William Friedkin’s unfortunate passing in 2023 sadly came during the celebration of one of his all time greatest cinematic masterpieces. This year “The Exorcist” celebrated its 50th anniversary and its legacy has continued thriving. It’s heralded as a horror and cinematic masterpiece by some, it’s despised by religious circles, and it’s yet to be duplicated in impact and influence. This year the studios have pulled out all the stops with licensing merchandise, re-releasing the film in to theaters and of course the 50th anniversary edition of the film on 4K UHD.
Tag Archives: Possession
The Nun II (2023)
I still think that James Wan and “The Conjuring” universe still has a great villain in the demonic nun Valak, and “The Nun II” is on the right track to fully realizing her potential. Despite still being sorely under utilized, “The Nun II” still crosses the finish as a solid horror thriller with some great mystery and some surefire scary images that should earn its place in the gamut of “The Conjuring” movie series. I also quite enjoy how the movie just has a better grasp on its tone, allowing for a movie that’s definitely scary, and not too concerned with its dramatic tone.
Ranking “The Conjuring” Universe From Best to Worst
I’m a big fan of James Wan’s “The Conjuring” movie universe as it’s one of the most effective, fascinating, and scary library of horror movies ever produced. While the legacy of Ed and Lorraine Warren is infamous, the fictional Ed and Lorraine Warren are great cinematic horror heroes, and they’ve been the center of one of the more diverse horror movie series to come along in a while. What with “The Nun 2” coming to theaters this week, I ranked the whole “The Conjuring” movie universe from the best to the worst.
Let me know how you’d rank the movies in the comments!
Evil Dead Rise (2023) [4K/Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since we’ve seen a proper “Evil Dead” movie. After the fantastic remake—boot (?), Warner brought in newcomer Lee Cronin to lend a new flavor to the universe. What was originally intended as an exclusively streaming release on their subscription service, Warner chanced it by bringing their movie to theaters exclusively. Thankfully their risk pulled off beautifully as their low budget return to the horror universe that Sam Raimi built ended up being a box office and crucial powerhouse. For good reason, too.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Sam Raimi perfected the cabin in the woods formula with “The Evil Dead” and as a series it’s managed to grow and evolve in to something different but just as good. The new sequel to the “Evil Dead” series places us in to an urban setting now, turning a dilapidated apartment complex in to pure hell. It’s amazing what Lee Cronin pulls off, carrying the torch for Sam Raimi and turning this new setting in to an absolute hellscape for the Deadites. You can seriously sense Sam Raimi’s company had their hands in the development of “Evil Dead Rise,” as this sequel is everything we’ve come to expect from the franchise, only with just a little more spice added in.
The Pope’s Exorcist (2023)
It feels a lot like the studios behind “The Pope’s Exorcist” is intent, or at least trying, to build a new horror hero in the vein of the Warrens a la “The Conjuring.” While normally I would never root for a film to fail, I hope we don’t get any sequels because I can’t picture Gabriele Amorth being a dynamic or even compelling horror protagonist. Even with his first film, Gabriele Amorth is explored as a massively skeptical priest pulled in to an extraordinary and genuine exorcism. There really isn’t much beyond what we learn about Gabriele Emorth or “The Pope’s Exorcist” for that matter.
Sorry About the Demon (2023)
There’s a realty good film desperate to break free tom “Sorry About the Demon.” While it’s not what I’d call a bad movie, it’s a movie that director Emily Hagins kind of loses grip over in its final half. It’s overlong for such a paper thin premise, and most times it feels like the movie can never decide if it’s horror rom-com or rom-com with a touch of horror. It’s a shame because the ingredients are there, but “Sorry About the Demon” never adds up to much of a genre film.
Demons I & II: Special Limited Edition [Blu-ray]
Regarded by many horror fans as one of the greatest horror movies of the eighties, and one of the greatest Italian splatterfests, “Demons” has carved a larger than life reputation in horror cinema, even in spite of its messy sequel line up. Lamberto Bava’s “Demons” is the essence of punk rock horror, a movie so unabashedly chaotic, violent, and gruesome, but one also packing a sense of mysticism. Its sequel is a pretty awesome follow up that repeats the original’s formula, but brings it in to a new arena where humans are hopelessly trapped.