There are several people i know who adore Andaz Apna Apna as if it were there own child. I also have personal list of a few such movies (and a couple of books as well). You can start anywhere and end anywhere. There's nothing in the movie you don't know, rather every line and every twist is known to you. Yet on no occasion does the movie fail to entertain you to a degree that doesn't diminish with time. A few days ago, i watched such a movie, worhty to be included in the category above: The Exorcist.
(I don't know if this can be called a film review, but it does contain plenty of spoilers.)
There are mainly two things which make this movie stand out from the rest of the horror movies made. First is the manner in which the scary factor of this movie is presented. It does not involve some slithery slimy beast or a creepy zombie, who would attack the protagonist from behind when s/he would least expect. Instead it has a demon in the body of 12 year old girl who would deliver a hard smack right across the face. And the second one is the memorable conversations that the younger of the two priests has with the demon. At times what the demon says seems horrifying, as well as a bit amusing. Whoever thought of adding humour to a hardcore horror flick! The point where the demon imitates an answering-machine reply: 'Your mother's in here Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I'll see that she gets it.' is an astounding piece of dialogue. I would never think twice before voting for it to be included in a list of all-time favourite quotes., if there ever is such a poll. Also wonderful is the quote, 'What an excellent day for an exorcism.', again coming from the demon. This is at the time when Karras and the demon are having a chat, man-to-man.
What makes the movie a sucees is the superbly true demon. The demon should indeed be called the protagonist of the movie, but alas, civic sensibilities won't allow that. Due credit should to be given to Linda Blair who plays the possessed girl, and of course her make-up artist. The vastly numerous profanities alone wouldn't have been central to make the movie thoroughly enjoyable, but they positively add glamour to the movie.
Having said everything i could in praise of the movie, i do harbour a serious complaint against the movie. Even though the possessed form calls itself the Devil, other characters say it is only the demon claiming to be the Devil itself. Why was the form shown to be content with calling itself a demon? Given the scale of the blasphemous content, in the movie, it is difficult to comprehend that portrayal of the Devil could have made things any worse. If you can show Jesus why not the Devil? Nothing would have changed, other than the identify of the form as the Devil proper. I know little about Christianity, but after watching this movie, i had a feeling -- and i may be entirely wrong -- that in a way the Devil is more sacred than the God.
(I don't know if this can be called a film review, but it does contain plenty of spoilers.)
There are mainly two things which make this movie stand out from the rest of the horror movies made. First is the manner in which the scary factor of this movie is presented. It does not involve some slithery slimy beast or a creepy zombie, who would attack the protagonist from behind when s/he would least expect. Instead it has a demon in the body of 12 year old girl who would deliver a hard smack right across the face. And the second one is the memorable conversations that the younger of the two priests has with the demon. At times what the demon says seems horrifying, as well as a bit amusing. Whoever thought of adding humour to a hardcore horror flick! The point where the demon imitates an answering-machine reply: 'Your mother's in here Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I'll see that she gets it.' is an astounding piece of dialogue. I would never think twice before voting for it to be included in a list of all-time favourite quotes., if there ever is such a poll. Also wonderful is the quote, 'What an excellent day for an exorcism.', again coming from the demon. This is at the time when Karras and the demon are having a chat, man-to-man.
What makes the movie a sucees is the superbly true demon. The demon should indeed be called the protagonist of the movie, but alas, civic sensibilities won't allow that. Due credit should to be given to Linda Blair who plays the possessed girl, and of course her make-up artist. The vastly numerous profanities alone wouldn't have been central to make the movie thoroughly enjoyable, but they positively add glamour to the movie.
