Last night I woke up at three o'clock in the morning, and for some unknown reason, I started thinking about The Exorcist as I lay in bed trying to get back to sleep.
Admittedly, this is not the best subject to be dwelling on while alone in your dark bedroom (I was specifically recalling the part where her bed shakes up and down) but it got me thinking about why I love this movie so much, and what it is that truly makes it a great movie.
In general, I hate horror movies. I hate being on the edge of my seat the entire time thinking, "What horribly disgusting thing is going to jump out at me next?" Then afterwards I hate lying in bed that night and replaying the whole awful thing in my head. And being too afraid to pick up the phone/turn on the TV/walk through a dark house/look under your bed for the next 2 months.
But The Exorcist is not like that. There's nothing in it that suddenly goes "BLEHHH!" right in your face. Most of it takes place out in the open in daylight. But still it IS completely frightening. It's frightening in a physcological, almost intellectual way. It makes you scared for a legit reason, not just because your heart's racing.
Why else is it so great? Being possesed by the devil is a deeply terrifying yet also fascinating thought. I can't really explain why I think it's so fascinating... It just is.
The visual effects are nothing short of spectacular.
And most amazingly for a horror movie, the acting, the storyline, and the message (so to speak) it conveys are all very strong.
My question is...are there any other horror movies that are good like that? Other ones I have seen and liked were The Shining and Carrie (the old version). The one I have seen and HATED was The Ring . I literally haven't seen ANY horror movies made in the last 5 years, because The Ring was so traumatizing. And it wasn't even a good movie.
What about Silence of the Lambs? Is that any good?
Posted by Tristan (Member # 1670) on :
I don't watch much horror films, but one I did see and found really frightening (and well made) was The Descent.
*Shudders*
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
I enjoyed The Omen (old version, not the new).
Personally, I also liked Silence of the Lambs. The Ring I found would have been traumatizing except for the end sequence/climax, that kinda killed my immersion in the story for me.