I saw it for the first time last year. So much hype. I thought the genuinely scary part was from the perspective of a parent having something seriously and mysteriously harming your child and feeling helpless to stop it, but beyond that, meh.
I feel like we’re all pretty jaded these day vis a vis blood and gore horror. The first 90 seconds of any given episode of Bones is way gorier than anything I ever saw in a Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street movie.
Yeah I’ve never thought The Exorcist was particularly scary. Maybe if you believe in all that and actually think it happens you’d be scared by it.
I did see it in theaters when it had a limited re-release back in 2000. It does play much better in an actual dark theater.
I disagree about the Exorcist not being a great film. It was groundbreaking in its ‘73 release and brought the horror genre to a new level of realism (as real as demons can be, that is). It’s also great film-making—effectively building suspense and intensity. It creates a slow-burn sense of dread. It also explores the psychology of good vs. evil and faith. Great cinematography and strong actor performances, too.
I’ve never believed in the supernatural, but I was able to suspend belief and have my pants scared off by the Exorcist.
I think one factor is that a lot of the effects don’t hold up with time. So things that were scary in 1973 are less scary to modern audiences where the FX cracks are showing. (We are also less religious now as a population, which might also contribute.) I don’t think it is a bad film, it just didn’t knock my socks off as I was hoping.
But…did you see Reagan’s spider walk down the stairs (that scene wasn’t in the original)! 
C’mon, that had to scare the pants off you!
I’m an arachnophobe, so maybe it scared me more than others.
But, yes some of the effects are cheesy by today’s standards (though pretty good for the time). I wish there was a way to composite new effects onto the original film in a realistic way.
This is an excellent example of practical effects being incredibly creepy/scary.
If the film were made today, she would be totally CGI and I would be rolling my eyes. I have very little tolerance for the videogame-level CGI just about every film uses today. Just not scary to have people and objects obviously animated.
I agree, for the most part. Since the movie Tron (1982), too many movies have relied on too much CGI.
Done right, and not over-done, CGI effects are great (I use them myself in projects, using Adobe After Effects). But if done wrong, and overdone, it looks terrible.
The best effects, IMHO, are those that balance CGI with old fashion makeup, models, and prosthetics. You can achieve a realistic, organic look that way.
No love for A Quiet Place? I thought that was quite good.
We are probably gonna watch The Babadook tonight. I’m hoping it’s not too scary for me. I read a brief synopsis of the film and it deals with themes I find fascinating, so I wanna see it. Anyone seen it? Thoughts?
It’s really good. Scary, and not in a jumpy kinda way.
It’s an excellent film. The insomnia/grief/mental ill health issues makes you question what is real in an intriguing way.
MiM
The rare film that lived up to the considerable build-up. Works on a variety of levels. Very well done.
I didn’t care for the Babadook. But, non spoiler, the scene where she’s recounting events and realizes she sounds like a lunatic is excellent