Diving into horror for the first time? Well, you’ve got to start with The Exorcist. It’s a classic, and like most good ’70s cinema, it’s weighty, atmospheric, and slow-building, with rounded-out characters. What you’ll find in contemporary horror is go-to archetypes and cliches, but The Exorcist rises above this by building tension and laying a great foundation for the overall storyline. The result? The characters don’t just end up as exposition, but they’re “real” and tangible.
Old horror films like this were shot without complicating the overall storyline, so they focused on good ol’ fashioned storytelling as opposed to flashy techniques. Let’s take the iconic scene with Father Merrin staring up at the window (that’s all I’m giving away, folks). Now, that’s something modern horror can’t replicate. Here’s the logic behind my answer — starting with oldies but goodies makes you appreciate the tenets and nuances of the genre. But if you dive headfirst into a more recent horror film, you may never grasp the motivation behind certain techniques and tropes.
New to horror? Start where a lot of it all began — stream The Exorcist now on Max and see why it still sets the standard.
