The Exorcist

Max von Sydow

Couch Potato Pickings

On Bravo tonight at 10pm

I saw French and Saunders’ brilliant spoof of The Exorcist before I saw the real thing. It’s a testament to the skill of this comedy duo that I found their parody hilarious without even having a frame of reference to draw upon.

But I did finally get a chance to fill the gaping hole in my horror film knowledge a year or so later, when I learnt that William Friedkin’s original version was showing at the cinema for a special Halloween screening. I bought my ticket, my popcorn and bucket of pop, and settled down for two hours worth of spine-tingling horror.

The Exorcist

As the film progressed and those around me trembled with shock and fear, I sat there giggling into my cola. More of a chuckler for me than a chiller, all I could think of was pea soup and “your mother sucks jelly babies in hell.” The moral of this story is don’t watch this clip if you haven’t seen the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6VnXr-fySk&fs=1