The Excorcist
 

I think the excorcist is one of the scariest films of all time. After all these years, it still gives me the creeps.

i didnt care for it and i definetly think its over rated

Great film. Will always be one of the greatest horror films ever made. Simple as that.

Re: The Excorcist
 

I agree.

Was it banned in the US for years like it was in the UK? I don't think it warranted that, but it certainly added to the hype surrounding the film.

I like the Exorcist but think it's way too overhyped. Everyone was fainting and vomiting in the Exorcist audience because they were a bunch of mainstream soccer moms who would never set foot into a theater showing something like NOTLD or TCM. Friedkin and Blatty also seemed to think their audience would watch this as something more than just a horror movie---like demonic possession was something as commonplace as a cold or stomach virus. Same with the Omen movies. They just took themselves way too seriously.

Many ghost movies do the same thing. I personally don't believe in the paranormal and don't appreciate filmmakers assuming that I do.

No one's forcing you to watch it (no offence meant). I don't like westerns but appreciate that many people do, I just refrain from watching them. Live and let live.

Re: Re: The Excorcist
 

It wasn't banned but I think it was on the Catholic Church's shit list... which is stupid if you think about it because the movie's really saying that the Church is the only thing that could fix Regan... probably one of the best pieces of PR the Catholics ever had.

I don't think it's overrated at all. Don't forget that it came out not too long after the late 1960's when the American societal fabric was all shook up... the perfect American child turning into a filthy long-haired foul-mouthed blaspheming freak was one that really resonated with a lot of people... seeing children curse, masturbate and puke on priests was really shocking at the time... the film does have its weak points but it is still a very effective horror film.

you have a point about the films taking themselves too seriously i guess, i think i like that pompous approach when it comes to the omens though, damien is aloof personified after all.

are you sure that blatty and friedkin actually wanted the audience to believe that stuff? and, no offence or nothin here dr. k, but what do you think: i imagine the exorcists and omens really work best on still-terrified ex-catholics like myself.. call it new testament camp if you want to! ;)

I assume Blatty believed demonic possession is possible (hell, even likely) because a few yrs ago he wrote a book about the "true" case the Exorcist was based on (mentally disturbed kid on a bad trip). As for Friedkin, he's pretty much said he believes in demonic possession in a few interviews.

I can see your point about the movie's effect on an ex-Catholic; I come from southern baptist country, so instead of demonic possession, I'm generally more frightened of inter-racial marriages, rap music, and Papists (just kidding).

Not scary. That's not to say it's not a great movie, it is. On my top 50 even. But it's not scary.
Also, the Classics folder is for 60's and earlier, not 70's

I read somewhere a girl recently died when an exorcism was performed on her, anyone else hear this............

yes, you probably read that here

i like the movie. its a horror classic but i ts was over hyped. my friends were like i saw it and i couldn't sleep it scared me or it was i heard that the girl that was posesed meaning linda blair went crazy after making the movie in real life. when i watched it i was like whats the big deal. its not so scary. i do believe that possesions may have happend but it wasn't that common or not talked about much in communities where it happend.

I really like the film. It is one of those old fashioned 'slow' films thats builds up the atmosphere of the piece gradually. It is set in such a normal world with people who plod along not doing very much, allowing the audience to suspend thier disbelief. Nothing happens for a long time which made the later scenes all the more shocking. And I think shocking is the right word. The audience of the time had never seen anything like it a little girl doing those things made it even more shocking.

There has to be something said about the morals of the filmmakers who subject a child actress to these extreme scenes. I read an interveiw with Tarantino recently and he said one of the reasons he used animation for a part of Kill Bill was because he didnt think it would have been right ask a child to act those scenes.

Please, you don't hear her complaining, do ya? If they asked her to suck their dicks on camera, THAT'D be wrong.

BTW, the movie was based on events that happened in the city I live in (St. Louis)

no your right they didnt ask her to suck their dicks. Just shove a crucifix up herself a few times.:rolleyes:

And to that I say "so what?"

I just read a book about the Exorcist by a guy named Mark Kermode... it's worth a look if you can find it. At the time they said that Linda Blair was in all the scenes of the film; later they admitted that there was a stand-in for scenes like the crucifix masturbation scene.

The stand-in was also the person who wore the whiteface makeup for the subliminal cuts. I always thought it was Jason Miller (Father Karras). One of the cool things that the book has is a lot of other photos of the test reel for the subliminals. They probably picked the best one.

According to Blatty, the case that the Exorcist was based on happened in Mt. Rainier, Maryland in 1949.

I think it was a creepy movie, but not a lot of horrors scare me. Still, it was very well made, and I really like (I think they only show this on the SE DVD) when she goes down the stairs, crawling on her hands and facing up.

none
 

they movie sacred me. i mean, this is coming from some one who hasn't been into horror for a mega long time. i liked it tho. i thought it was a very well done movie. i used to go to private school and i remeber that our teacher was telling us all this stuff about how the excorcist was the most evil movie out there and stuff. she said that everyone involed making the movied died. do ya know anything about this? lol, silly private school.

the Spider Walk. Good scene, but not in the context it was supposed to be used in the movie. By its self, it's fine, but it seemed out of place in the re-release.

love the movie, but not scary to me either. shocking maybe ( the "masturbates with a crucifix" scene of course ), but not scary. i think i actually laughed in one part...

I really think that The Exorcist is a stunning motion picture. Show it to the average human being and they have trouble watching it all. My best mate and girlfriend included.

I for one was scared but not enough to keep me awake, yet I found it hard to fall asleep. I was 14.

My stepdad saw it illegally on a tape from one of his friends when he was 18 and he lived in an old nunery which he and his family claimed was haunted and he couldn't sleep for months.

True story: My stepdad also claims that his bed has rattled like Reagans, only not as powerfully just a slight shudder constantly. And he's not the type to lie for no reason. Needless to say, he was out of that house as soon as he could get out.