The Exorcist - re:View

Be honest, Jay. You didn't buy the soup; you just stole Rich Evans's lunch.

Twit In A Hat

I'm driving down to Los Angeles today from SF and can't bear to stop at the traditional rest / lunch stop, Pea Soup Andersen's, because this is too fresh in my mind! I just can't do it!

Jessie Leigh

An excellent review. I highly recommend watching the Mark Kermode Documentary from 1998 as you mentioned. I found it on the youtube! Here's the link if you fancy a watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rQvaClQSKQ

Doesn’t do much for me on the scare factor but it’s a really well shot film. Some lovely long shots, beautifully framed. You can tell they were inspired by paintings. The lighting is amazing too. I’d have liked more dialogue but loved the scenes where the priests sit resting between rounds with the demon. Guess I’ll have to watch the French Connection now.

Peter Robinson

Great as always guys! Can we expect a Half in the Bag about Ad Astra?

Rodrigo Natali

That's also, imo, one of the best WotW. The guys were on fire that day. I still chuckle at Jack's "Quit rubbing your mom jeans!"

AllGoodNamesRGone

One of the serial killers interviewed in Mindhunter S2 performed the cerebral angiography in the film. How's that for creepy? Paul Bateson.

Giwan Kim

(After writing that totally from memory, I double-checked the Internet and I was right!) http://thewonderfulworldofstupid.blogspot.com/2011/04/mad-ecchorcist.html

Daniel Frank

Regarding the rip-off movies, the punchline of the MAD magazine parody was that the Devil says he’ll give up possession of Linda Blair if they guarantee six more Devil movies. Von Sydow comments that it was easy to guarantee that because there’ll be dozens of rip-offs.

Daniel Frank

Excellent video, guys. I grew up on horror films, watch them more than any other genre, and yet have only seen this movie three times in my life because I find it so disturbing and unsettling on a level that is hard to articulate so I really appreciate Jay and Josh going into that aspect of the film as deep as they did.

Sarzac

Sorry to speak a cliché but the Seventies were a different time, before the wave of *so much* horror-based media. I read the book at in the late 70's (when I was maybe 10-12) and saw the moves a few years later, and while by that time the movie's effect was already watered down by parody, the book was scary (and a bit sad, too). I was also at the time a serious Catholic; that context helped make the story scary to me too.

Katy

Wait, you never heard that phrase before RLM videos?

But has anyone given Mike Oldfield's Hergest Ridge a listen? Side 2 has one of the most insane moments of music ever recorded! Many dozens of guitar tracks were overdubbed on old analogue equipment to make this bizarre 'concert guitar' noise.

Paul Lilienthal

I've been using "lightning in a bottle" since that first mention to describe the value of having the right team. It's so helpful to condense all the details of it into a bite sized phrase! Thanks again for putting the thought into that!

Jessie Leigh

Tubular Bells re:View, when?

Andre K

You guys are definitely the Mike Oldfield of YouTube reviewers with how much care you put into editing each video you put out.

We love Exorcist 3, which is why we have a full re:View of it coming.

Red Letter Media

Oh no! This Patreon page is now haunted by Pazuzu! 😨

William Adderholdt

Yeah I’m not religious and if anything modern horror films have weathered away my interest in the paranormal/supernatural sub genre because they’re all too similar to me, but I adore The Exorcist and Exorcist III for how grounded and serious the films take themselves. What I love about the first one in particular is how it felt like a book. The scares are not littered throughout the movie they punctuate the end of scenes like a good cliffhanger of the end of a chapter. It is always building to those moments and that’s what makes it scary. Bring on Exorcist III, I’m thrilled to hear you guys talk about it.

Lauren R

I’ll get all my Pazuzu pendants out, along with my Captain Howdy phone case, *and* my autographed photo of Linda Blair as Regan. Then I’m all set to watch!

Gina Pazuzu

The demon is masturbating, and the demon is in control. Reagan's self-mutilation is the bi-product. At least, that's the interpretation that leads people to talk about it that way. Also, it identifies the scene more easily in public than calling it the "self-mutilated genitals" scene.

Paul Lilienthal

This was nice, but there's one peeve I have with it: the scene, where Reagan stabs herself with a cross between the legs has been referenced to as the "masturbation" scene since practically forever... and I could never for the hell of it understand why. This is not a masturbation scene, it's a self mutilation scene... nobody in the history of the world ever has masturbated by repeatedly, violently ramming a sharp object into their own genitals till they bleed.

Manuel Johnen

fuck yeah! This is so awesome, I'm gonna watch this later, when my mind is free and receptive. Thanks Jay and Josh for this re:view!

Marvin Falz

Great re:view, guys. The 'scary' debate is interesting. In modern context, horror can basically be broken into, a jump-scared laden, loud noise-a-thon (which can be just fine), meant for quick cinema entertainment or something that cuts a lot deeper, gets under your skin and leaves a lasting impression, like The VVitch. I can appreciate why The Exorcist is scary but I simply don't get any sort of 'fear' from it. It's an interesting example of how our attitude to horror has changed over time. I would say that the parodies of the film have definitely devalued it. I only first saw the film in 2013 and I was certainly much more aware of the iconic imagery through parody than any of the actual film. I imagine it would be quite something to transport yourself back to its first release to see it through fresh eyes.

Adam Ageli

Nice job, guys. Re:View is quickly becoming my favorite series on RLM. (I also love HITB.) I have one ticklish issue with this episode, however: why not much love for Exorcist 3? I realize by comparison that it isn’t as memorable nor as culturally relevant as The Exorcist, but it’s still an excellent little horror movie, and a decidedly fine sequel. Sequels to horror movies usually don’t even approach the same quality as the original, but I feel that Exorcist 3 gets closer than most. Brad Douriff’s insane, over the top performance, alone, is reason enough to recommend Exorcist 3.

Aaron Sarlo

By the time Karras throws himself through the window, I was so exhausted I didn't remember it after the movie. Amazing film.

Silentphil9

That sounds like a great blaxploitation movie with Pam Grier.

AllGoodNamesRGone

This is why I love RLM. Only RLM would bring up Beyond the Door and The Bare Wench Project in the same conversation. Kudos, fellas.

AllGoodNamesRGone

Christmas came on October 1st this year!

I’m gonna be watching this for the first time this week, so this is fun timing! 🙂

John Seminario

What a boring movie. Why didn't the highschool football team show up at the end and save the day while AC/DC played in the background?

Headsgrowback

If a nun was the main exorcist would the title of the movie be the exorsister?

John Boltons Mustache