Sharks and Circuses

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sharknado 5

October 2, 2017 – If horror or science fiction can serve as a touchstone for ‘the times’, then perhaps the Sharknado franchise speaks perfectly to our political climate; its latest chapter, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, most of all. With an alternate subtitle “Make America Bait Again”, it is tacky, it is reality-TV fueled, and most importantly, it serves as a platform, or better yet a trade exchange, for the Coin of the Realm: celebrity and ‘relevancy.’
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Wonderfull Lives: The Chillerpop Exorcist Retrospective, Part 3

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Image result for Exorcist 3

Plot summary: “Lt. Kinderman and Father Dyer cheer each other up on the anniversary of the death of their mutual friend, Father Damien Karras, by going to see “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the local theater in Georgetown, near Washington D.C. But there’s no cheering Kinderman while a particularly cruel and gruesome serial killer is at large. His murders, which involve torture, decapitation and the desecration of religious icons, is bad enough; but they also resemble those of the Gemini Killer, who has been dead for fifteen years. (SOURCE: IMDB.COM andWritten by J. Spurlin)

 

In this Washington Post article, William Peter Blatty, director of “Exorcist III and author of the novel it’s based on, “Legion,” makes a few salient claims, one of which is that he “hates horror movies.”

That’s all well and good, but he directed two of the most curdling, shocking horror movie scenes I have ever seen in my life.

In the film’s opening scene , a Catholic confessional is used to stage a nightmarish murder.  One where you hear a croaking, teasing infantile voice chuckle as its owner is about to commit something unspeakable.  You only see the violent aftermath later, but that image pales in comparison to what comes before, where you see nothing but are left unnerved beyond belief. Continue reading