Went from 2 hours of sleep two nights ago to 3.5 last night, too. Maybe things are looking up?
#9: The Exorcist
Since I consider myself an avid horror movie enthusiast it's a little strange that it took me so long to see what is so often considered to be THE horror movie. I've always firmly believed that there is no such thing as a good horror movie because good actors typically don't do horror; the plots are usually so thin and the dialogue so poorly written that any actor is relegated to how suspicious he or she can look when a noise is heard, how heavy he or she can breath when hiding from something, and how loud he or she can scream when caught or tortured. If this is true (and it seems to be), The Exorcist is special because it is so much more than that. There are no cheap scares to be found here, which is pretty miraculous considering current horror movies offer little beyond that. This movie relies entirely on atmosphere and exploiting the human psyche through unnatural and disconcerting depictions. One can't help but be made uncomfortable with the human vulnerability represented in the film--through Linda Blair's character who cannot control her own body as well as through her mother who can't fix the situation, doctors who can't determine what's wrong, and a priest with a distinct emotional weakness. The viewer can't shake the ominous message that there might be forces beyond our control. Here the viewers aren't supposed to jump, they're supposed to squirm.
It is amazing to me that in the 30+ years since this film was released no one has been able to match it. I can see why in the 1970's this became a phenomenon; it's so incredibly discomforting. Horror now unsuccessfully emulates many of the film's characteristics. The supernatural, rather than evoked simply as it is in The Exorcist with an independently moving bed, a thrown voice, and a spinning head, is now utilized through elaborate situations involving immortality and excessively elaborate make-up and special effects. The further removed something is from reality, however, the less unnerving it is.
What is most interesting, though, is how poorly vulgarity is used today. Current horror films are needlessly vulgar--using language, sex, and gore as sales draws. The Exorcist was able to purposefully use vulgarity. The things that the young girl in the film was doing were no different than the things that unabashed modern filmmakers employ regularly today, but the context made them infinitely more effective. The degeneration of the young girl occurs methodically and suggests it could happen to anyone. The language she uses is shocking because the viewer has seen what a sweet girl she starts out as. The masturbation scene is so incredibly disturbing in the same way. Even the scenes in the hospital were gut-wrenching because we know the procedures the girl undergoes will be futile, so she is being put through mind-numbing pain for no reason. These aren't examples of shock value for the sake of shock value but rather the means for creating an atmosphere of uncontrollable perversity.
Needless to say I enjoyed this one. I had no idea it was based off of a book so I'm very interested in checking that out because I heard it was very popular when it first came out. I imagine it's more that "Best Seller" literature rather than legitimately profound literature, but I will say that there were some unaccounted for scenes in the movie that I'd like to see if the book tied in. I'd love to say that someone is eventually going to be able to make something comparable to this, but even the Exorcist sequels weren't able to come close. Unfortunately, I have a feeling horror is going to persist as the reject genre.
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