Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisSTC
I always found the movie rather not so scary, but rather twisted, not in as far as horror or gore, but as the sense of being possessed by satan himself or multiple demons. It's scary to see for the first because you're wondering what's gonna happen next, which keeps you on the end of your seat, but after you see it, it's not scary really.
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The Exorcist does'nt depend upon gore to be effective in achieving its aim to shock, I think the fact that the subject of an all american family is the focus of the Demonic attack is its strength, a real person in real situations give rise to the repulsion viewers feel about the Devil defiling this young girl, there is the debate as to whether the Exorcist has lost its ability to shock, disturb or frighten and I think this lies in two factors, (1) there have been too many sequels/prequels which tends to stretch the franchise too far, (2) there are too many poor rip off movies made which make the whole topic of demonic possession almost comical which goes a long way toward diluting the effect of the Exorcist, I also believe that through the many slasher movies and gore fests that are out I believe horror fans and movie goers generally have been de-sensitised against being genuinally shocked by a horror movie, many of these movies depict the most horrific and graphic cruelty one human can do to another and through that it loses its ability to become shocking and people become less appalled by these acts as they are deemed commonplace within these movies, how many ways can you behead, disembowel, rip, sexually abuse etc.. and it is this which has made these movies more comic than horror,
I really believe that the Exorcist's true strength is that it had a story, good actors, a plot which had a theme, beginning, middle and end and above all it opened a debate on many levels, that is what a good movie should do whether it be a horror, drama, adventure or whatever, the power to get people talking and the Exorcist did that and continues to do that 37yrs after its release.