MicahGandolahsome

I know I'm being a jerk, but I've got some philosophical disagreements with Joel and his filmmaking style, so I think it's fair that I watch all of his films this year and give him a chance to change my mind. So I'm probably going to continue being a jerk all year.

Definitely a step up from January, but Joel continues to prove why feature films normally have budgets. And usually take time to actually write well developed scripts. And especially why they typically give themselves longer than, y'know, a month to finish. Sometimes it's even less than that but I still stand by my initial statements about what it takes to make a great movie.

I usually try not to take shots at indie films, but I also feel like Joel tends to pit his brand of no-budget filmmaking against industry in general, so I think that makes his films fair game.

I've skimmed through his features before and really haven't had any draw, but even so I'm surprised by the extent to which this film is actually unwatchable.

Like, I get that these aren't necessarily for me, so who cares if they work for me or not. But Joel doesn't exactly pull his punches when taking pot shots at other artists films when they don't cater to his tastes. Then he goes off to provide an alternative, and he rolls up with this garbage?

This made me sad to watch.

It's clear that Friedkin really wants demonic possession to be a serious problem. I saw an interview with him where he said he kept making films because he just wanted to make something as important as something like Citizen Kane. This documentary just felt like an attempt to retroactively imbue that sort of importance on The Exorcist as his career winded down in the middle of a dry spell.

But, like, Friedkin, you don't need to do this. You made a good movie. You made a really good movie. Quite a few of them actually. Sometimes it's best to be more aware of what you've accomplished.