The Exorcist vs The Shining vs Psycho

[onewhosighs]

Showdown of possibly the three greatest and scariest horror films ever.

Overall, in scariness, better movie, etc Which is overall a better movie?

[tcardenas]

psycho. hands down.

[Elvis_Christ]

All really cool flicks. I'll have to go with the Exorcist because it creeped me out when I saw it on the big screen about 4 years ago.

[tcardenas]

the only part in that movie that creeped me out or grossed me out or whatever was when she threw up. i hate vomit. i can handle blood and everything else but vomit makes me sick.

[Pazuzu]

The Shining doesn't come close to touching the Exorcist or Psycho. There was nothing original about the Shining, though it was a tremendous film capable of holding it's own, just not against the Exorcist nor Psycho.

Psycho gave birth to the "slasher" genre and the Exorcist spawned the more sinister, religious/demon style of horror. The success of these two films is unmatched in the horror world, nothing comes close, Shining included.

[PhilnEdee]

I think the Shining is one of the creepiest movies ever made...the monster effects they did on Shelly Duvall...wait..what? that wasn't special effects???
Dang,,,that movie really was creepy.

[Elvis_Christ]

Nothing beats the atmosphere in The Shining. I'm still pissed about that cheesy ass fuckcock movie "Henry" beating out the Shining in the 80's horror tournament on this site!

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer totally slays The Shining. Its one of the best flicks to come out of the states.

[Spec7ral]

The Exorcist scared the fuck out of me when i was a kid. The other two didn't.

Exorcist. Hands down for me.

[roshiq]

Obviously none other than ....PSYCHO

[Jameslofton]

Definitely The Shining.

[Spooky Papa]

All really great horror flicks, but 'The Exorcist' delivers the most intense and lingering scares for my money. Atheists turn agnostic after this one...just to be on the safer side.

[Vodstok]

I said too close. Psycho is brilliant, especially for its time, but so are the other two. I refuse to make a decision basically because i hold the exorcist and shining in equal regard, and psycho is on its own plane.

[Zero]

not sure what 'vs' means - i mean if i stick the three films into a steel cage for a grudge-match well. . . .to be honest. . . they would just sit there because they are inanimate objects.

if the question is which one do i like the best - the answer is probably Psycho.

If, on the other hand, you are asking which is the 'best' quality film - then the question is what does quality mean - is it pure technical brilliance (probably The Shining there) - is it 'scares' (probably the Exorcist on that one).

but, if it means the film that has had the most impact - then, hands down, it is Psycho - the single most important film in the history of American cinema. PERIOD!

[Spec7ral]

the single most important film in the history of American cinema. PERIOD!

what about night of the living dead?

[Zero]

what about night of the living dead?

important but, ultimately, heavily influenced by PSYCHO (oh and THE BIRDS). romero had the advantage of the 1968 shift to the MPAA rating system - but really his 'shock' tactics are just picking up the challenge laid down by Hitchcock

[noctuary]

I've never liked the Exorcist at all. I can't really explain why, it's just one of those films that don't do it for me. As for the other two, I'd give the Shining the slight edge due to Kubrick, but I'd say that they are both masterpieces.

[Nyder]

The Exorcist, hands down. I can handle haunted hotels and crazed nutjobs wearing wigs but not demon possession.

[tcardenas]

demon possession does creep me out also.. i watched a special on discovery channel about an exorcism and i had to turn it off. however, i still stick with psycho as my choice. i love hitchcock and for its time, it was very good. it still is good.

[BASSI]

i voted for The Exorcist,
i hate The Shining i think it so overated

[onewhosighs]

I want to hear from you all. Everyone says these 3 movies are the scariest movies and greatest horror movies.

Vote please.

[Zero]

i voted psycho - not because it scared me but because of its historical impact

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

psycho, shining is close

[paws the great]

The Exorcist

[scarecrow666]

Psycho is my choice.

[Dante'sInferno]

Pie.........








and crazy people that kill naked people in showers.

[Dudeman]

Hmm. The Exorcist was pretty boring in my opinion, and The Shining was boring at alot of parts too(I did like the book though). I'm going to go with Psycho. And like Zero said, not because it was scary, but just because of the impact it had.

[alkytrio666]

Well, I like Psycho better, of course, but I find The Exorcist to be terrifying.

So...scarier? The Exorcist.
More enjoyable? Psycho.

Both are ageless films, and will probably keep their impact a little longer than The Shining will, despite it's enjoyable epic quality.

[BASSI]

The Exorcist hands down

[ferretchucker]

the shining just bcause it has hardly any votes

[the_real_linda]

the shining cause of jack nicholson...... living legend and i do think its the best.... never a fan of psycho....

[hammerfan]

I voted for The Exorcist because I saw it when it came out in the theater, I was 13 at the time, and it scared the hell out of me. And it still scares the hell out of me - I can't watch it.

[novakru]

The Exorcist

[the_real_linda]

I voted for The Exorcist because I saw it when it came out in the theater, I was 13 at the time, and it scared the hell out of me. And it still scares the hell out of me - I can't watch it.



i wished i could have seen it.... sadly wasnt born....

i wasnt allowed to watch it til i was 13(my mum saw it wen she was 13) it was the only horror she wouldnt let me watch growing up.... the themes in it still give me the wiggins but ive seen too many parodies to be scared fully by it....

[ferretchucker]

it seems a bit silly when i watch it now. i cant believe it was banned

[XtRaVa]

I watched it around the same age. I don't know what could be classed as scary about it. I mean the idea of your child getting possessed by the devil - is a scary thought, but the movie itself has nothing scary about it...All I did was laugh at how ridiculous it was: Spinning heads, girl masturbating by stabbing herself with a crucifix, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell". It's actually more like a comedy.

Shining had those freaky twins!

[the_real_linda]

I watched it around the same age. I don't know what could be classed as scary about it. I mean the idea of your child getting possessed by the devil - is a scary thought, but the movie itself has nothing scary about it...All I did was laugh at how ridiculous it was: Spinning heads, girl masturbating by stabbing herself with a crucifix, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell". It's actually more like a comedy.

Shining had those freaky twins!

yeah thats what i cant see...... the thought of it happening since it was based on what happened to some young boy....is scary but the film is hyped up to be scary and it aint.... good film tho..... now the shining is just a fantastic film

[XtRaVa]

I can understand why it was scary in its day though, especially considering back then people were more religious than they are today and people believed more that the Devil (as in an actual evil being ruling Hell) actually existed, whereas a lot of religious people don't believe that today. Also, just because people were less desensitised to horror than they are presently.

Yeah I love The Shining. Has some great imagery in it, especially when the kid is cycling around the hotel. I was quite aprehensive about what was in the room when I first saw it as a kid. :)

[hammerfan]

I can understand why it was scary in its day though, especially considering back then people were more religious than they are today and people believed more that the Devil (as in an actual evil being ruling Hell) actually existed, whereas a lot of religious people don't believe that today. Also, just because people were less desensitised to horror than they are presently.

Exactly! You took the words right out of my.......fingers?

[the_real_linda]

yeah the context of the films release is important and our own experiences of when we watched it and how old we were.... the whole religious thing is always scary for me.... religion just freaks me out... ive never understood how some words would drive out the devil which they nicked and re-created anyways... just imo tho

[XtRaVa]

Yeah I do quite like horror movies with religious themes, i.e. The Omen Series.

[alkytrio666]

the movie itself has nothing scary about it...All I did was laugh at how ridiculous it was: Spinning heads, girl masturbating by stabbing herself with a crucifix, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell". It's actually more like a comedy.

See, I think that's the point. It's nothing against you, or anyone else who feels the same way, but that's scary in-and-of-itself. Seeing a 12-year-old girl do these things should sicken and disturb us (I know it certainly did me), but instead, we're just fucked up enough as a society to consider it funny.

Funny? Watching a pre-teen girl cut herself open all over her mother's face with a cross is funny? Not in my book, it ain't.
To me, this horrifyingly graphic loss of innocence is much more frightening than a haunted hotel.

[XtRaVa]

It's a movie...

[alkytrio666]

It's a movie...
And so are the other two...we are discussing horror movies on this site, correct?

[XtRaVa]

Yeah...But you're saying society is fucked up if they find The Exorcist funny. It's just a movie mate, not real life.

[jenna26]

I watched it around the same age. I don't know what could be classed as scary about it. I mean the idea of your child getting possessed by the devil - is a scary thought, but the movie itself has nothing scary about it...All I did was laugh at how ridiculous it was: Spinning heads, girl masturbating by stabbing herself with a crucifix, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell". It's actually more like a comedy.

Shining had those freaky twins!


"Scary" is very subjective. What is scary to one person in a film, CAN be laughable to someone else. The Exorcist probably disturbed me more than just about any other film, except for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I find absolutely nothing funny about The Exorcist... and never will. But with all the parodies that followed it, and the fact that some people just aren't frightened by the idea of demon possession, I can see why others do find it funny. But I don't think it plays like a comedy at all.

The Exorcist gets my vote if we are talking about a film that actually scared me. Psycho is the better film, I think, but it didn't frighten me nearly as much as The Exorcist did. And The Shining didn't really effect me much at all, prefer the book.

~I have had to edit this damn post three times, I must be tired. Hope it makes sense now.

[XtRaVa]

I dont find any of them scary. I'm too old to find movies scary, but I saw each as a child - and out of the three, Psycho was just a great film, The Shining was actually pretty freaky and The Exorcist was just so boring in some parts and then stupidly over the top in other parts, that I didnt find it scary or anything worthy of the hype...IMO anyway.

Anyway, the thread doesnt say to vote strictly on the movie that scared you the most, I think it just wants your favourite movie, but who knows.

[jenna26]

All of the movies I saw that actually scared me, I saw when I was a child.....I'm still ridiculously easy to make jump, but I can't say that I am scared by movies anymore either.
But The Exorcist and TCM.....the impact they had on me when I was younger....was memorable.....both have stuck with me. And I can't watch either without getting a little of that feeling back. Which is why they remain two of my favorites.....:D
So my vote would probably be the same.....I go back and forth on this kind of thing anyway. Its too close really. But I think The Exorcist just had more of an impact on me. But that's just my point though, The Shining wasn't really freaky to me at all, it doesn't even compared to the others, just because of my own personal experience.

[Dante'sInferno]

Yeah...But you're saying society is fucked up if they find The Exorcist funny. It's just a movie mate, not real life.Hehe.I laughed my ass off when she started cussing.

[XtRaVa]

Can't believe the parents let her do that part - Thats the only scary thing to me :p

[bwind22]

Psycho. I thought The Shining was boring & The Exorcist was over-rated.

[the_real_linda]

i just found out today that my father hasnt seen all of the shining.... honestly some people! :eek: :rolleyes:

[Pazuzu]

Honestly, the Shining was a decent movie, but it just isn't in the Exorcist's or Psycho's league. Those two movies (Exorcist and Psycho) are well above and beyond ANY other horror film. Whether they are scary or not is really irrelevent. These two films are classics, they go beyond just the horror genre.

The Exorcist and Psycho had an impact and they were superbly done - they will be forever remembered and embraced, while the Shining is going to drift off into nothingness (the only thing holding the Shining strong is the fact Kubrick was behind it). Exorcist and Psycho are among the greatest films of all time (along side The Godfather I & II, Citizen Kane, Amadeus, Rear Window, Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, etc.

The Shining just doesn't compare.

Rosemary's Baby would have been a MUCH better replacement for the Shining in this poll. That movie is also a classic.

[pbwriter]

Of the three, I'd say that personally "The Exorcist" is the most frightening. "Psycho" is almost more of a suspense movie, and while I really like "The Shining," Jack Nicholson distracts me with all his Jack Nicholsonness.

Nothing like the thought of full-on demon possession to make me leave the lights on.

[XtRaVa]

Exorcist and Psycho are among the greatest films of all time.

Haha. Whatever you say :D

Btw, The Exorcist has a lower rating than Psycho and The Shining on IMDB. Then again IMDB isnt the most reliable source, after all, it rates The Exorcist 8/10, which is clearly too high! ;)