So, about these damn 'The Excorcist' trailers (Warning: a spoiler about a scene in a trailer)

[Xavier Breath]

This description will get a little graphic, so if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, you may want to bail.

I went to see A Haunting in Venice last week. It was a hot, sleepy Tuesday afternoon, so I got things taken care of around the house and headed off to the local Googelplex to check out Kenneth Branagh's latest take on Hercule Poirot. I purchased my grocery bag of popcorn (a small) and oil drum of soda (also a small) and settled in. Now, I'd seen a commercial for The Exorcist on tv, so I was not unfamiliar with it, and I was interested to see that Ellyn Burstyn reprises her role from the original. But I was not prepared for the trailer.

You may have seen the shorter commercial version of the scene I'm talking about. In it, in a crowded, well-to-do suburban church, members are receiving communion. A little girl is shown in a pew, and she aint acting right. She's squirming and clearly irritated. The mom and dad get back to their seats and ask their kids where their sister is, only to be told that "she left." Cut to the minister who's doing his minister spiel, when he stops mid-sentence as the little girl walks through the back doors of the church. She's got her best Linda Blair makeup on, and appears to have vomited blood all down her dress.

But the worst (for me) was yet to come. The little girl begins walking down the aisle repeating the last words the minister had spoken: "The body and the blood. The body and the blood! THE BODY AND THE BLOOD!" as her parents, siblings and the rest of the congregation freak the fuck out, as one would do. It was one of the creepiest damn things I ever experienced, and I periodically went back to it even as the Agatha Christie movie I paid to see unspooled in front of me. It reminded me of the scene in The Shining where Doc starts screaming RED RUM!, only it was much worse. And, it was a long trailer with lots more to it.

Now, every time a commercial for it comes on tv, I dive for the remote. So, I was curious if anyone else had experienced that trailer, or had that sort of reaction, or if I'm just being a big diaper baby? My wife, the horror fan, might suggest the latter

[Scrivener7]

1. How was "A Haunting in Venice?"

[Xavier Breath]

2. I enjoyed it.

The reviews I read beforehand were mostly positive and I would agree. Now, I don't know if I was rattled by the trailer and distracted, but it was a fast 1:43. His wrap-up scene came before I first realized it. Creatively I'd say its a nice change from Orient Express and Nile, but I would probably rank it behind both of them. Good, but not a game-changer.

[Scrivener7]

3. Thank you! Looking forward to it, though, and the Exorcist trailor!

[Xavier Breath]

4. I've never seen the original.

And after I saw the whole walking-down-the-stairs bit I was convinced to avoid it entirely. But, I'm a big fraidy cat. The sum total of my horror movie experiences have just about been limited to The Shining, Poltergeist and the first three or so Paranormal Activity movies. The other night my wife suggested we watch the Saw series to celebrate it being October and I said, "We have met, right?"

[Scrivener7]

5. I have no interest in the torture movies like Saw, but a good demonic possession

or haunted house makes my day.

[Xavier Breath]

6. I remember being a teen and not wanting to follow "the gang" to the haunted houses.

Yes, I was scared of the Jaycees

[CurtEastPoint]

7. Do you mean 'The Exorcist?'

[Xavier Breath]

8. Yes, that is a misspelling.

But look, I'm spelling 'pedantic' correctly.

[Shermann]

9. The Exorcist: Believer

Looks pretty good, I'm a bit jaded on reboots though.

They appear to be continuing the story with an original character, although she may only be window dressing. Looks like part sequel and part reboot?

[canuckledragger]

10. I'm sick of reboots as well.

Can't these guys come up with anything original already?

I'm sick to death of remakes, reboots, turning crappy movies into even crappier TV shows.

And I think I'll pass on the newest of the exorcist clones, as there's too many to count already.