A whole generation of kids was traumatized by this film. It's nothing if not disturbing. It's become fashionable to say this film is not scary, blah blah. But no amount of torture porn made today has the same sense of evil glee simmering beneath the surface. Everything about The Exorcist is sinister.
Naw, it's a brilliant film. I once got to talk to DP Owen Roizman about working on the film, and he said it was something like 9 months of torture, just a really arduous, difficult shoot, and that director Friedkin was really intense and absolutely determined to make "the scariest film ever made." If anything, the William Peter Blatty novel is more frightening in some ways.
1969 "The Honeymoon Killers" B&W is based on a true story and is extremely realistic and horrific.The claw hammer scene is almost unwatchable after 1 viewing IMO. Anything by Jose Marins is disturbing in a strange psychedelic way. Especially his 1960s era work. Texas Chainsaw Massacre because it was based on a true story that occurred 30 miles from my house in Texas.
Yes, the Human Centipede films are about the most degrading awful crazy 'who in the hell thought of this??' I think I have seen. I can handle some Exorcism, Freddy Krueger, SAW, Hostel etc etc, but this one really left a bitter taste seeing these. I like a good horror, but geez....... I won't ever be watching those again.
I was there for the 1st run and it messed up a lot of people for life.Friedken has stated that when he was making the movie he was so anti everything he WANTED to fu_ _ people up for life.He succeeded in many ways. Seeing the real family on Johnny Carson shortly after the release was more harrowing because they played the real recordings of the sounds emulating out of their sons room during the incident.
Scenes that might STAY with you : 01. The Evil Dead- The girl calls the cards before they are turned over. 02. Exorcist III- The hallway scene; a voice from the confessional. Exorcist III 'Legion' - Nurse Station Scene - Scariest Ever Movie Scene And http://ww.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLwx...rl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPF-sfNvOo 04. Helter Skelter- Manson rant. YouTube 05. Dracula- The Brides glide in on Renfield; The Castle basement. YouTube 06. Suspiria- When we see what's behind that closed door. YouTube 07. Phantasm- The girl goes to the Morningside Mortuary and all we hear is a scream. YouTube 08. Carrie- Prom Night scene; mother scenes YouTube 09. Trilogy Of Terror "Prey" - Karen Black invites her mother over to visit. YouTube 10. The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism- The Haunted Forest. CASTLE OF THE WALKING DEAD (1967) - Trailer 11. The Thing- The blood test. YouTube 12. Horror Hotel- Dance party in the main room. Christopher Lee - Horror Hotel - Trailer 13. Carnival of Souls- The abandoned Lake House. Carnival of Souls Trailer 14. Mystery of the Wax Museum- The body in the morgue. YouTube 15. Last Man On Earth- "Let me in." YouTube 16. Gimme Shelter- Crowd panic scene. YouTube 17. The Public Enemy- Cagney goes gunning for the gang in the rain. YouTube 18. Metropolis- Seven Deadly Sins; Hel's smile. Illnaughty Rescore of Metropolis 7 Deadly Sins Scene 19. Texas Chainsaw Massacre- Screams at dinner. YouTube 20. I Bury The Living- Richard Boone's cemetery pin map. I Bury the Living (1957) - Trailer 21. Shock Waves- The undead Nazis disappear under the water. YouTube 22. The House That Jack Built- Emma Peel gets a message from beyond the grave. YouTube 23. Planet of The Apes- The scarecrows. YouTube 24. Wait Until Dark- Harry Roat Junior takes a flying leap. Wait Until Dark - trailer (1967) AUDREY HEPBURN 25. Them !- The mute little girl walks in the desert. YouTube 26. Tower Of London- No link/Richard sends Mord to the princes in the Tower. 27. White Zombie- The sugar cane mill scene. WHITE ZOMBIE, 1932: Sugar-mill sequence. 28. The Manchurian Candidate- Angela Lansbury gives Lawrence Harvey a kiss. Manchurian Candidate 29. Night of the Hunter- "Love" + "Hate" Love - Hate: Night of the Hunter 30. A Man From The South- Peter Lorre bets Steve McQueen that he can't light a cigarette lighter ten times in a row. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wlUY3FjsKI 31. Silent night, Bloody Night- Christmas Eve at the Butler mansion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWhn-1u0JTA HudsonDuster
Friedkin always insisted on doing his homework, which is what makes this one particularly effective. I hadn't seen it for years when it appeared on tv, and I'd completely forgotten how perfectly the opening scene sets it up. It's also easy to forget the medical exams, but if he'd left those out, the film wouldn't have had credibility. By the time you get to the shaking bed, you're along for the ride, because it seems possible. I suppose that's the genius of it. Rumor has it that the film was based on an actual case of possession as well, so you have that, too. Will I watch it again? Probably not. I've seen it a few times though. I like The French Connection, Cruising, and To Live and Die in L.A. better though.
I would agree. I read it some years after seeing the film, and definitely preferred the book. I first saw The Exorcist when I was 16 - on a pirated video, at a friend's house, in broad daylight. Not ideal conditions. I think it's reputation as the 'scariest film ever made' precedes it, so a new viewer may have unrealistic expectations of it. I think it's a good film but a long way from being the scariest ever.
The Exorcist was the scariest film ever made up to that point, which was 1973. Sure, there's been a lot worse in the last 45 years. But that was a huge, huge game changer for its time. And I think it holds up extremely well.
I tried watching "Baskin", the Turkish horror film last week, and had to beg to be excused from the final act - and I don't regret leaving it "just as things were getting good", as my cousin watching the movie with me said. No thank you, indeed.
Megan is Missing is a pretty disturbing movie. I think it must have been intended as a cautionary tale. Death Proof and Hostel are both disturbing, but I'm not sure that some of the scenes in those are disturbing to me because of what they depict, or because I'm kinda revulsed that someone decided to depict them. On that level, the idea of someone thinking "Yeah! It would be great to have that on film!" disturbs me more than the scenes themselves. I've read about a film called Martyrs that's been described as deeply disturbing as well. I haven't seen it yet, and I'm not certain I want to... but from the review I read, which included spoilers, it's an intriguing story.
Agree. Friedkin directs the film in a nearly clinical way - he doesn't overplay the shock/horror, and that makes it much more effective than if he led the viewer with cheap jumps scares...
What would you say is scarier today? I’ve heard people mention Paranormal Activity as scarier. That seems absurd by comparison.
Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) — Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí We had to watch it in filmmaking class in college. I don't watch most horror films, or especially violent films, so most being mentioned in this thread I wouldn't ever see.
"Paranormal Activity" wasn't even remotely scary - it was a lot of boredom punctuated by occasional moments of annoying material...