Paul Solet’s feature film debut is a surprising refined return to the psychological horror film which establishes compelling characters and documents a mother’s terrible downward spiral as she struggles to care for her child when things become very, very strange…
Theological thrillers are tough genres because they can seemingly work in two modes: as stories steeped in the logic of the religion, or with elements diluted to basic good vs. bad conflicts, and some heavy body counts…
After “The Exorcist,” it was open season on possession films, a sub-genre that ran a fairly fruitful and icky course for several years before zombies and cannibals became the new vogue. Many of these variations were quickly produced for fast cash, starring former silver screen greats (in this case, Mel Ferrer as the weak-willed father of Carla Gravina, Arthur Kennedy as the Friendly Priest, and wrinkly Alida Valli reduced to housekeeper status), and helmed by workman directors whose own careers moved from one craze – spies, car chase, westerns, Mafia epics – to the next, though “The AntiChrist” remains one of the better-produced possession epics, successfully holding its own for nearly two hours.
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After the success of “Deliverance,” director John Boorman was approached by Warner Bros in the early 70s to direct “The Exorcist,” the film rights for which they had just purchased. Finding the challenge of a film depending heavily on the performance of a child and regarding William Peter Blatty’s book as “tasteless, cruel and sadistic towards children”…
After the success of “The Exorcist,” writer William Peter Blatty decided to adapt a project originally to have been handled by director “Exorcist” William Friedkin. Based on his 1968 novel “Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane”…
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