Honey, did you hear that? Hm? Go back to sleep.
... hello? Is there anybody up here?
Who was that? ... What is that? This is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, in-depth reviews in four minutes or less, I'm your
host, Jonathan Paula. Tonight in our second annual Halloween Special, I'll be reviewing
three more classics in the horror genre, beginning with the most successful, "The Exorcist".
This supernatural horror film based on William Petter Blatty's play of the same name was
released to international acclaim the day after Christmas in 1973. The $12-million dollar
production by director William Friedkin was a massive box office hit, grossing over $440
million, making it the ninth-most successful film in American history when adjusted for
inflation. Inspired by an alleged real-life exorcism in the 1940's, the 122-minute narrative
takes its sweet time setting up the disturbing story: An innocent teenage girl in a Washington
DC suburb becomes increasingly violent and unresponsive after being inhabited by an evil
demon. Ellen Burstyn plays the dutiful mother in an Oscar-nominated turn, showcasing a fantastic
emotional range, as she is overcome with fear and anger at her daughter's worsening condition.
With the aid of some overly colorful language, Linda Blair figuratively disappears into the
role of the frighteningly demonic child, truly convincing the audience she has transformed
into another personality. With the help of some expert make-up, Max von Sydow is featured
as the title character, somehow appearing older then than he does today, over 40 years
later. When visiting priest Jason Miller shares his reluctance to perform any sort of religious
ritual, Burstyn furiously quips, "Nothing you could do could make it any worse." This
singular line, perhaps more so than the terrifying make-up, gruesome sound effects, or atmospheric
lighting is the scariest aspect of the "The Exorcist". Her overwhelming sense of helplessness
as a loved on is entirely consumed by The Devil himself. That being said, the aforementioned
costumes, cinematography, and effects are all impeccable: especially the award-winning
sound design which is positively chill-inducing. Speaking of awards, the impressive 10 Academy
Award nominations included one for "Best Picture", making this R-rated classic the first horror
film to receive such honors. Some genuine moments of shock from the actors were reportedly
obtained by Friedkin's abrasive techniques, which included physically harming his talent
to achieve true anguish. The now iconic theme, "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield is heard
only once during the movie proper, but is a cold and unsettling backdrop during the
closing credits. Despite the magnificent acting, and scarier scenes, the film is markedly less
interesting whenever Blair is absence from the 16:9 frame... which unfortunately is a
great deal of the time. Indeed, the first forty five minutes of this picture honestly
should have been exorcised from the runtime, as this slow development offers no memorable
sequences or critical exposition. One of these earlier scenes sees two men at a dinner party
fighting over accusations of Nazi-involvement... an entirely superfluous and irrelevant aside
that is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Impressively though, the behavior surrounding
the demonic events are handled with expert believability... especially during a final
sequence that is irresistibly unnerving. There's never any true explanation or curiosity surrounding
this... no real examination of "why". Perhaps most importantly, the movie is never really
scary... a little girl is possessed, and it's generally unpleasant, but that's all there
is to it. This is however, an undisputed horror movie legend, and a worthy experience for
all fans of the genre. "The Exorcist" may exhibit brief glimpses of terror, but is pointlessly
drawn out, and often boring. Well, at least I thought so - here's some of your opinions.
You commended this picture on being scary even today, scoring it an AWESOME. Sadly,
I can't agree... in fact, I was rarely scared by anything, so I have to rate it an ALRIGHT.
For tonight's poll question: what is your favorite horror film? Leave your response
as a comment below. Next up, a review for "Poltergeist".
This supernatural horror classic from director Tobe Hooper was released in June of 1982,
where it earned over twelve times its $10 million dollar budget. The 114 minute story
follows an average middle-class family living in a California real-estate development whose
house is invaded by malevolent spirits that abduct the family's youngest daughter. The
tight script was written by none other than Steven Spielberg, who also served as producer
for the first time in his storied career. Many years before he was a sitcom mainstay,
Craig T. Nelson stars as the patriarch, who alongside wife JoBeth Williams goes absolutely
stir crazy attempting to unravel the mystery of their missing daughter. Their emotionally
charged performances lend a great deal of realism to the ridiculous events on screen.
At only six years of age, the young Heather O'Rourke is excellently cast as the little
girl, who signals the arrival of the frightening beings by excitedly remarking, "They're here."
Meanwhile, Zelda Rubinstien provides a convincing turn as an eccentric medium brought in to
assist the troubled family with their noisy-ghost problem. Bearing a lot of similarities to
Spielberg's style of medium-length shots with plenty of dynamic movement, Hooper fills the
anamorphic canvas with beautiful compositions and fantastic lightning. It is annoying though
that simple TV static is shown to produce a bright strobe light effect for some reason.
Seriously though, has 'Coach' ever heard of using a sleep-timer? It's Nelson's careless
late-night viewing habits that seem to set the picture's bizarre events into motion.
This includes one horrifying sequence when a large scraggly tree comes to life, and snatches
a small boy from his bed. I can guarantee you, had I seen "Poltergeist" at his age,
I would have had trouble sleeping the following night. Another great VFX shot has a paranormal
investigator clawing his own face off in what is quickly revealed to be a paranoid hallucination,
but is no less disturbing because of it. In addition to the unseen terrors of a spiritual
portal, the picture also incorporates creepy clown dolls and real-life skeletons to deliver
the scares. But despite these graphic sequences, the filmmakers successfully appealed the MPAA,
and had the movie awarded a PG-rating, as PG-13 wouldn't exist for another few years.
Jerry Goldsmith's lullaby-inspired score is heavy on strings, giving most of the picture
an appropriately unsettling feeling. Following a clean resolution to the primary conflict,
the picture's twenty minute denouement seems particularly tacked on. This ending does boast
some impressive special effects work from Industrial Light And Magic however, which
scored the picture one of its three Academy Award nominations; all of which lost to Spielberg's
other 1982 release, "E.T.". The movie's success also evolved into a full trilogy, and there's
even talk of a future reboot. A well-paced and distressing movie allegedly haunted by
a curse of its own (two of its actresses would not survive the decade) this film makes you
wonder how safe we really are in our own bedrooms. "Poltergeist" delivers unique scares with
ambitious production value. Here now are your reviews on the film.
Applauding the music, visuals, and scares, you thought this was a GREAT film. Inherently,
the mark of any good horror film is how long you're left unsettled by what you've witnessed,
and this picture is one that definitely lingers - I thought it was GREAT as well. Our last
review tonight is for "Child's Play".
Released in November of 1988, this American horror film from director Tom Holland was
a decent success, scoring almost five times its $9 million dollar budget. The tightly-paced
87 minute story opens with Brad Dourif, as a deranged killer, transferring his consciousness
via some sort of mind meld to an emotionless being. Wait... is this the plot to a Star
Trek: Voyager episode, or a quirky slasher film? Speaking of Star Trek, "The Voyage Home"'s
Catherine Hicks stars as the lead protagonist, a single mother in Chicago who must protect
her child after learning the doll she gave him for his birthday is possessed with the
soul of a murderer. She plays the clean and wholesome mother figure excellently, and is
mostly convincing as she battles with her three-foot-tall enemy. A young Alex Vincent
is better than can be expected as the tormented child whose newest toy is a vicious psychopath.
Chris Sarandon rounds out the group as a steadfast police detective who mostly just goes through
the unbelievable motions. It's Dourif though who truly gives the best performance in the
R-rated movie: embodying the "Chucky" doll with a gleeful and terrifying demeanor. But
when the narrative is done milking the "nobody believes me!" trope, the manic doll reveals
himself to Hicks by cheerfully declaring, "Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?" The events are
often silly, but this moment, when Dourif's alter-ego finally comes alive is a rather
chilling scene. The visual techniques that are used to bring Chucky to life don't always
hold up by today's standards, but service the action well enough, especially since the
doll isn't sentient until halfway through the picture. Later, an attempted murder during
an evening drive is a fun sequence that's packed with action... even if it's at the
expense of realism. Generally speaking, this is a conventional flick that delivers with some
graphic violence - but it's the unique and intriguing premise that makes it so entertaining.
Indeed, "Child's Play" went on to spawn a six-film series over the next twenty five
years, each sequel seeing moderate amounts of success. Joe Renzetti's score is a quiet
and droning one, breaking the silence with sharp hits whenever a quick scare is needed.
There's no underlying message or artistic value to this production; it's simply a enjoyable
little horror film that should scare most kids next time they attempt to play with their
Cabbage Patch Doll. I can't say I'll ever watch this one again, but checking one or
two of the sequels doesn't sound like a terrible idea. "Child's Play" is a lively slasher romp
with a memorable villain. Here's what you had to say about the picture.
Although cheesy and predictable, you definitely enjoyed this one, ranking it a GREAT. A bit
hard to take seriously, and a bit too formulaic to really impress, I only thought this was
a GOOD movie. Finally tonight, let's take a look at what you're saying about movies
currently playing in theaters.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag. Later
this week, we'll continue reviewing some of the best comedy parodies of all time, with
"Hot Shots!", "Austin Powers", "Galaxy Quest", "Walk Hard", and "They Came Together". If
you didn't already leave a review for these pictures, please do so by voting in the polls
below, or by leaving a comment - and you'll probably see it on the show! If you'd like
to watch more Movie Night reviews, check out the "related videos" on the right, or click
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Google+, Instagram, or Letterboxd for updates between episodes. Once again, my name is Jonathan
Paula, thank you for watching and listening. Until next time, have a Happy Halloween a
good Movie Night!