Max von Sydow – Rest in Peace

Since the internet has been flooded with notices about this a few days ago, everyone I’m sure has heard of the passing of actor Max von Sydow.  Even though he only made less than a dozen films you could consider horror, you couldn’t be a fan of the genre and not know who this man was, because of The Exorcist (1973). Granted, like a lot of us, we always assumed he was already an old man because of the incredible aged makeup he wore in that film, thanks to Dick Smith. But no matter what role he had, like a small part in Conan the Barbarian (1982), the over-the-top role of the Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon (1980), to even the humorous role of Brewmeister Smith in Strange Brew (1983), he always commanded your attention, as well as gave a very memorable performance.

From his early days with Ingmar Bergman to Dario Argento in Sleepless (2001), to even working with Martin Scorsese in Shutter Island (2010), he always had a captive audience with his talent. He is one that will definitely live on and be remembered for all of those incredible characters. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Midway’s Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest

At the recent Flashback Weekend, they announced the date for this year’s Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest and 3 out of the 4 features they will be screening. And as always, it is one you are not going to want to miss.

Taking place on Saturday, Sept. 21st, they will be screening undoubtedly one of the scariest films ever made, The Exorcist (1973). I know the first time I watched this was on TV in the severely edited version and it still kept me awake at night. It is a film that still packs a punch and has not lost any of its effectiveness to creep into the audiences’ psyche. With great performances from Jason Miller, Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Linda Blair, and of course, Ellen Burstyn, who gives a performance that I think is one of the reason this movie is so powerful, since we are living through her character. Not to mention the incredible makeup effects by Dick Smith (and his young assistant Rick Baker). Seeing this one the big screen will really be a religious experience!

Horror at the Egyptian!

 

Never too early to start making your plans for the Halloween season right? I mean, stores are already starting to put out the decorations, so makes perfect sense to me. Granted, for a lot of us, the Halloween season is all year round!

The Egyptian Theatre in Dekalb, IL has announced a Horror Film Series in October, showing a classic horror film every Tuesday throughout the month. Tickets are $8 each and the movies will start at 7pm. Here is what they will be screening:

William Peter Blatty – Rest in Peace

Thursday, we have lost the author of one of the greatest horror novels of all time, William Peter Blatty. If you’ve never read the actual novel of The Exorcist, you’d be surprised at how effective it is, digging into your core just as much as the film version, if not more. That’s how good Blatty was. Strange though that before this novel, he was known for the most part as a comedic writer, writing several films for Blake Edwards, including the Pink Panther movie A Shot in the Dark. But once The Exorcist came out, there really was no turning back for him and he would always be known as “that guy”. But while it did pigeon hole him, he told the Washington Post in 2013, “I can’t regret The Exorcist. It’s done so much for me and for my family. And it’s given me a great deal of freedom to write what I want.”

Ever since he heard about the story about a 14-year old boy that was ‘cured’ by an exorcism in 1949, Blatty knew there was a novel in there, but it took over twenty years for it to finally come to be, in 1971. Two years later, director William Friedkin turned the book into one of the scariest films of all time, which actually got Blatty an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. A decade later, he would write a sequel to the book, called Legion, which he then adapted and directed the film version, entitled Exorcist III.

Films That Made a “Lasting Impression”

Let’s just say that I hate making lists in general. It forces you to chose or narrow down a “favorites” list. I have way too many movies that I honestly love the hell out of, so getting it down to a list of ten is just impossible. And honestly, I really don’t care for these kind of lists that are always going around Facebook, mainly because I just don’t want to spend the time on them and my above mentioned hatred for lists. But since this quest was to name films that had a “lasting impression” on you, I figured I could come up with ten titles that did have a major impact on my life. But instead of just listing the movies, I figured I’d try and expand on why these certain titles affected me the way they did. Of course, this list could change at any time…day or night.

Plus, since a friend tagged me on this, I figured it was the least I could do to reply. Thanks Jessica…this was a nice little trip down memory lane.