The Exorcist
When it came to movies of this sort, I was not allowed to see them at a young age by any stretch. The Devil. Demons. Possession…hell, no. So, The Exorcist came later in life. I do remember my father throwing it on Laserdisc once to show off a scene to a friend who wanted to see the picture quality of the film on the (now-defunct) format. I sat in to watch this whole demonstration, no set up or explanation for what I was watching, but I remember a pissed-off little girl swearing her ass off to a priest.
I was curious.
College came along and, one Halloween, I made it my must-see viewing. Off to Kim’s Video I went (I was working at St. Mark’s Comics at the time) and, of course, I was blown away. It rattled me for sure, but because of my own religious beliefs (or lack thereof, I should say), it didn’t hit me on a spiritual level. Instead, I was struck by how amazing the performances and William Friedkin’s filmmaking were. It was “classy” horror and I loved it from that point on.