Gotta be Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of the true horror classics.....chilling and disturbing with a very depressing tone and theme from the start, you also feel the genuinity of the situation, and how very possible it is to occur, the family are very intimidating and make the movie what it is, it also has a much faster pace and more action than Exorcist, not to say I don't like it, but it just isn't for me as much as TCM
Both films have very haunting and disturbing images. But what makes TCM even more disturbing is because there were (and still are) claims that the film was based on real events that occur in Texas. And to avoid getting into the TCM and Ed Gein controversy (Because is a whole separate topic) let me just say that TCM gain more popularity over other movies because of that belief that the film was actually based on real events.
For me both films had very shocking scenes (I was only 12 when I saw the films). In The Exorcist Regan starts to play with crucifix and in TCM when Leather face cuts the wheel chair guy in half. That stay with me for years.
Well, both movies have a reputation that goes ahead of them. Both are legendary classics, no doubt about that.
But for me; I heard the stories of both movies before I saw them myself and when I first saw TCM I thought 'Is that what all the fuss is about?'
I liked it and it was a bit disturbing, but when I first saw The Exorsist, I went 'Damn! Now that is some freaky shit!'
Exorsist shocked me just a bit more, and it lived up to it's reputation better for me. The evil in it was more sadistic, relentless and darker.
TCM is pretty sick aswell, but I guess I just heard to many tales about just how sick it is so the surprise was screwed for me when I saw it.
I still think, as a matter of opinion, that the only reason a large number of people, outside of our web community, say that The Exorcist is the most shocking is because of their religious standpoint. You take some ultra-bible beating-Billy Graham type christian and they will not only curse and damn TCM for its "desensitizing and unnecessary" violence, but they will utterly and relentlessly attack The Exorcist because of its sacrilege and blatant blasphemy. I also agree with those who say that even though TCM is still THE undisputed pinnacle and standard for psycho-slasher movies, it has been copied and mimicked too death over the years. The Exorcist is not nearly as violent, or in-your-face as TCM, because it is a psychological horror film. Remember, The Exorcist is not just about some 12 year old girl under demonic possesion with lots of foul language and gestures, but its also about the battling of inner demons of Father Karras and Chris Macneil. That said, I think that, like a matter of good taste, asking what one can construe as "shocking" is like asking if Dr. Pepper or Coke is the best soda in the world. No one person will ever have the same answer. Even though Dr. Pepper IS the best. LOL
I must confess I watched Exorcist purely for the reputation it had, and I must say, I find it a boring movie now, i'm more of an fast paced action kinda guy, and for me Exorcist is just too still, little action.....good storyline, and great acting throughout, but I jus can't see how anyone can prefer it over TCM, TCM is fantastic in every way, brilliantly disturbing, yet compelling viewing at the same time, you get a real feeling of genuinity about the subject matter, and it has spawned the success of many other horror movies, like House of a 1,000 corpses, so it has given us a new genre within horror, timeless classic that will never die out, or fade into an old school typecast, gory, gripping and glorious
the exorcist is not meant to be about action. what did you want from it?
and i disagree that tcm is disturbing...its not.....henry portrait of a serial killer is disturbing...the acting is also pretty shitty in tcm
the exorcist has a brilliant story,it is brilliant directed and acted, and it leaves me more freaked out than tcm does. everything is flawless. i find it hard to imagine how more freaked i would of been if i was a religous person.
TCM is still a classic though and both films shoudnt be compared
I'm not asking everyone in here to try and PROVE which movie is more shocking. I just wanted to know all of y'alls opinons. Nor am I asking them to be compared and/or critiqued in that manner. I, myself, vote for TCM as most shocking because of the overt violence and rawness of it all, but I think that the Exorcist has a much more involved storyline and character development. Plus I still giggle and enjoy myself when I watch the timeless images of Sally screaming and wailing in TCM. Both movies will always have a space on my DVD rack.
You do realized that the Exorcist is a based on a book which in turn is based on journals by a preist who perform an actually exorcism on a boy in St.Louis. So if you wanted the fact that it may be based on real events they both had it and both were disturbing indeed (especially for those who understand it all the way through). But I still find the Exorcist more frighting not only because it aligns with my religious but be cause it was documented not passed by word of mouth through rumors.
I don't see what's particularly shocking about TCM; maybe that's just because it's been immitated so often. It's "12 year old little girl masturbating with a crucifix" vs. "inbred, cannibalistic hillbilly impaling teenagers on meathooks and eviscerating them with a chainsaw." Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm not a horror movie buff, but it seems to me that teenagers being violently murdered is pretty much a given in horror movies (or at least it was for a time)--nothing particularly shocking about it, from a horror movie point of view.