Hooptober X: The Devil Made Me Do It
#12: 1 film with an "X" in the title, 8 decades (5)
Theatrical screening (director's cut)

"You're going to die up there."

I try to only include first watches on my Hooptober lists, but I had the opportunity to see THE EXORCIST director's cut in the theater to celebrate its 50th anniversary, so I decided to include it. This was actually my first time in the theater since the pre-Covid "before times" of yore. The last movie I'd seen in the theater was STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER so it was good to get the taste of that turd out of my mouth. The theater sold beers but I went with a big Mug root beer and a big bag of buttery popcorn, and damn it was good. The movies are back!

What can I say about THE EXORCIST that hasn't already been said many times over? Like THE THING, every time I see it I notice something new. There's a remarkable depth to a relatively simple story with mostly one setting. Even extending it to the director's cut, which I prefer, it's never overly long and we're able to learn to love these characters without getting bogged down by exposition. I'm glad the director's cut included the final scene with Detective Kinderman and Father Dyer, showing their blossoming friendship and Karras living on in Dyer.

Max von Sydow was only 44 when he played "old priest" Father Merrin. He had loads of old man makeup on, but that still weirds me out since I'm a strapping 42.

The above quote is my favorite Pazuzu/Regan quote. Out of all the nasty, mean-spirited things the possessed Regan says, I get chills in this scene when he tells astronaut Billy Cutshaw that he's going to die on his next space mission, then starts pissing herself.