Good movie. Parts of it were very cheesy, and other parts scared the crap out of me. I will examine both. I didn't expect to talk about any cheesy parts, but I can't help myself. I'm free flowing tonight. Plus, contrary to my statements about thousands of fans, I know about three people look at this blog per week, if that. Having said that, I will never compromise the quality of material, even if my fan base is small, I still care about you all.
Cheesy parts:
1. When the lead attorney asked the priest, "Why didn't you tell me a doctor was there during the exorcism?" The priest replies: "He asked me not to tell anyone." Wow! The priest to the lawyer, that was powerful stuff...she looked at him as if she just learned a life lesson...cheesy.
2. When the snake fell on the priest's shoulder during the exorcism in the barn.
3. When the cat hissed and then jumped at the priest during the exorcism.
4. The prosecutor's mustache. However, it was arguably handsome.
5. "Father Moore, you are guilty, but you are free to go." (and predictable...he should have gotten the chair!)
6. The doctor getting hit by a car!
Scary parts:
1. Little pen holder falling off the night-stand, sheets being pulled off Emily, and then contortions and screaming. Ohhhhh Snap! Hated it.
2. Walking down dimly lit hallways....reminiscent of Nightmare on Elm Street scenes.
3. Emily's screaming (even though he still used a tape recorder...I know it was 2005, but still)
4. Pretty much any flashback scared the crap out of me.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie and I thought the court-room drama and flashback technique worked well. The movie had good suspense and although the defense attorney's character arc was predictable, it was done okay. I think the cinematography was good, the sound effects were good, and the director definitely did well making the overall movie pretty gloomy. There was a definite down-trodden mood that was created within the film.
I give it a B. For me, it was scarier than Paranormal Activity. Hopefully this is the last scary movie I watch in a long time. (Pretty sure it will be)
Walking down the dorm hallway at night and finding the doors open was super creepy for me. I went to college far from home and spent many a night in a huge nearly-empty building. There are more stories hiding in that situation, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteThe delayed discovery of the doctor, followed by the utterly predictable bumping off of said doctor irritated me. I'm glad that situation made points 1 & 6 of your cheesy list.
Hey, since you're maintaining quality for your loyal fans, d'ya want to play a game? Next week, for Poltergeist, see if you can work in the words "beer," "ice cube," and "cutting board." Happy pandering. :-)
Chris Daniels
ReplyDeleteMr. Hoff. I am going to say this: Man Up. Just Man the heck up. Don't be a wussy!!!!! But besides that, all good points in your review.
I love how you said the dark hallway scene in the dorm was reminiscent of A Nightmare on Elm Street, cause that's a feeling I had watching it too. But besides, there were definitely some cheesy parts and also some really creepy parts. From a horror perspective, I wish the a tally exorcism scene lasted longer, but man was it affective. If that scene lasted as long as it did in the original Exorcist, I'd put my money on that being one of the best executed exorcism scenes in modern horror history. Hell, I still think it's one of the best, and I've scene a lot of possession movies.
I am happily one of your loyal fans, sir. Don't let me down next week!!! :)
Take Kristin's advice... I want to see you use those three words, and also add in: "secret sauce". K....thanks!!
I got all 4 terms into my Poltergeist post. A little contrived, perhaps, but they're there. I'll put it up tomorrow. :-)
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