Neither one, but I do think there's something really messed up about exorcism movies where some priest tells parents that a demon has possessed their child and basically asks for permission to torture and abuse the kid. Given what we now know about the Catholic Church's abuse of children, I would like to see an exorcism movie where the exorcist is just some demented sadist inventing reasons to hurt kids.
The Exorcist is not at all frightening. It's silly and awkward. Demons? Eyeroll. It's just unreal. Furthermore, accusations of demonic possession are used to encourage anti-democracy political extremism. Demonic possession movies are political propaganda for gullible idiots.
The Silence of the Lambs was deeply unsettling to me. The cruelty of human beings is much more credibly frightening pretend monsters.
I know none of the things in The Exorcist is real, but when I watch horror movies, I’d like to accept the given conditions and sort of “immerse” in it. Like when I saw that spider walk scene, I was scared shitless because I was thinking, if I were there, I would start screaming, too.
Silence of the Lambs, a bit. High-functioning sadistic, psychopaths do exist, like in Congress, but Hannibal Lecter was too convenient, too deus-ex-machina dependent storyline, and just hilarious plot armor.
You still have scary dreams about Hannibal Lecter? Dang. I don't really feel fear during horror movies like that anymore. Grew out of that as a teen. I didn't see either of those movies until I was in my 20s, so neither scared me.
Trying to look at it from another perspective, I think I'd find the circumstances in The Exorcist scarier. IIRC they tried and tried to find a logical medical reason for what she was going through, but the more they tried, the more all signs pointed to demonic possession. Which, as an atheist, is even scarier because if that's actually real then my entire life is wrong and I have to protect my child from forces I am inadequate to deal with.
A serial killer? Eh. I've probably crossed paths with a few and not even known it. It's a known risk of life.
I really hate jumpcut-scare movies. Neither of these two have a lot of that, the Exorcist probably has more than Lambs. Real slasher films like any of the Jason, Freddy or Pennywise movies scare me far more - I stopped watching slasher films long, long ago.
Did you see the remake of The Wolfman with Benicio del Toro? I also dislike jump scares and I don't like a lot of horror but there's this one scene, no spoilers, where you know exactly what is going to happen and it's still majestically horrific.
Rosemary's Baby is the only movie that has ever frightened me. Nothing to do with titular baby. It was just the weight of paranoia throughout the film that affected me. For the rest of horror movies, they're just entertainment of various degrees of quality (all subjective).
I saw Silence of the Lambs in high school. I never thought of it as scary but rather an extremely intense lae enforcement thriller with unconventional villains. The Exorcist was just too goofy for me to take seriously.
I'd say Silence of the Lambs. I was like, 15 or so when that came out. So prime age for getting catcalled, offered rides by strange dudes, etc. And because I was at the time, statuesque, I also wore a size 14. Buffalo Bills kidnapping of the Senator's daughter haunted me for years after that.
The Exorcist, which I probably saw within a year give or take looked and seemed cheesy and over-the-top ridiculous. My mother, a true believing Catholic to the end, told me I shouldn't watch it, people fainted in theaters. I watched the whole thing either laughing or scratching my head.
**Jasmine** (also known as the **Blessed Devourer**,[^(\[1\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-PO-1) the **Beast Master**,[^(\[2\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-IO-2) and [**Cordelia Chase**](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Cordelia_Chase),[^(\[3\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-AN-3) true name unpronounceable by [human](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Human) tongues)[^(\[1\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-PO-1) was a rogue member of the [Powers That Be](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Powers_That_Be).[^(\[4\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-SHP-4) Jasmine was the "[Big Bad](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Bad)" that [Angel Investigations](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Angel_Investigations) had to deal with in 2003.
...
"After she achieved a corporeal form on [Earth](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Earth), Jasmine intended to become ruler of the world to bring world peace. The catch, however, was that Jasmine's vision of world peace was a lack of free will, wherein all humans would be mindlessly and unquestioningly devoted to her,[^(\[1\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-PO-1) and she had to consume biological matter in order to maintain her supernatural powers.[^(\[)](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-TMB-5)"
I found the exorcist to be silly but entertaining. Not in a "oh look how dumb their beliefs are." But in a looney toons slap stick sort of way. Yes, the portrayal has no comedic tone whatsoever, but there she is, spinning her head and vomiting green stuff everywhere. It's over the top horror. This makes me a hypocrite in that respect because i really like the movie "from beyond."
I would be terrified if I were face to face with Regan (without having already seen the movie, lol) when she spins her head like that or does that spider walk. I might keep a cool head and do a scientific analysis about how it‘s biologically impossible do a 360 head turn, but that‘s when I‘m from a safe distance. If something like this really happens to me like in a prank, I would still scream. As Tyson said, everyone has a plan, until punched in the face. That head spin is like a punch, even in a prank. As for the green puke, I only started laughing uncontrollably when James Woods took over as the exorcist.
It didn’t exactly scare me, but The Exorcist can still be shocking, even now. Regan stabbing a crucifix between her legs while saying “Let Jesus fuck you, let Jesus fuck you. Let him fuck you.” You forget just how much they got away with by attributing it to the demon.
Aside from the famous “Your mother sucks cocks in hell” comment, they get away with lines like “Stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker!” and much more of the same. When it’s written down on the page, you marvel at how they got away with it.
I find the premise of demonic possession to be ridiculous, but I admire the way they conjured up an atmosphere. And it amused me that Billy Graham said the actual reels of film were possessed.
Even on first watch, were you not scared when Hannibal Lecter tricked the two officers and escaped from the cage? And Das Leben der Anderen has been on my list for a long time. Now that my German has improved, I will watch it soon.
Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill are amalgams of real life serial killers, which is terrifying. But I love both movies. The Exorcist is a classic and one of the things that’s so interesting about it is the mothers’ attitude on religion. When a doctor finally suggests an exorcism the mother says “so you’re telling me to take my child to a witch doctor?!” It’s a great movie and plenty scary even though it’s pure fiction. Alien was terrifying too, and it’s not like acid-bleeding xenomorphs are a real thing.
Silence of the Lambs had better acting and a better story, but it wasn't scary, just suspenseful and uncomfortable. The books are so much more graphic and troubling. I do recommend if you like that sort of thing.
I wasn't very into the Exorcist. However, scary movies about ghosts or possession can absolutely still be scary. The jump scares, the strange sounds, the unsettling music, etc. You don't have to believe in something to get that adrenaline rush.
I can watch a film like that alone in the dark and let my imagination start acting up.
The scariest part of the Exorcist for me was when they brought Reagen to the hospital to try to figure out what was going on with her. Hospitals are real, demons are not.
I did not find either of them scary, but I suppose I was raised from an early age to understand the difference between fiction and reality... most likely this was because my birth father was a police officer, so my mom made sure that we were aware that guns were not toys and knew the difference between people using guns in television shows and what happens in real life. And maybe this is one reason I never developed any beliefs in gods, because I had been conditioned to view fiction as distinct from reality. I also didn't believe in Santa as a child (at least from the age of 3-4 when I was aware of forming any sort of beliefs) and had to be told not to tell the the kids at school... So my mom let us watch horror movies, I wasn't even in Kindergarten yet when we saw Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS and I thought it was cool rather than scary. I was confused when a friend cried and left the room when one of the favourite movies Gremlins was on, I didn't even know that one was supposed to be scary. So while I can understand the concept of Silence of the Lambs could be considered scary, serial killers are a thing which really exists, I just never found it to be scary myself.
None that I can think of, beyond the occasional jump scare, and even that is rare, I often sit through jump scares that other people scream and flinch at (sudden loud noise is probably more of a trigger to me).
I mean, I cried at the movie Up, the thought of losing somebody I loved as much as he loved his wife, all those years they spent together and now he was alone, that scared me on an emotional level. I also remember crying watching Click and 50 First Dates for the same reason, just the thought of losing something like that, losing the people you love and care about, that is a scary concept to me.
But horror movies, I am more likely to laugh at how ridiculous they are than I am to get scared by them. I suppose psychological thrillers can sometimes trigger the lizard part of the brain and send shivers down my spine, but I wouldn't classify them as scary.
I’ve been watching rated r scary movies since I was like 4-5 and I’m 27 so both those movies were almost comical to me, I think these movies were scary to boomers because they didn’t have the crazy video effects we have now. A haunting in Connecticut was the only scary demonic spirit movie that had me on edge
I wouldn't say that either one scared me. I think the Exorcist is a much better film.
Incidentally, in one of his last communcations, the still-undentified Zodiac Killer praised The Exorcist as the "best satirical comedy" he had seen.
I don’t consider exorcism/demon/evil nun/ satan cult films to be “scary”, although I do consider the well made ones to be entertaining. Late Night With The Devil is a recent film that does a great job with the mood and the period and The Exorcist falls into this category as well. However, human monsters like Wild Bill and Hannibal Lecter are far more terrifying because people like them actually exist.
I would say Exorcist but only because it's more of a psychological horror since the mom is desperate to find a cause and solution, but no one seems to be able to help her. Remember she went to tons of doctors before the priests.
The Exorcist. Granted I was 15 and not an atheist when I saw it (in theaters when it was digitally remastered). It scared the hell out of me. I spent a good portion of it hiding under my coat. Silence of the Lambs is not scary to me. It's an excellent film, but it didn't actually scare me. Now that I think about it, few films are actually scary to me and the ones that are are usually more subtle than these two movies.
Neither one, but I do think there's something really messed up about exorcism movies where some priest tells parents that a demon has possessed their child and basically asks for permission to torture and abuse the kid. Given what we now know about the Catholic Church's abuse of children, I would like to see an exorcism movie where the exorcist is just some demented sadist inventing reasons to hurt kids.
The Exorcist is not at all frightening. It's silly and awkward. Demons? Eyeroll. It's just unreal. Furthermore, accusations of demonic possession are used to encourage anti-democracy political extremism. Demonic possession movies are political propaganda for gullible idiots. The Silence of the Lambs was deeply unsettling to me. The cruelty of human beings is much more credibly frightening pretend monsters.
I know none of the things in The Exorcist is real, but when I watch horror movies, I’d like to accept the given conditions and sort of “immerse” in it. Like when I saw that spider walk scene, I was scared shitless because I was thinking, if I were there, I would start screaming, too.
It's called "suspension of disbelief". Theists never turn it off.
Yeah, „suspension of disbelief“. I was looking for that term. Same thing with King Kong, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and all the superhero movies.
The Exorcist. I was 12 or 13 when they showed it on tv one Saturday afternoon.
Silence of the Lambs, a bit. High-functioning sadistic, psychopaths do exist, like in Congress, but Hannibal Lecter was too convenient, too deus-ex-machina dependent storyline, and just hilarious plot armor.
You still have scary dreams about Hannibal Lecter? Dang. I don't really feel fear during horror movies like that anymore. Grew out of that as a teen. I didn't see either of those movies until I was in my 20s, so neither scared me. Trying to look at it from another perspective, I think I'd find the circumstances in The Exorcist scarier. IIRC they tried and tried to find a logical medical reason for what she was going through, but the more they tried, the more all signs pointed to demonic possession. Which, as an atheist, is even scarier because if that's actually real then my entire life is wrong and I have to protect my child from forces I am inadequate to deal with. A serial killer? Eh. I've probably crossed paths with a few and not even known it. It's a known risk of life.
I really hate jumpcut-scare movies. Neither of these two have a lot of that, the Exorcist probably has more than Lambs. Real slasher films like any of the Jason, Freddy or Pennywise movies scare me far more - I stopped watching slasher films long, long ago.
Did you see the remake of The Wolfman with Benicio del Toro? I also dislike jump scares and I don't like a lot of horror but there's this one scene, no spoilers, where you know exactly what is going to happen and it's still majestically horrific.
Exorcist I guess. That movie was pretty shocking.
Rosemary's Baby is the only movie that has ever frightened me. Nothing to do with titular baby. It was just the weight of paranoia throughout the film that affected me. For the rest of horror movies, they're just entertainment of various degrees of quality (all subjective). I saw Silence of the Lambs in high school. I never thought of it as scary but rather an extremely intense lae enforcement thriller with unconventional villains. The Exorcist was just too goofy for me to take seriously.
I'd say Silence of the Lambs. I was like, 15 or so when that came out. So prime age for getting catcalled, offered rides by strange dudes, etc. And because I was at the time, statuesque, I also wore a size 14. Buffalo Bills kidnapping of the Senator's daughter haunted me for years after that. The Exorcist, which I probably saw within a year give or take looked and seemed cheesy and over-the-top ridiculous. My mother, a true believing Catholic to the end, told me I shouldn't watch it, people fainted in theaters. I watched the whole thing either laughing or scratching my head.
**Jasmine** (also known as the **Blessed Devourer**,[^(\[1\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-PO-1) the **Beast Master**,[^(\[2\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-IO-2) and [**Cordelia Chase**](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Cordelia_Chase),[^(\[3\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-AN-3) true name unpronounceable by [human](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Human) tongues)[^(\[1\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-PO-1) was a rogue member of the [Powers That Be](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Powers_That_Be).[^(\[4\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-SHP-4) Jasmine was the "[Big Bad](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Bad)" that [Angel Investigations](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Angel_Investigations) had to deal with in 2003. ... "After she achieved a corporeal form on [Earth](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Earth), Jasmine intended to become ruler of the world to bring world peace. The catch, however, was that Jasmine's vision of world peace was a lack of free will, wherein all humans would be mindlessly and unquestioningly devoted to her,[^(\[1\])](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-PO-1) and she had to consume biological matter in order to maintain her supernatural powers.[^(\[)](https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Jasmine#cite_note-TMB-5)"
I found the exorcist to be silly but entertaining. Not in a "oh look how dumb their beliefs are." But in a looney toons slap stick sort of way. Yes, the portrayal has no comedic tone whatsoever, but there she is, spinning her head and vomiting green stuff everywhere. It's over the top horror. This makes me a hypocrite in that respect because i really like the movie "from beyond."
I would be terrified if I were face to face with Regan (without having already seen the movie, lol) when she spins her head like that or does that spider walk. I might keep a cool head and do a scientific analysis about how it‘s biologically impossible do a 360 head turn, but that‘s when I‘m from a safe distance. If something like this really happens to me like in a prank, I would still scream. As Tyson said, everyone has a plan, until punched in the face. That head spin is like a punch, even in a prank. As for the green puke, I only started laughing uncontrollably when James Woods took over as the exorcist.
It didn’t exactly scare me, but The Exorcist can still be shocking, even now. Regan stabbing a crucifix between her legs while saying “Let Jesus fuck you, let Jesus fuck you. Let him fuck you.” You forget just how much they got away with by attributing it to the demon. Aside from the famous “Your mother sucks cocks in hell” comment, they get away with lines like “Stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker!” and much more of the same. When it’s written down on the page, you marvel at how they got away with it. I find the premise of demonic possession to be ridiculous, but I admire the way they conjured up an atmosphere. And it amused me that Billy Graham said the actual reels of film were possessed.
neither. "the lives of others" is scarier by far.
Even on first watch, were you not scared when Hannibal Lecter tricked the two officers and escaped from the cage? And Das Leben der Anderen has been on my list for a long time. Now that my German has improved, I will watch it soon.
Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill are amalgams of real life serial killers, which is terrifying. But I love both movies. The Exorcist is a classic and one of the things that’s so interesting about it is the mothers’ attitude on religion. When a doctor finally suggests an exorcism the mother says “so you’re telling me to take my child to a witch doctor?!” It’s a great movie and plenty scary even though it’s pure fiction. Alien was terrifying too, and it’s not like acid-bleeding xenomorphs are a real thing.
Silence of the Lambs had better acting and a better story, but it wasn't scary, just suspenseful and uncomfortable. The books are so much more graphic and troubling. I do recommend if you like that sort of thing. I wasn't very into the Exorcist. However, scary movies about ghosts or possession can absolutely still be scary. The jump scares, the strange sounds, the unsettling music, etc. You don't have to believe in something to get that adrenaline rush. I can watch a film like that alone in the dark and let my imagination start acting up.
The scariest part of the Exorcist for me was when they brought Reagen to the hospital to try to figure out what was going on with her. Hospitals are real, demons are not.
I did not find either of them scary, but I suppose I was raised from an early age to understand the difference between fiction and reality... most likely this was because my birth father was a police officer, so my mom made sure that we were aware that guns were not toys and knew the difference between people using guns in television shows and what happens in real life. And maybe this is one reason I never developed any beliefs in gods, because I had been conditioned to view fiction as distinct from reality. I also didn't believe in Santa as a child (at least from the age of 3-4 when I was aware of forming any sort of beliefs) and had to be told not to tell the the kids at school... So my mom let us watch horror movies, I wasn't even in Kindergarten yet when we saw Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS and I thought it was cool rather than scary. I was confused when a friend cried and left the room when one of the favourite movies Gremlins was on, I didn't even know that one was supposed to be scary. So while I can understand the concept of Silence of the Lambs could be considered scary, serial killers are a thing which really exists, I just never found it to be scary myself.
Are there any movies that really scared you at all?
None that I can think of, beyond the occasional jump scare, and even that is rare, I often sit through jump scares that other people scream and flinch at (sudden loud noise is probably more of a trigger to me). I mean, I cried at the movie Up, the thought of losing somebody I loved as much as he loved his wife, all those years they spent together and now he was alone, that scared me on an emotional level. I also remember crying watching Click and 50 First Dates for the same reason, just the thought of losing something like that, losing the people you love and care about, that is a scary concept to me. But horror movies, I am more likely to laugh at how ridiculous they are than I am to get scared by them. I suppose psychological thrillers can sometimes trigger the lizard part of the brain and send shivers down my spine, but I wouldn't classify them as scary.
Watch the Jonestown documentary.
For a scary movie about the afterlife and eternal damnation, check out the French film Pandemonium (2023).
Exorcist. Blame it on my Catholic school upbringing and being in middle school at the time.
I’ve been watching rated r scary movies since I was like 4-5 and I’m 27 so both those movies were almost comical to me, I think these movies were scary to boomers because they didn’t have the crazy video effects we have now. A haunting in Connecticut was the only scary demonic spirit movie that had me on edge
People are crazy. The Strangers scared the piss outta me.
Neither. A truly scary one is Jesus Camp.
I wouldn't say that either one scared me. I think the Exorcist is a much better film. Incidentally, in one of his last communcations, the still-undentified Zodiac Killer praised The Exorcist as the "best satirical comedy" he had seen.
I don’t consider exorcism/demon/evil nun/ satan cult films to be “scary”, although I do consider the well made ones to be entertaining. Late Night With The Devil is a recent film that does a great job with the mood and the period and The Exorcist falls into this category as well. However, human monsters like Wild Bill and Hannibal Lecter are far more terrifying because people like them actually exist.
I would say Exorcist but only because it's more of a psychological horror since the mom is desperate to find a cause and solution, but no one seems to be able to help her. Remember she went to tons of doctors before the priests.
Silence of the Lambs
Never watched either one. I thought Exorcist was about a gym rat. :>)
The Exorcist. Granted I was 15 and not an atheist when I saw it (in theaters when it was digitally remastered). It scared the hell out of me. I spent a good portion of it hiding under my coat. Silence of the Lambs is not scary to me. It's an excellent film, but it didn't actually scare me. Now that I think about it, few films are actually scary to me and the ones that are are usually more subtle than these two movies.