[Steve Dunlap]

Before I conquered The Exorcist, Phantasm was a very scary movie for me….however, some of the edge was taken off when I saw it classified as a “science fiction horror movie” at one point….so I was able to watch it with a little more fortitude, since I am a science fiction geek–when I'm not busy being a rock star. 🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

As I got a little older, I too had a crush on Linda Blair…when I was 12 (which was 7 years after the film came out, I was like “I wish I was born at the same time she was.  I think I'm in love with her. :)  )

[Steve Dunlap]

Bravo, Mon Capitaine!   It is so amazing watching the ingenuity of the filmmakers to get the shots they needed to make this landmark film.  🙂

 

Nice assembly there, sir!

[Steve Dunlap]

Well told, Karras. 🙂

Mirabile dictu, don't you agree?  😀

[Steve Dunlap]

Possession of this form generally seems to mean that the original personality of the host is “displaced” by the invading spirit.  The demon was not going to let Regan go…so essentially, she was a prisoner inside her own defiled body.  And in the novel, the demon was clearly having more than just outward physical effects on her.  He was affecting her sleep, which was affecting her heart and other vital body functions.  The demon even said: “She will never sleep!” when Karras tried to examine her during the exorcism (if memory serves).  

 

So, she was truly in there, with whatever other souls/spirits Pazuzu had in tow.    (Again…personal opinion…not to be taken as fact or even authoritative). 🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

Thank you, good father. 🙂

 

In actuality, the demon could probably have gone anywhere he wanted.  🙂

An in-story idea might be that Karras may  have successfully banished the demon because of his selfless act. Back to hell, perhaps?

 

Another thought, upon reading the novel, when Pazuzu misspoke himself by saying : “I’m the devil!”  and then later recanting by saying “Just a poor struggling demon.  A devil.  A subtle distinction, but not one entirely lost upon our father who is in hell.  Incidentally, you won’t mention my little slip of the tongue to him now, Karras, eh?  When you see him.:”  It’s quite possible that ol’ Satan himself decided to punish Pazuzu and keep him in hell after his failed possession, especially for that wee bit o’ hubris.

[Steve Dunlap]

Not to mention, demons likely can't be killed anyway….at least, not by us mere mortals. 🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

I also agree with Karras.   Slasher flicks just aren't scary.   The closest thing to a “slasher” flick that was truly scary was ALIEN…and that's not even really a “slasher” flick.  Sure, a monstrous alien creature stalks six surviving crewmembers of a vast star freighter, but you really didn't see the creature that much.   It was the “less is more” approach that really set this film off.   It was the “intruder in their home” psychological aspect.  Being cut off from any help.  The unknown.

 

Fr. Bowdern, my personal view on the demon at the end of The Exorcist is that it left Karras just as Karras jumped out the window.  I didn't see it as one of those parasitic types that absolutely has to exist in a host, but it also probably faced mortality if it did indeed stick with Karras unto death.   It was more, to me, like “I have you…I have you, now, Karras!”   When Karras regained his senses, his thought seemed to be “I'm taking you with me you bastard!”    And then, as soon as he jumped through the window, Pazzuzu was like: “So sorry, not this time.” and fled the body.

[Steve Dunlap]

Nice!  Thank you for sharing. 🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

Oh, yeah, I knew King was very unhappy with the Kubrick adaptation.   It was great that he started taking a much more active role in the adaptations of his novels.  🙂

 

And I also cannot see how The Shinging could surpass The Exorcist, but then again, peoples' fears are different…what might scare the bejeezus out of me in The Exorcist might be good for a laugh for someone else, where as something in The Shinging probably gives them the pee-doodles just thinking about it. 🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

From everything I've understood…the miniseries of “The Shining” was far closer to the novel than the Kubrick film…largely because of the main character's gradual descent into madness…whereas in a 2 hour film like the Kubrick version, you have Jack Nicholson, who really acted  as if he was already halfway there anyways.

 

I have both versions, and I enjoy them for very different reasons…..Kubrick's “The Shining” is a “right here, right now” scare, whereas the miniseries is much more subtle, and paced. 🙂

 

Blessed are the fenceriders, for they shall surely be afflicted with chafes. 🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

Does nothing when I view it either.  I think you have to have Facebook to actually play it, and I've no interest in social networking sites. 

[Steve Dunlap]

Gumbloid, I totally get where you're coming from.

Now granted I did not see the second X-files movie…in fact, I never even saw the first film in its entirety, however, I do get where you're coming from with Star Trek Insurrection.

 

Indeed, the first three Trek (Next Generation) movies felt like overblown two-hour episodes to me.   They were written by small screen writers (although I loved Ronald D. Moore's work through much of TNG and DS9, and his work for the new Battlestar Galactica), and  First Contact and Insurrection were directed by a TV director (Jonathan Frakes)….and Generations was directed by a small screen (TV) director.     The results were completely obvious.   To the casual observer, the first three TNG films of TREK  were just “what episode is this?”.

 

Nemesis, the fourth TNG Trek film, despite splitting the fanbase down the middle, was at least written partially by a big screen writer (John Logan, Gladiator) and directed by a big screen director (Stuart Baird, Executive Decision, and before all that…an excellent editor of many films).   For me, Nemesis was my favorite of the TNG films because it had a genuinely big-screen feel to it…and did not feel like an overblown episode the way Generations, First Contact, and Insurrection did.   It was certainly the least favored of all four TNG films, and with good reason, but I loved it….hell, the last half of the movie was one big space battle.

 

Now, that said, that's why I was also disappointed in “Serenity” as “Firefly”'s big screen outing.

 

Here's where I think part of the problem lies….   visual FX.    Let's face it…a lot of television visual effects are almost on par with a lot of big screen visual FX we see today, largely thanks to Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).   Shows like Firefly and the new Battlestar Galactica were too big for the small screen, and yet, a movie like Serenity, in my humble opinion, was just too small for the big screen.  The movie plays nice on Blu-Ray, but when I saw it on the big screen, I was severely disappointed.   The story was excellent, don't get me wrong, but I expect a big screen feel out of a sci-fi epic such as Serenity, and I just didn't get that.

 

So was my feelings for the first three Trek TNG films.   Appy-polly loggies for my repetitive nature….a few drinks I've had.  🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

Don said:

Do you think that the Exorcist III Gemini Killer was an influence on Ledger’s Joker?

If I may chime in, I saw a little bit of Gemini Killer in the Ledger version of the Joker, as well as (oddly enough) a bit of The Crow.

 

Rat Boy, are you a fan of Battlestar Galactica as well?   I loved both the original and recent series.  🙂

[Steve Dunlap]

Welcome, dreamdemon!  Nice gif there btw.  Well done! 🙂

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