THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 31, 1994 TAG: 9410290021
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Videomatic
SOURCE: Craig Shapiro
LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
TONIGHT WON'T cut it. If you don't get to the video store now, the chances of finding ``The Exorcist'' will be like Elvis Costello said - less than zero. Too bad, too, because as Halloween nightcaps go, William Friedkin's '73 thriller is Glenfiddich by the fire: The scariest movie ever.
Says who?
Says you.
Last Wednesday, Videomatic asked you to phone in and name the one flick that really spooked you, the idea being to come up with a timely video rental guide. The next day, I had to peel the receiver from my ear; 249 calls poured in. ``The Exorcist'' finished way out in front.
It's not hard to see why. The direction and acting are impeccable; except for a lapse or two, the special effects are terrifying. (Remember when ``Help me'' appeared on Linda Blair's stomach?) More than that, the conflict in William Peter Blatty's novel translated so well: A Catholic priest struggles with his own faith as he fights a demon for the soul of a little girl. Jason Miller's heartbreaking, heroic sacrifice is unforgettable.
``The hell Satan puts the young girl through made the movie living and so profound,'' said Robert Smith of Norfolk. ``I will always be able to thank God that there is a God.''
``I was about 13 when I first saw it,'' said Jennifer Hammond of Virginia Beach. ``It scared the life out of me. I couldn't sleep alone for about two weeks.''
``If you're Catholic, it reminds you so much of how much is still deep down inside there,'' said Thomas O'Hara of Norfolk. ``It's terrifying.''
Linda Hughes of Kitty Hawk, N.C., pointed to Jack Nitzsche's score, saying, ``To this day, it raises the hair on the back of my neck.'' Other readers said it was the look in young Regan's eyes. But the common thread was that ``The Exorcist'' was believable.
``The reason it scared me is because I believed it,'' said Margie of Portsmouth.
Those voting for ``The Shining,'' Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the Stephen King novel, said the same thing: It could happen.
``The idea of being confined with someone crazy and murderous is more realistic than any monster movie or something of that sort,'' said Laurie Hunter of Portsmouth. ``I had to sleep with the lights on for nights.''
Bill Mann of Virginia Beach was working at the old Cavalier when he first saw ``The Shining.'' It didn't make the job any easier. ``I drew a lot of parallels. I could never quite go back into that building and feel the same,'' he said.
Chris, another Beacher, boiled it down more: ``It was Jack Nicholson.''
One film scoring high surprised me because I feel asleep halfway through ``Candyman,'' the 1992 yarn about a graduate student researching an urban myth. But you can be sure I'll rent it again after hearing what some callers said.
``It was so suspenseful it kept you on the edge of your seat with your face buried in your arms. I couldn't look in the mirror without thinking, `Candyman. Candyman. Candyman,' '' said Debbie of Chesapeake.
``I saw it with some friends on Halloween night, and we couldn't get into the van without looking behind us. And forget about looking in the mirror.'' Joe Clark, Virginia Beach.
OK, Joe and Debbie get the shivers. I snooze. What's it mean? There's something out there for everyone. ``Jaws,'' ``Evil Dead'' and ``Alien'' got votes. So did ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and a bunch of movies in which houses figured - ``The Amityville Horror,'' ``Poltergeist,'' ``The House on Haunted Hill'' and ``House of Wax.''
Here's what you had to say about other choices:
``The Haunting.'' ``No guts, no gore, no blood. Just simple thrills. It left me cringing under my sheets.'' Troy Dodd, Virginia Beach
``Psycho.'' ``My bathroom was in black and white, and I didn't take a shower for years. I always took a bath. I couldn't bear the thought of having the curtain closed.'' Mary, Virginia Beach
``The Legend of Hell House.'' ``It has ruined me for life. I can't even sit through a movie that has a surprise on the other side of the door. If you don't know who it is, forget it, I leave the room. I tried to rent it a couple of weeks ago, to get over this fear, and walked out without it.'' Terry Kristofak, Virginia Beach
``Halloween.'' ``Everything about it was terrifying and completely believable.'' Trevor Wright, Virginia Beach
``The Silence of the Lambs.'' ``When you see our youth killing at an earlier and earlier age, you see the eyes of that monster in our society, and that's scary.''
``The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.'' ``I saw it on my 18th birthday at the drive-in. I made my boyfriend leave after 30 minutes.''
``Salem's Lot.'' ``When that kid scratches at the window, it just makes me lose it.'' Laurie, Virginia Beach
``The Thing'' (1982). ``It took me, man. There's no way I can explain it except I'm a grown man and can't watch it now.'' Nick Lindsay, Virginia Beach
``The Thing'' (1951). ``I was 12 and it scared me so bad I had to hide behind the seats and look between the cracks. I went to see it four times.'' Chuck Hudson, Virginia Beach
``Carrie.'' ``At the end, when the hand comes out of the grave, my date put his hand on my throat. I screamed so loud and so long I think everyone in William and Mary Hall hall was looking at me. I was so angry, I made him take me back to the dorm and never went out with him again.'' Kitty, Suffolk
``Night of the Living Dead.'' ``If it had been in color, it probably would have killed me.'' Leslie Eley, Chesapeake
``The Mole People.'' ``I was about 10 years old in the '50s. Several friends and I sat in one seat throughout the entire movie and wouldn't leave the theater until my mother came in to get us and proved it was OK to go out and walk the streets again.'' John Griffith, Chesapeake
``The Wizard of Oz.'' ``You'll probably laugh, but for total 5-year-old terror, under-the-sofa cushion fright, the flying monkey scene did it for me.'' Paul, Norfolk
Janet Dobson of Norfolk and Mary Jo Wallace of Portsmouth get a Videomatic Pat on the Back for phoning in with ``In Cold Blood.'' Here, the scares are real. It's taken from Truman Capote's fact-based novel about two ex-cons who slaughtered a Kansas farm family in 1959. You won't forget Robert Blake as one of the killers.
Here's what Janet said: ``My mother and I watched it together, and I guess it scared us more because we knew it actually happened. We were so scared, we couldn't get off the couch to brush our teeth and go to bed.''
There's loads of other videos out there that will get you through tonight, but the one that intrigued me most doesn't even have a title. And the guy calling was no help. He didn't even leave his name. But you gotta love it:
``The 8mm movies from my first marriage. The thought of going through that again shudders me to the bone.'' MEMO: YOUR TOP 10 SCARY FILMS
1. The Exorcist '73
2. The Shining '80
3. Candyman '92
4. Night of the Living Dead '68
5. The Haunting '63
6. Psycho '60
7. Halloween '78
8. The Silence of the Lambs '91
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre '74
10. The Thing '82
ILLUSTRATION: Photos from movies
by CNB