perception changes as we grow older?

I haven't seen it in a few years and the impact probably is a bit less than it was
but I never considered The Exorcist as lame. Maybe the second one, yeah that was
lame or just outright bad. I guess in part it is the fact that there is nothing new
in it. It made such an impact that there are no surprises even if you haven't seen it before. I think it is still considered one of the best horror films.
Ryder13

 

I can not remember if I watched the Exorcist but I do remember the first horror film I watched when I was a kid. It was Warlock and it would not get out of my mind for probably a month or more. I was so afraid everytime I go to bed and had nightmares. Until one day I just finally forgot about it. Up to now, I remembered it and it sometimes kinda funny why I am so afraid with a something lame movie that is not totally scary. I think our perception does change from time especially when we are already mature and is used to watching better movies these days.

 

I always enjoyed watching Power Rangers when I was in Grade School. I would even imitate them everyday after class with my friends. I would imagine that I was the black ranger battling giant monsters with my friends. Now that I look back to my childhood days, I now say, "What was I thinking?".

 

As you grow up, you find out a lot more things that the real things to be scared of aren't paranormal things, but very real things that present a more real danger. So yes, you start to be scared of more real things instead. At the same time, our tastes become a lot more refined, and we find out more about our identities, so the common things don't seem as special anymore when we find out things that are truly special to us. I used to watch a lot of cartoons that were just fun, but now I prefer things to have depth as well as being fun.

 

Today's technology really does allow for almost completely realistic scenarios. I'm sure in time, we'll look back at our movies now and think the same thing about our movies from the past. Same with the ideas we were scared of back in the day. Though if the Exorcist was made today, I'm sure it would still scare people. I know they've worked with the same idea many times since and there's one or two I think they did well with.

Nothing to do with scary movies, but I watched Superman with the kids the other night and they were bored to tears. I was so excited to watch it again but it was nothing like what I remember. The one part, where he's running along side a train as a teen.. I remember thinking how fast he was and how cool that part was. Now though, I had to watch it a few times, I was laughing so hard lol.

Haha.. found the scene on youtube!

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Well, I still think The Exorcist is a well made film. Although, as a child I will admit that this film scared me to the point where I avoided it. When I got older I saw it on TV and thought that yes it had frightening moments but it was still well done none the less. But I can understand what you are saying about perceptions. When we were kids my brothers and sisters along with myself watched the original Batman series. Can you believe we actually took that thing seriously? Yes, this totally campy show but we were kids and well we thought it was high adventure. Now, I look at it in reruns and I laugh, especially when I think of how we use to treat this like it was serious drama, its not.

 

I watched Exorcist as a kid but at that time, it didn't really scare the heck out of me (as a whole) because when I watched it, I really don't have any clue what was it about because I was probably too young (???). It did made me scream at times because of the shock factor. What really scared me when I was a kid was Poltergeist. It was because it involved a kid doing what all kids do (watching in front of the tv) and then the kid was eaten by that thing inside the TV. I has the better scare factor for a kid. Another was the movie Critters. I used to have bad dreams about that movie..hahaha..

When I got older, the movies that terrified me most was the original Japanese versions of The Ring and The Eye, and of course The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I find Exorcist scary when I understood the story (especially the ones that happened outside the movie) though.

One's perception of scary is really different from another's. Maybe today's technology has more tools to get that shock factor that the kids today want, but there would still be people who would not be scared no matter what that technology does. Yes the movie might make them scream at times but it doesn't mean it scared them.

 

I would say that it depends in a lot of things. For scary movies, it depends on the watcher, mostly because not everyone has fear of the same things, and the age does affect that. But old scary movies are all lame now, mostly because of how bad they are and we are used to better quality nowadays.

 

I literally just had goose bumps after reading what you have to say OP.

I remember watching it on TV during a celebration night of something when I was kid. I knew it was a horror movie and have avoided it for as long as I can until that night I decide it's time to man up and watch it.

I watched the whole movie with my pillow in front of me and I have to sleep in my sister's room for a week cause I was too afraid to sleep alone.

PS. I think they are doing a remake of that movie and should be out soon