I saw Jaws in 2nd grade. The scene with the head floating out of the boat wreck when Dreyfuss pulls the great white tooth scared the shit out of me and I had trouble sleeping as I imagined that head coming for me in my sleep.

When I was in 3rd grade my mom took me to see a double feature: The Exorcist was re-released, followed by Burnt Offerings. It truly scarred me for a long time. I didn't sleep well at all for at least 2 months and my parents had me go through psychotherapy as I wasn't able to articulate why I wasn't sleeping. I eventually got better.

Now I absolutely appreciate The Exorcist as a great film. Not for the shock value, but because the tragedy of Father Karras is so compelling. Jason Miller was a great actor.

We weren't allowed to watch R rated movies when we were kids. My dad got HBO but the parents monitored us.

Strangely, my mom decided to allow us to watch The Exorcist. Of course, the only part my perverted little brother would talk about was the violent crucifix masturbation scene. This caused a huge neighborhood fight about my parents having "that filthy, X-rated HBO".

It was scary to my young mind and I still have a fondness for the movie but it just brings up memories of the stupid neighborhood feuds.

I had to stop for a drink on the way home from seeing the Exorcist and for several days afterwards whenever I'd lie down and close my eyes I'd see her head do a 360º and I'd hear the crunching noise.

I think the Omen messed me up worse!

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
The Exorcist III, with George C. Scott, is quite good and stands up well nowadays. It's more suspenseful, less about the special effects, and the best of the series, IMO.

The original was shocking, of course, and the second one sucks, I think.

But check out the third one if you haven't seen it and like suspense/"scary" movies.

III is really good, my favorite of the three.

In my case it was a MiG.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,

The Exorcist is great. It still holds up to this day as one of the scariest movies for me.

I don't like swimming in lakes because of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.