Dish of the Day (A Long Good Friday Edition)
Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Friday, October 27, 2023
Recently in our film related chat room (readers are welcome to join here) a member made a post about his response to watching The Exorcist (1973). It read:
“Watched The Exorcist for the first time recently. Wasn’t very impressed. Found the effects cheesy and not scary at all. Seemed silly that any could believe it was simply a mental illness when the girls face clearly deformed and inhuman looking.
At the end of the day I think the biggest flaw is that simply the whole genre of possession is lame and unscary.
In particular children are never scary with the exception of maybe Culkin in The Good Son
Thoughts?”
There were well over 100 responses with so many agreeing that the film was not scary and therefore disappointing, they prompted my own comments as follows:
Those of us who saw the Theatrical Version when it was first released, are far more likely to have approached The Exorcist as a story, with no expectation as to what it was supposed to do. More contemporary audiences are likely to have formidable preconceptions based on its reputation handed down from the previously mentioned audiences. These preconceptions, whether known or hiding in the subconscious, typically inhibit one from becoming naturally immersed in the story and its people. "Okay, go ahead and scare me" they are likely to say to themselves, like a joke that is so anticipated to generate copious amounts of laughter, nothing can measure up. Their absorption in the drama is compromised considering the effect it's supposed to generate. That's not what cinema (at least in a semi-sophisticated form) is designed to do. That's a theme park ride. A substantial narrative involvement is necessary for a deeper emotional response to take hold. Those use to a formulaic diet of easy to achieve scare tactics where stock figures have substituted for the carefully developed characters and situational conflicts witnessed in The Exorcist, are certain to be disappointed. My advice to those who still have not seen this film is to skip the Director's Version including all its variations, * and only watch The Theatrical Version with an open mind.
* These newer versions, tinkered with mainly to appease modern day audiences, also detract from the central dramatic conflicts. Their comparison to the Theatrical Version can be read about here.
All responses are not only welcomed but encouraged in the comments section below.
Hope to see you Monday, October 30th.
A.G.