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This year I wanted to do something a little different for Movie of the Month, a double feature like the old drive-in days! The first is a no-brainer classic of horror cinema, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. It’s celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. William Friedkin passed away earlier this year adding a little more meaning to checking this out either for the first time or a rewatch.  The Exorcist, originally released in 1973, is the story of a young woman possessed by a demon and two priests attempting to save her soul. It stars Linda Blair as Regan, the young girl possessed, Ellen Burstyn, her mother, Max von Sydow and Jason Miller as the two priests. For years it was considered one of the scariest movies of all time. While that reputation has softened over the decades it’s still considered incredibly well made and is one of the most popular horror films ever made. It kicks rear end.    The second film is, Noroi: The Curse.  Directed by Kōji Shiraishi and released in 2005, the movie is a found footage documentary about a paranormal investigator who goes missing while making a documentary. The story is made up from his footage and tv show clips from other paranormal shows, including a variety program where kids are tested for psychic abilities. It’s an odd and incredibly atmospheric movie that I enjoy a whole hell of a lot.     You can watch the movies at these places: The Exorcist is available on HBO Max or Max+ or whatever the gently caress its called now. Noroi: The Curse is available on Shudder and the Internet Archive. Happy Spooky Season everyone, hope you enjoy the movies!
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Oct 1, 2023 06:10
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it’s time for tubular bells
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Oct 1, 2023 06:51
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Ghislaine of YOSPOS posted:it’s time for tubular bells Let's go!
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Oct 1, 2023 15:52
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I usually watch The Exorcist every year but I skipped it last year in anticipation of this year's 50th anniversary. Really looking forward to watching it again, plus a new 4k version came out that I haven't been able to get my hands on yet but I probably will. Von Sydow has one of those roles where he's not even in the movie that much but he still manages to be the secret sauce that makes the whole thing work. You need an actor in that role who has gravitas X10 and nobody was better at that than him.
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Oct 1, 2023 17:55
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The Exorcist is immortal. Not only is it freaky as poo poo, I find it to be a very touching movie. And it's both a nifty twist and thematically pleasing that the title character is actually Father Karras. The whole 70s atmosphere and verisimilitude helps it immensely. Something about that decade just exudes scariness. Case in point: I can't think of any other decade a movie like this could become one of the biggest hits of all time!
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Oct 4, 2023 12:22
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Noroi: The Curse was fun but I think I did it a disservice by not getting around to it until after I'd already gotten through most of the big found footage movies of the 2010s (it also relies on special effects that have not aged well). I remember the movie enjoying an almost urban legend-level reputation for scariness in the 2000s and I think it would've affected me much more then. But don't let this stop anyone from checking it out! Still highly enjoyable.
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Oct 4, 2023 12:43
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(Warning: Flashing lights) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyW5YXDcIGs I'd actually be interested in getting the straight story on this trailer. It's described as "Original Theatrical Trailer" but it clearly sports a 1979 copyright date, so it must've been for a rerelease? Also tons of blogs insist this trailer was "banned" for being "too terrifying" but I've heard all kinds of anecdotes from people saying they'd seen it out in the wild back in the day. Anyhow, a very striking piece regardless! On a different note: "You, too, can see The Exorcist!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtsoxsSh7I
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Oct 4, 2023 13:00
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For people who've seen both: Theatrical or Director's Cut for The Exorcist? My library has both, but the theatrical is currently out on loan and won't be back for a bit.
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Oct 4, 2023 18:54
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Meaty Ore posted:For people who've seen both: Theatrical or Director's Cut for The Exorcist? My library has both, but the theatrical is currently out on loan and won't be back for a bit. I don't think there's really a clear consensus on that. It's one of those situations where the additions to the Director's Cut are a mixed bag and most people like some of it but not necessarily all of it. May as well just go with the version that the library has.
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Oct 4, 2023 21:53
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Iirc aside from the opening sequence the only major difference is that the DC has a bunch of where’s waldo bullshit with spooky faces, isnt it?
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Oct 5, 2023 01:08
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Babysitter Super Sleuth posted:Iirc aside from the opening sequence the only major difference is that the DC has a bunch of where’s waldo bullshit with spooky faces, isnt it? DC has the spider walk on the stairs. It's been many years but I remember the inclusion/exclusion of that causing arguments at the time.
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Oct 5, 2023 05:28
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Go with the theatrical if you can. The extended cut actually has a lot of little edits all over the place and added music and CGI, and virtually none of it is an improvement.
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Oct 5, 2023 05:36
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Zogo posted:DC has the spider walk on the stairs.  I guess I've never seen the theatrical then. Wtf, that's like the most iconic visual.
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Oct 6, 2023 04:10
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Jeremiah Flintwick posted:
Directors Cut came out in 2000 so in a few years we can celebrate the 25th anniversary. So yea, it's been around for about half of the life of the movie overall. The Exorcism of Emily Rose, just for example, came out in 2005 so it had plenty of time to be influenced by that Director's Cut released in 2000.
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Oct 6, 2023 05:27
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The spider walk scene is rad but I feel like it ramps up the wtf factor way too soon. Arent they still sending Reagan to therapists and sleep studies and poo poo when that just gets plunked in all of a sudden?
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Oct 6, 2023 06:46
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weekly font posted:The spider walk scene is rad but I feel like it ramps up the wtf factor way too soon. Arent they still sending Reagan to therapists and sleep studies and poo poo when that just gets plunked in all of a sudden? It comes right after Chris gets the news of her producer friend having been killed by falling out the window, which I believe comes after Regan's initial doctor's visit but before the scene where she gets hypnotized by a psychotherapist. So, while it makes sense that Chris would still see doctors of some kind, I feel seeing that happen would necessitate jumping to a more extreme hospitalization option or something, because that is way outside the pale.
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Oct 6, 2023 15:13
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Got my rewatches of these two in today. Love them both. The exorcist is just an amazingly well made movie that can be picked over for themes for hours (personally I like the feminist reads of the film). Noroi is one of the best found footage flicks you can watch imo. I love how it weaves the different sources footage together. The characters are great too, my fav being Hori the tinfoil wearing man who knows just how dangerous Kagutaba is. Anyway, two movies about women being possessed approach in completely different ways that both kick rear end.
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Oct 6, 2023 20:51
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Watched The Exorcist last night. I've probably seen the whole thing in bits and pieces over the years but this was my first time watching it all the way through. Really good! The scariest parts to me were by far the hospital scenes. Like a lot of 70's movies it takes a little while to get going, but once it does it's a great ride. The only part I didn't like was the beginning in Iraq. It's well shot and edited and what not but I think it gives the film too much scope. It would be much more effective and scary in my opinion if they just stuck to the local Georgetown setting throughout the film. In fact you could probably just cut out the Max von Sydow character entirely. He's awesome but his character doesn't add a whole lot to the film (except the really good scene with him and Jason Miller on the stairs, but you could easily put Ellen Burstyn in that scene without losing anything). Still it's a great film and I can see why it's up there as one of the greatest.
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Oct 9, 2023 02:18
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I personally thought the spider walk was more zany than scary so I say theatrical
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Oct 9, 2023 05:49
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Rollos posted:you could probably just cut out the Max von Sydow character entirely. this is a loving wild take and i defend alien 3 as a better movie than aliens
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Oct 9, 2023 09:17
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In the spirit of our double-feature, check out this J-horror take on The Exorcist, an 8-page comic by manga legend Kazuo Umezu published in a Japanese magazine in 1974 to promote the film, made from stills and Umezu's illustration:  https://inkimood.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/kazuo-umezus-the-exorcist/
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Oct 10, 2023 19:24
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I think this is my first time seeing the exorcist as a whole film and not just parts on tv. It struck me how long they spend on trying to find other causes besides possession. The actual exorcism isn’t until the last 30 minutes. The conjuring universe though is extremely ready to go right to possession. It’s an interesting contrast.
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Oct 18, 2023 19:30
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Noroi is definitely creepy and got to me times. Fantastic watch. I like how it takes some of the best from Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity and puts them in one film. Also just don’t adopt spooky kids. It never works out.
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Oct 25, 2023 15:29
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Got around to watching Exorcist a couple days ago, Director's Cut. I also checked the book out of the library at the same time, just to compare. First, I think the movie holds up pretty well overall. I like how the possession comes on gradually, starting with just some odd bumps in the attic at night and progressing through sleepwalking, sudden mood swings, and the demonic personality showing up only intermittently before Regan is (almost) fully subsumed. It helps justify most of the runtime being devoted to seeking medical solutions before anyone brings up demonic possession or exorcism, and even then only suggest the latter in terms of it being a psychosomatic remedy. And, yeah, the one medical procedure was far more wince-inducing than any of the possession-related effects on display. The acting was excellent all around, maybe one of the best casting jobs I've seen. Everyone seems to inhabit their roles, and for at least a few characters I can't imagine anyone else playing them. Book comparison: it's a hard call, since the movie is an incredibly close adaptation, but I am going to have to say the movie holds up better. First, it cuts a few unnecessary subplots, like the detrimental effect the situation has on Chris' career and Kinderman's suspicion that Karl may have killed Burke Dennings. Second, it also cuts out a lot of the research Karras does into possession-related literature; while we don't get to see his thought process at work in deciding to seek approval for an exorcism as we do in the book, a lot of the "scientific" literature he was reviewing just doesn't feel like it would hold up to modern scrutiny. It's also unnecessary detail that could safely be cut in the interest of time. As for the additions made to the Director's Cut, I thought they were fine for the most part; the "spider walk" scene fit in seamlessly as far as I could tell, though the effects used seemed pretty awkward. The "anti-transfiguration" scene during the actual exorcism seemed jarringly out of place and shoehorned in, however. I tend to miss continuity errors a lot of times, but this was absolutely egregious. It's still a very good movie, though, even if scarier ones have come out since then.
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Oct 25, 2023 21:08
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checkplease posted:Noroi is definitely creepy and got to me times. Fantastic watch. I like how it takes some of the best from Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity and puts them in one film. When they find the spirit in the woods feels ripped right out of BW.
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Oct 26, 2023 16:20
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Meaty Ore posted:As for the additions made to the Director's Cut, I thought they were fine for the most part; the "spider walk" scene fit in seamlessly as far as I could tell, though the effects used seemed pretty awkward. The "anti-transfiguration" scene during the actual exorcism seemed jarringly out of place and shoehorned in, however. I tend to miss continuity errors a lot of times, but this was absolutely egregious. I'm not a fan of the spiderwalk but yea the other scene is the real offender of making the movie a bit worse.
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Oct 26, 2023 16:22
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The worst part of 'the version you've never seen' is the pazuzu face popping up for no reason. Why is the demon possessing a vent hood? The spider walk happens way too early, too. She goes from that horror to being way less physically hosed up. I really like the bit at the doctor's early in the film. That adds a good step in the progression of the possession, to see Reagan's personality changing a bit more gradually. That's the only addition I like, and even that isn't necessary. The theatrical cut is a very tight, thoughtful film.
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Oct 26, 2023 19:24
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The last time I saw The Exorcist was the 2000 re-release theatrically, appropriately at a drive-in theater when I was working there during weekends while in high school. All I could remember is that the film terrified me and I hadn't been keen on revisiting it since. With the new restoration and 4K reissue on disc (I imported the UK edition for the extras and Blu-ray discs along side the 4Ks), I thought it was worth re-watching. (Plus seeing II and III afterward) One thing that surprised me is how little of the movie is a devoted to the actual exorcism. It's such a slow burn with the threads of the McNeils, Karras, and Kinderman. Friedkin and Blatty also lure you into a false sense of security by firmly establishing reality, as far as having Chris be an actress and having a film set shown. Surely there isn't anything supernatural possible? It makes the glimpses of evil that much more shocking because it couldn't possibly happen. Every single performance in this film is just incredible. My wife remarked how great it was that an actual old man was playing Father Merrin. She was surprised that Max Von Sydow was only in his 40s because of how convincing he plays an elderly priest. Likewise, I'm always fond of actors who pull off their performance with their face and eyes. Jason Miller just has the visual embodiment of a troubled soul, reminding me of how El Greco would paint faces in his work. Ellen Burstyn is likewise incredible in how she never verges on overdone hysterics, but rather realistically portrays a mother being driven to the breaking point. And Linda Blair is astonishing in how she's able to play such a charming young girl and the same girl possessed, even if Mercedes McCambridge's voice work is a large part of it. One shot that gave me chills was after Merrin has died, the possessed Regan just staring blankly at his corpse. I'm not someone who is easily scared with films, but this one got under my skin. Perhaps it's because I was raised Catholic, but you really feel the gravity of the showdown at the end being a battle between good and evil. Even after 50 years, it doesn't come off as silly. I also thought it was interesting how music is used so sparingly (not to mention, it seems like Friedkin rather than Kubrick was the first to use Pedericki for horror). Of course, I had to follow up with first-time viewings of Exorcist II: The Heretic and The Exorcist III. I didn't hate II, but I felt that it had so many interesting ideas and such a good cast, but would gently caress it up at every turn. I'm a fan of John Boorman's work in general, but it felt a lot like him trying to make an Italian giallo/horror like Dario Argento and just failing. III on the other hand, despite some studio meddling, is everything I was hoping II would be. William Peter Blatty really shows off his directing chops, not to mention his incredible knack for writing small talk. It's surreal and weird in all the right ways, gets under your skin, and is magnificently acted. Probably some of the best acting I've seen from George C. Scott. I'll have to check out the "Legion" recut that uses tape footage to reconstruct the original cut, but I still thought it was a terrific film.
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Oct 28, 2023 20:54
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I finally got round to watching the new Exorcist film. It is beyond dreadful. It is actually worse than 2. I'm glad 90 year old Ellen Burstyn got a tonne of cash for her scholarship fund for the probably two days worth of shooting she had to do. That's the only positive thing I can say about this abomination.
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Dec 12, 2023 20:46
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