Exorcist III Love Thread- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 9:57pm

And yes, I'm on a gruesome movie kick!

This is Scary Movie Month, in case you hadn't heard.

[miss pennywise]

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

Oh, DUH. It's October! Sorry. I just got it.

The thing about Silence of the Lambs is that it wasn't Hannibal who scared me, but the guy keeping the woman in the pit.

I still say Ernest Goes to Camp is frightening.

[Luscious]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 11:16pm

I completely agree. An excellent and vastly underrated film which could have been even better without the studio meddling.

Here are some interesting facts about the film...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exorcist_III

Updated On: 10/5/08 at 11:16 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 11:54pm

Thanks for the link, Luscious! I learned something new from it, too...

I knew the old lady walking with the black veil looked familiar. I didn't realize it was (movie and Broadway star and Oscar-winner) Teresa Wright! What a cameo.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/5/08 at 11:59pm

You failed to tell me about the Fabio cameo, Besty. All you had to do was mention THAT and I would have netflixed it ages ago!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 12:05am

It's just one shot! It's in a dream sequence. Samuel Jackson and Patrick Ewing are in the scene too.

And Larry King and C. Everett Koop are just "extras" in a restaurant scene in Washington DC (of course). It adds a definite touch of realism to have them there, though. Teresa Wright is a cameo too.

I have to say the way Blatty films them, each of those cameos are memorable, though! Indelible imagery. He really should direct more. He knows what he's doing behind the camera.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 6:08am

As you all know, every month is gruesome movie month for me.
I did like the Exorcist III (wasn't it called Legion or sometihng?), especially after the absolute campfest disaster that was The Heretic.
It was all mood and Scott was terrific.
If you want to check out part IV, be aware there are 2 versions of the same movie. A Renny Harlin version, and a Barbet Schroder version. Both have almost the same story, bur Schroder's is the better of the two.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:03am

I saw ExIII for the first time a week ago. I liked it very, very much; as with the first film, I loved how they took the whole thing seriously, with no winking at the audience or the genre.

And the old lady crawling on the ceiling is one of the most amazing images I've ever seen. It could well have been silly, but instead was just chilling.

I still don't quite know who Nichol Williamson was or what he had to do with anything. I mean, I know he was an exorcist, but he seemed a bit plunked in.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:16am

He WAS plunked in. That whole character was added for the movie by stupid studio heads who HAD to have an actual exorcist in their movie which they HAD to call "Exorcist III," even though the book was called "Legion" and had no exorcist in it at all.

That's how Blatty got his film made. IT's not bad, but it doesn't make too much sense because it's underdeveloped in the film.

With usually somewhere around 50 percent of most movies today not making any sense, I'll gladly take the 5 percent of Exorcist III that doesn't.

EDIT: And Taz, for some reason I have no desire whatsoever to see Exorcist IV.

Updated On: 10/6/08 at 10:16 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:17am

Agreed: EXORCIST III is a gem.

You might want to check out Blatty's other film, the bizarre, utterly unclassifiable THE NINTH CONFIGURATION. You won't be dissapointed.

And while we're at it, I gotta throw my props in again for this year's INSIDE (L'INTERIEUR). It truly is a modern horror classic.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:28am

Gaaa! You had this convo without me?!

Kidding...it is indeed a great film. Blatty knows how to tell a story! Read the novel as well...it's even more chilling (I read both of his novels, Exorcist and Legion AFTER seeing the films and they are great, especially the first which has some different plot twists that they exorcised from the film.)

I agree with all of the praise. The "are you here to fix my radio?" lady was GREAT and her ceiling walk is one of my favorite fright moments...another is the amazing direction work of the night nurse's demise (ya know what I mean.) It's tough to actually get me to tense, relax and scare me anymore with all of the horror films I've seen, and that still gets me!

The best part of the film is the relationship between Kinderman and Dyer...two great actors and a true friendship forged through the horrors of the first film.

The first time I saw this, I watched it as a double bill with the first film, which would be a tall order for me, and it surely delivered.

I've only seen the Harlin version of IV, and it stunk...just gross, not scary. It's hard to find the Schroder version, which was not released.

I actually feel like Scott overacted a bit...which he can do at times. He was nominated for a Razzie award for this film.

Dourif deserved an oscar nod, however.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:35am

I agree Scott overacted a bit, but he's always fun. And it's not unexpected; you don't hire Scott if you want underplaying.

Oh, it was a hoot and a half to have Colleen Dewhurst as the voice of the demon!

Can I take a moment to tell my favoite (apocryphal) Dewhurst/Scott story? Apparently one debauched night, the two of them were, as usual, drinking till daylight with Maureen Stapelton. For some reason, at some point, Scott eneded up with his hands around Stapleton's neck, throttling the life out of her. After a moment, Colleen looks up over her scotch glass at the two of them and says, "Hey, George! I'm over here!"
Updated On: 10/6/08 at 10:35 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:37am

Wow. Isn't it amazing how NOT ****ed-up Campbell Scott is?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:38am

Reg, you can take a moment anytime and tell a story.

I loved that they used Dewhurst as the demon's voice. Since I am a big fan of her AND her voice, though, I knew it was her which kind of took the scare out of it.

McCambridge STILL scares me.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:43am

McCambridge is terrifying. It's a performance unto itself: the demon is sly, smart, confident that it's going to win.

At first, I thought that the demon in ExIII WAS McCambridge, somehow. After a few moments, though, it became utterly recognizable.

I loved it because vocally she was perfect, but it was also a brilliantly subtle in-joke.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:43am

Your mother sucks cocks in hell.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:45am

Borstal, you need to do your own line of greeting cards.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:49am

As much as I agree with you about Inside Borstal, I don't think anyone else on this thread should rent that movie. It's extremely hardcore in the gore department.

And I recommend "Frontier(s)" for you Borstal. It's almost equal to Inside in the plasma department.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 10:51am

"As much as I agree with you about Inside Borstal, I don't think anyone else on this thread should rent that movie."

I am TOTALLY going to rent "Inside Borstal"!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 11:00am

Inside Borstal

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 11:10am

INSIDE BORSTAL has been out of print for years, darling. Ryan Idol described it as "the only film I could have done twice".

[Kasie]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 11:14am

Inside is f*cking brilliant.

One of my new faves, but as taz said, extremely gory.
Frontier(s) is a nice little film as well, but I'm not sure if I would put it on the same level as Inside. Two completely different films, with equal amounts of blood. Lots and lots of blood!

As for Exorcist III, never seen it. But I've moved it to the top of my "must see" list.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 12:19pm

I remember seeing Exorcist III and wondering why it flopped so bad. Terrific horror film. I also enjoyed The Lady in White, which I recently added to Netflix since I haven't watched it in ages. Yesterday I watched The Abandonded in HD on Showtime and was pleasantly surprised at how completely drawn in I was at this underrated film. I also must recommend to those who haven't seen them:

A Tale of Two Sisters (quite possibly my favorite)
The Mothman Prophecies
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Ringu
The Devil's Backbone

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 12:44pm

I wonder how the American remake of Tale of Two Sisters will be. Crappy in comparison? Likely.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/6/08 at 1:05pm

Oh God, there's going to be an American remake? I think the only Asian horror film they didn't completely ruin was The Ring (aka Ringu). A Tale of Two Sisters was so creepy and genuinely mystifying all the way to the bitter end which culminated into such a devasting climax, I was left stunned for hours afterward. The art direction and cinematography are wonderful. I want that wallpaper.

Updated On: 10/6/08 at 01:05 PM