The Pod and the Pendulum: A Horror Movie Podcast

This week Mike, Rachel, Nichole and Devaughn are all on hand to talk about the best movies that features exorcisms (of a sort) that aren't The Exorcist. It's a wide ranging list and as we're prone to do, we get fast and loose with some definitions. This is what Mike loves to call the "notepad" style of episode, because we think listeners will want to jot down a handful of titles they maybe haven't seen or even heard of yet.

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Mike Stephen, and Ariel are back to wrap up another franchise with 2023's Exorcist: Believer. This one isn't divisive as audiences and critics alike hated this one seemingly from the moment David Gordon Green announced it would be his next project after Halloween Ends. What was planed to be a legacy sequel that would launch a trilogy wound up scrapped after the first film failed to recoup anything close to the $400 million (ouch) Universal shelled out for the rights alone. Between lazy callbacks, and an insulting use of the returning Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, it certainly gave the haters plenty of cannon fodder.

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Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out.

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We’re back to talk about ANOTHER prequel to The Exorcist (afilm so nice they had to tell the origin twice), but fortunately, this week Mike and Stephen are here to talk about the good one. Yes indeed, this week we’re here to talk about the most expensive DVD feature of all time, the completedvision of Paul Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. It’s the Gallant to Harlin’s Goofy, and as one might expect from a Schrader jam, it’s a contemplative rumination on man’s fallibility and culpability with regards toevil. It’s certainly not the rock ‘em sock ‘em straight forward horror movie Morgan Creek anticipated, leading to it being shelved for The Beginning. Perhaps a horror crowd that’s been raised on the sort of character studies A24has delivered over the past decade would be more receptive to the quiet character drama and standout performance from its lead Stellan Skarsgard delivered as a conflicted Father Merrin.

If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribewherever you get your podcast feeds.

Please take a moment to rate and review us on the ApplePodcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings helpnew listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback andsupport.

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog ofshows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog,leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to checkit out.

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This week we’re talking about Renny Harlin’s The Exorcist: The Beginning because we’re contractually obligated to due to the format of the show. Mike and Stephen are here to talk about hot moms, the 1995 coming of age movie Angus, (featuring not one but TWO Oscar winners), the Angus soundtrack, what makes up the weakest entry in the Back to the Future series, whether or not Paul Schrader directed Clifford the Big Red Dog, the latest addition to our soundboard and so much more. All right, we talk about the movie a little bit, and ask the question whether it is better to be a serviceable, feels like it’s made for television feature, or a wild swing and massive miss like The Heretic? Plus, we ask the question: Has there ever been a successful exorcism in any of The Exorcist movies?

Ultimately, The Beginning is “The Goofus” to Dominion’s “Gallant”: a big, dumb, spectacle of a movie with poorly rendered, early aughts CGI that passes a couple hours but has all the lasting power of a stick of Juicy Fruit gum.

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Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support.

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out.

If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

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After what Mike called the low point of the show in terms ofmovie we’ve covered, this week we’ve rebounded with a minor classic, WilliamPeter Blatty’s The Exorcist 3. Or is it Legion? Or is it The Exorcist 3:Legion? Or is it The Exorcist 1990?

As you can see already, this one had a long, winding, andoften confusing path to the screen. From creative differences that led toBlatty ultimately taking the helm, to forced reshoots, and a wedged in exorcismin the third act, to recasting three of the principal characters, it’s a hellof a tale. Brad Douriff alone would replace Jason Miller, only to be replacedby Miller after test screenings, only to replace / team up with Miller to playthe same character after replacing him didn’t work. It’s stunning a coherentfilm even emerged, let alone one that’s as smart, scary and thoughtful asExorcist 3. Featuring one last powerful turn from a late in his career George CScott, Brad Douriff at his scariest (coming off Child’s Play no less) and oneof the best jump scares in movie history, this one packs a wallop.

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This week we’re talking about a movie so awful it made Mike question the whole format of the show. Do we really want to cover every franchise if it means films likeThe Exorcist II: The Hereticare forced on our eyeballs? Widely regarded as one of the worst films of all time, it had the unenviable task of following up one of the most successful horror films in history. Directed by a filmmaker that had nothing but loathing for the first film, and viewed by Warner Brothers as a way to cash in quickly and cheaply on the name and box office of the original, this one seemed doomed from the start. Plagued by near death illnesses, a script rewritten to the point it was unrecognizable, cast and creators that couldn’t distant themselves from it fast enough, 70s mambo jumbo psychobabble and not enough Ned Beatty, this one is a trainwreck from start to finish. While Devaughn (rightly) argues for its aesthetics and ethereal sci-fi  vibe, this one is a tough watch. That said, sometimes the biggest disasters are the most fun to discuss. Within this episode:

• What will happen to your liver if you made a drinking game out of how many times they say "Pazuzzu"?
• Maybe we shouldn't leave Richard Burton around young kids?
• What was that hot nonsense with the headbands?
• What if William Peter Blatty sold the toy and action figure rights to The Exorcist?
• All this and more!

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After last week's episode on the background of the movie, Brian and Mike are back to dive into The Exorcist proper. We discuss where it fits in the canon of the great 70s, auteur driven works, how Friedken's insistence on reality lifted this above genre conventions and gave birth to the modern horror movie, and how making the Church the heroes in this narrative hasn't aged so well for modern times.

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What a wonderful day to talk about The Exorcist. This week

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This week we're unlocking our patron vaults and giving everyone a taste of what you get when you become a subscriber. Mike, Brian, and Stephen joined forces to break down the Oz Perkins smash hit, and one of the most commercially and critically successful genre offerings of 2024. With Nic Cage as the titular serial killer, audiences could expect a wild ride, but what really surprised our crew was just how much of a homage this was to the psychological thrillers of the early 90s, and how at its core, just how much this is story about how far a mother will go to protect their daughter.

If you like what you've heard this week, and want to unlock another 60 hours of bonus content (including Ariel's incredible and exclusive coverage of the I Spit on Your Grave franchise, Brian's upcoming series on the Nosferatu films, and later this year our look back at the Back to the Future trilogy) you can unlock bonus episodes by become a patron here:

www.patreon.com/podandthependulum

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Before we go out with the old and in with the new, your

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