The first movie that truly scared me is still my favorite. I saw “The Exorcist” (1973) when it finally trickled down to the drive-in, with my best friend and illegally gotten beer. I remain grateful to Cathy for getting the car door open before she followed little Regan’s example and threw up.
Evoking real horror in an audience — that realm beyond the “gotcha” or simple gross-out — is an art, and with “The Exorcist,” class is in session.
“The Exorcist” was gutsy and groundbreaking, and controversial; some of those things little Regan says and does still shock audiences today.
“The Exorcist” has everything going for it: Story and script, fine performances (I thoroughly believed Ellen Burstyn in her role of the terrified mother), direction, lighting, sound/visual effects. In spite of the cheesy subliminals. And who doesn’t love Mercedes McCambridge’s voice or “Tubular Bells”?
A brief scene in the extended version, which was cut from the theatrical release, shows Regan doing something especially creepy, and I’m very sorry it was cut the first time around. You’ll know it if you see it. Or you can check it out on YouTube. Trust me, it’s a lot spookier in the course of the movie.
“The Exorcist” also has the distinction of being followed by the most disappointing horror-movie sequel ever. The third film is only watchable because of the talents of George C. Scott, and I don’t even want to talk about the dumb and dumber double-prequel mess.
We’ll praise and scorch sequels on Saturday.
Movies heavy on atmosphere are the ones that steal my heart. “The Shining,” “Psycho (1960),” “Alien,” Tod Browning’s “Freaks,” “The Blair Witch Project.” (Yes, I said “The Blair Witch Project.”) The story and direction meld with sound, lighting and effects to create a mood that plays such a critical role that it oughta be listed at the top of the credits.
Without that powerful atmosphere, “Psycho” is a movie about an Oedipal nut, “The Shining” is a Tim Allen fixer-upper gone wrong and “Alien” is just a pretty decent creature feature.
Otherwise, there’s “The Birds,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Aliens,” “Jaws,” “Ju-on: The Grudge,” “Halloween (1978),” “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” “The Host” and this is like eating M&Ms, I just can’t stop.
I’m also tossing “Silence of the Lambs” and “Seven” into that mix; we’ll spend a day on the “is it or isn’t it a horror movie” debate later in the month here on the Scream Queen blog.
Post your favorites below; I’ll pick the top three and we’ll do a day on each here on Scream Queen toward the end of the month. (Edit: Because of the great diversity of movies you’ve listed, there aren’t three clear favorite, at least as I write this. Plan B is to pick out something resembling the top three and wrap ‘em up together on Halloween. I’ll offer a small, humble treat to you that day to make up for it.)
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