity then the film is going to have more meaning to you than someone like me.

RCMerchant · September 28, 2018, 06:20:54 PM

Quote from: Dark Alex on September 28, 2018, 06:08:47 PM
I got to see The Exorcist when it was rereleased in the cinema sometime in my 20's. I'd read the book of it beforehand and enjoyed that, but watching it on the big screen... Honestly, I fell asleep watching it, and yet I've met a woman who had a nervous breakdown after she saw it. I think if you believe in Christianity then the film is going to have more meaning to you than someone like me.

See-I'm an atheist. But when I seen it when I was 11, I believed in God, and ghosts and demons. Scared the f**k out of me.!
But I still like it today because of it's mood. And I still get the creeps watching it. I can't say that about many films.
Lotsa movies can make me shed a tear. Al sortsa shmaltz can do that.
But not many movies creep me out.

Trevor · September 29, 2018, 03:45:30 AM

It was banned in South Africa

Alex · September 29, 2018, 03:55:12 AM

Quote from: Trevor on September 29, 2018, 03:45:30 AM
It was banned in South Africa

And yet your underpants have free reign?