For the first few minutes of The Exorcist: Believer I thought that maybe the reviews were wrong, that they had been too harsh, or maybe didn’t understand what the film was trying to do. It’s opening felt, to me, very much in line with the original film, until the earthquake hit, and from that moment…
Tag: the exorcist
The Ninth Configuration (1980) – William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty the author of The Exorcist, wrote and directed this spiritual sequel, now defined as part of the faith trilogy formed by The Exorcist, The Ninth Configuration, and The Exorcist III. It’s a fascinating film, in parts funny, in parts heartbreaking, and in parts horrifying. In a remote part of the Pacific Northwest…
A Shot in the Dark (1964) – Blake Edwards
The second film in the Pink Panther series could be argued to be the best, it puts all the familiar players on the screen with Peter Sellers, returning as Inspector Jacques Closeau. Herbert Lom is his long-suffering boss, Dreyfus, Burt Kwok is Kato, Closeau’s manservant and sparring partner, and Hercule as played by Graham Stark….
The Exorcist III (1990) – William Peter Blatty
It’s been a long time since I watched William Peter Blatty’s direct his adaptation of his own novel, Legion. After a reshot ending to include an exorcism that didn’t exist in the original novel or screenplay, we are left with an uneven film that does a poor job to illustrate Blatty’s nature as a storyteller….
In Conversation with John Landis
Today is my birthday, so it seems like the perfect moment to share this wonderful gift DK Canada gave me. Director John Landis has overseen the compilation of a new anthology, Haunted Houses, and it is perfect reading for the Halloween season. It’s a fantastic collection, and DK Canada arranged for me to speak with…
TAD 2018: The Inhabitant (2017) – Guillermo Amoedo
It’s unfortunate that The Exorcist is considered the gold standard in horror films, because the film having its Canadian Premiere at the Scotiabank Theatre as part of the Toronto After Dark film festival is no doubt going to draw comparisons because of it’s subject matter. And that is unfortunate, because the Mexican/Chilean coproduction of The…
My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2016) – Grady Hendrix
Where do I even start with this book? I enjoyed this one so much. We were in the local Chapters, and I was immediately caught by the cover. It’s designed to look like a 1980s horror movie on VHS. And the story embraces everything you loved about the 80s – the shows, the music, the…
Queen of Spades: The Dark Rite (2015) -Svyatoslav Podgayevskly
It’s always interesting to see what genre films look like from other countries, and this Friday at select cities across the country, and on VOD on the 19th, we can have a look at Russia’s Queen of Spades. A riff on the Bloody Mary urban legend that is seemingly as old as mankind, the…
The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King. If there was ever a movie to give me nightmares, it would be this one, though it’s never happened. I love every chance I get to revisit this film, and seeing it on the list of 101 Horror Movies just gave me my most recent excuse to watch it again….
The Mind Reels 