[kj] OT - The Exorcist

[Jim Harper]

Indeed. [Rec] is a great film.
 
Jim.

NOW AVAILABLE: Flowers From Hell: The Modern Japanese Horror Film, by Jim Harper (Noir Publishing).

"Fascinating overview of the Japanese horror boom... Comprehensive, in-depth and slickly presented."- DVD Monthly.

Available from Noir Publishing, Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones and all good bookstores.

--- On Mon, 8/9/08, Steve Hackett <thepunisher at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

From: Steve Hackett <thepunisher at blueyonder.co.uk>
Subject: Re: [kj] OT - The Exorcist
To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" <gathering at misera.net>
Date: Monday, 8 September, 2008, 6:44 PM





[Rec] scared me...

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Alexander Smith 
To: dpeace at bigfoot.com ; A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!) 
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 2:37 AM
Subject: Re: [kj] OT - The Exorcist




Don't get me wrong -- I love "The Wicker Man" (Edward Woodward original, not that Nic Cage bullshit),  but it's about as scary as an episode of "Matlock".


Alex in NYC




On Sep 7, 2008, at 9:26 PM, Darren A. Peace wrote:




I have to stand up for The Wicker Man (and not that abortion of a remake). Beautiful film that left me speechless for about two hours when I saw it on UK TV at the age of about 12. Only watched it because it had Christopher Lee in it, and I was just starting my fixation with Hammer films. I saw “Race With The Devil” at about the same time, so continued my run of those sorts of endings. I’m sure that the reason it connected with me so strongly was because I was exposed to it at a comparatively unsophisticated age, and I’m sure my adult cynicism would find more at fault with it were it not for that, but connect it did, and it’s remained a favourite.

Found myself in Dumfries & Galloway a few years back, so went to a couple of the Wicker Man locations. Brilliant stuff. The mythologizing around its making just adds to the cachet, for me. Saw an NFT showing of it around the same time, with Lee and Tony Shaffer in attendance just before the latter’s death.

The Omen and The Exorcist are two entirely different beasts. I enjoy the Omen more than the Exorcist, because it is pulpy and stupid, but the subtexts to the Exorcist are genuinely frightening to this parent. And to dismiss Blatty’s meditations on faith is just ill-informed; his earlier novel show a preoccupation, and “Exorcist III” (prior to studio manglings) was about pretty much nothing else. Sure, Freidkin (and Blatty, to a lesser extent) made the right noises when promoting the film once it was realised that it was a phenomenon, but to dismiss it as a cynical exercise in exploitation is wrong. Their commentary on the first DVD is great fun. Sure, they’re taking the piss some of the time, but they are both intelligent men with subtextual agendas worthy of attention.

Still remember the really crappy Omen posters before its release; the novelisation (David Seltzer, IIRC) is great fun and full of as much religious bollocks as the Da Vinci Code (written by a man who CAN’T FUCKING WRITE).

Darren
Hungerford, UK



From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On Behalf Of Alexander Smith
Sent: 08 September 2008 00:01
To: jimharper666 at yahoo.co.uk; A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] OT - The Exorcist




"but it's not a 'truly scary movie', and there's more than a few"



Well, it truly scares me, even this many years later. "The Omen" is practically a comedy compared to "The Exorcist".



Alex in NYC





On Sep 7, 2008, at 6:52 PM, Jim Harper wrote:








"One of the only really, truly scary movies."



I'm afraid I can't agree there. The Exorcist is a good film, but it's not a 'truly scary movie', and there's more than a few.



There are plenty of acknowledged 'classic' horror films that aren't worth more than a cursory watch, just so you can say you've seen it (The Shining and The Wicker Man fit the bill very nicely). To Friedkin's credit, he does at least ensure that The Exorcist doesn't turn into the kind of colossal monument to tedium that those two films are, but he does fall short of the 'classic' he usually gets landed with. I've always preferred The Omen. I realise comparing those two films- The Exorcist and The Omen- is likely to get me lynched, but The Omen is a more entertaining film. Mainly because it doesn't try to hide what it is. Both films are trashy exploitation, but whereas The Omen accepts that and gets on with business of   being a really fun piece of trashy exploitation, The Exorcist (mainly through William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty, who spun the same crap about his novel when it came out) tries to pass itself off as a serious meditation on the
 mystery of Faith. Bollocks. Aside from one line, faith is never even mentioned. It's just a scary, gross horror movie, but one with ideas above its station.



My apologies for the rambling there!



Jim.

NOW AVAILABLE: Flowers From Hell: The Modern Japanese Horror Film, by Jim Harper (Noir Publishing).

"Fascinating overview of the Japanese horror boom... Comprehensive, in-depth and slickly presented."- DVD Monthly.

Available from Noir Publishing, Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones and all good bookstores.

--- On Sun, 7/9/08, Leigh Newton <angrytomhanks at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Leigh Newton <angrytomhanks at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [kj] OT - The Exorcist
To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" <gathering at misera.net>
Date: Sunday, 7 September, 2008, 9:42 PMAlso the classic "Stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthlessCOCKSUCKER!"  One of the only really, truly scary movies. The original Black Christmas andThe Changeling are two more that come to mind. Anyone got anymore? I'mtalking SCARY, not just kind of creepy or gross.  Leigh

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