Exorcist III Love Thread

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:13pm

I'm watching it now. Not just an underappreciated movie, but one of the best horror films in the past 20 years.

(doodle, back me up on this.)

I'm watching it now, and it's so well done. The acting, writing, direction, music, camera work, everything.

Perfection.

George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Viveca Lindfors, and Brad Dourif are all excellent.

This movie BOMBED when it came out. Such a shame. Anyone else love this movie?

And for those of you looking for a Halloween treat this time of year... check it out!

Oh, and read the book by William Peter Blatty (who directed this film). The book is great too!

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:17pm

Unquestionably, my favorite horror film.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:23pm

Wow, JB2!

I'm scouring the Internet while I watch it. I didn't realize Colleen Dewhurst is the voice of Satan (dubbing many people, as needed) in this movie.

I forgot how great Jason Miller is, as well. God bless, Jason!

In addition to this being a great horror film, it's also a great detective movie. Take away the supernatural stuff, and you have a brilliant crime/drama.

It blows movies like "Zodiac" out of the water! It actually makes them look amateurish by comparison.

Also: Look for quick cameos from Samuel L. Jackson, Fabio, C. Everett Coop and Larry King!

And I love that they used "Tubular Bells" oh-so-briefly in the score. Just like they did in the first film.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:23pm

She keeps a carp in the bathtub...

I enjoyed this film. Poor Jason Miller. I miss him!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:27pm

It's a Wonderfull[sic] Life.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:31pm

How spectacular and creepy are those opening shots? You're right about it being a first-rate crime thriller! My brother screamed like Fay Wray at that scene in the hospital (with the shears).

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:35pm

That scene... with all the anticipation... and the unexpected straightforward action...

It's one of the best in any horror film ever.

But you have to watch it from the beginning and let it build.

And then... God, help you!

I also can't shake Viveca Lindfors crawling around on the ceiling. That image is at once vulgar, funny, terrifying, vaudevillian and brilliant... all in one subtle camera angle.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:44pm

I have dreams of a rose - and of falling down a long flight of stairs.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:49pm

I think both Jason Miller and Brad Dourif deserved Oscar nominations for this. Essentially the same role, too.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:50pm

As did George C. Scott. Wonderful performances! I mean wonderfull.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:50pm

I have never seen it...

But with a recommendation from Besty, I'm adding it to my list!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:56pm

Addy, watch it with the lights on.

It's not that it's gruesome. Most of the "gross" is left to the imagination... (and that's pretty gross!)... but I know it will scare you! Mostly due to the acting and the camerawork.

Best kind of "scary!"

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 8:57pm

I love that kind of scary!

(I might have to have a friend lined up for a sleepover...)

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:02pm

By the way, it makes no difference if you've seen Exorcist II: The Heretic.

This (far superior) sequel basically pretends that the second film never happened. I would recommend seeing the first movie, however.

Oh... and a sidenote: another shout-out to the great work by the head nurse in the hospital playing Nurse Allerton (her name is Nancy Fish). Excellent job. I'd love to have seen her take on Nurse Ratched. She would have killed in that part!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:03pm

Have seen the first. A classic.

I just Netflixed Exorcist III.
If you see me posting LATE some night, you'll know I watched...

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:09pm

Besty, are you on some kind of "gruesome" kick???? That seems to be your favorite word this week!

Addy, you know I love you, but when I come for the sleepover, can we watch something a little tamer, like Ernest Goes to Camp? (which is scary in a "different" way!)

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:09pm

We'll have a support group ready for you, Addy, whenever you need it.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:23pm

The very first time I saw the film, my wife and I had fallen asleep in our living room. She on the sofa and me on the floor, watching an extremely heavy snowfall, though our sliding glass door, late at night. We both awoke around 3:00 am, and couldn't go back to sleep, so she suggested ordering a pay-per-view movie (literally, the first and last time we ever did that), and Exorcist 3 was the one we selected. It seemed extra creepy to be watching it at such a late hour, with the still quiet of the snowfall. There's a moment in a scene at a rectory, when the lights flicker. At that very moment in the film, our lights flickered as well, from the snow. My wife started to freak, saying, "Turn it off! Turn it off!" LOL

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:34pm

JB2---I had that same thing happen while watching "The Lady In White" with Lucas Haas! Not as good of a film, but still a terrific ghost story. There was a moment where Katherine Helmond was walking outside the house and a bolt of lightning struck. At the moment it flashed across the TV screen, my power went out.

I don't think I've been the same since.


EDIT: I bed pardon, it wasn't Viveca crawling across the ceiling in that one scene, it was that other older patient.

Updated On: 10/5/08 at 09:34 PM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:37pm

I've never seen The Lady in White. I'll have to check it out. Have you ever seen The Woman in Black, British made-for-television film? Very creepy.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:40pm

No, I haven't.

JB2---check out The Lady In White, but it's not "the ultimate horror movie." It's just a really good, creepy ghost story.

And Len Cariou has a few moments in this film that show you EXACTLY why he was the best "Sweeney Todd" ever.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:43pm

The Wizard of Oz and Young Frankenstein are as scary as I get.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:44pm

Then stay the hell away from Exorcist III, Miss Penny.

Seriously disturbing.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:50pm

Okay, maybe the truly scariest movies I have seen and can still watch over and over are The Scoundrel and Mad Love.

I had to leave before the end of Silence of the Lambs because it really creeped me out. I know I'm a wimp, but I hope you will continue to "love me as I am." (Saw Side Show today. )

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:52pm

Yeah, George C. Scott definitely deserved a Best Actor nod for this.

Wow.

I could see this working on the stage too! Many of these scenes are like 2-character master studies from plays. Incredible stuff.


EDIT: And YES, Miss Penny, I will love you as you are! In many respects this movie is very much like The Silence of the Lambs. A detective story, a gruesome psychological thriller. Just add a touch of Satan... and a dash of holy water and chill... serves six hundred and sixty six!

Updated On: 10/5/08 at 09:52 PM