My Current Top 25 Favorite Horror/Suspense Movies starting with #25

  • XXV. The Omen (1976) (Directed by Richard Donner)
  • XXIV. Suspiria (Dario Argento)
  • XXIII. Se7en (David Fincher)
  • XXII. Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski)
  • XXI. Scream (Wes Craven)
  • XX. Hellraiser (Clive Barker)
  • XIX. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (Wes Craven)
  • XVIII. The Descent (Neil Marshall)
  • XVII. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973) (Tobe Hooper)
  • XVI. Night of the Living Dead (1968) (George A. Romero)
  • XV. The Thing (1982) (John Carpenter)
  • XIV. The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock)
  • XIII. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
  • XII. Misery (Rob Reiner)
  • XI. The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi)
  • X. Dead Alive (Peter Jackson)
  • IX A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven)
  • VIII. Halloween (1978) (John Carpenter)
  • VII. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock)
  • VI. Dawn of the Dead (1978) (George A. Romero)
  • V. Alien/Aliens (Tie) (Ridley Scott/James Cameron)
  • IV. Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper)
  • III. The Exorcist (William Friedkin)
  • II. Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme)
  • I. Jaws (Steven Spielberg)

Sunday, April 6, 2008

It's an excellent day for an exorcism: The #3 Movie on the List: "The Exorcist"

William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" is one disturbing and scary film. Released in 1973, it had people passing out and vomiting in theaters. It is a visceral film with plenty of shock moments that include the pea soup vomit, the spinning head, and most memorably, the crucifix masturbation scene. It is not restrained horror by any means. The film is so well directed, and the acting (particularly by Linda Blair as the girl possessed) is so convincing, that everything presented on screen is believable, that is, that this could very well happen and supposedly did happen to a child in Georgetown. Demon possession is a terrifying thought and "The Exorcist" is the best film ever on the topic. What are your thoughts on "The Exorcist?"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The exorcist? really? it took almost every ounce of strength to stay awake in this film. I did find aspects of it interesting and yes, it is the best one out there on this subject, but I found it a snore fest. I guess maybe I am not so scared of the devil, or possession being 9/10ths of the law or something, but this is one I don't need to see again unless I have a night of insomnia... come on Phil ;-)... I think the greatest thing to come from this movie is Repossessed. But that is my own opinion. I found the exorcism of Emily Rose a bit more intriguing, but that movie falls short as well...