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15 comments
7 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 6/15/2008
Two of the best horror movies of there time, still great horror movies of this time, but which one is better? Wow. Im going to have to just go with the Shinning, Jack is to awesome.
on 2/26/2011
The Exorcist
on 7/27/2011
the choices sometimes are insanely difficult.... this one is just not fair hahaha
Definetly, The Shining. The Exorcist isn't as scary as people say it is. I like how in The Shinig they dont just use your sense of sight, but hearing too, which makes a big difference. It had me scared all the time, I was just waiting for something to happen. I also loved Tony. REDRUM.
The Exorcist may be scarier and more visceral than The Shining, but The Shining is the better film. Friedkin exploits the gross-out scare a bit too much for me, and because of that some scenes meant to be scary look silly today instead. Some of the spiritual themes that make the story of the Exorcist interesting to me are lost in the breakneck pacing and shocking visuals. The Shining is more subtle and more artfully composed. Nicholson's performance may be over the top, but it's over the top in an emotional way that expands on themes of possession and latent insanity in a way that Blair's gyrations and spewing don't.
on 10/14/2012
The Exorcist is the far better film. Scarier too!
on 12/9/2012
I respect The Exorcist a lot for its total insensitivity to the audience's sensibilities. And somehow despite its reliance on grossout-shock stuff, I find it really does inspire a weird sense of religious terror on some primitive level, at least when you feel it building up between the pea soup shit. You could pick away at some of the sillier plot elements all day (hey, doctors wouldn't recommend an exorcism...!!! and also demons aren't real!), but whatever, it's a great exercise in suspense and atmosphere. Same goes for The Shining. That one is obviously more mathematical, and I remember the score being really eerie in an understated kind of way. Kubrick's eyes are overrated--his ears did half the work. Whatever, these two would probably be right next to each other on my charts, if I was obsessive enough to be really accurate.
Shining is more scary and entertaining. Beats the Exorcist in almost every department, except acting.
Two magnificent film adaptations of novels by Stephen King and William Blatty. The Exorcist is a great horror film but The Shining is so much more, and works on multiple levels--something most other scary flicks fail to succeed at. It's effective as a drama about a family's disintegration, an examination of a father's descent into madness (or was he mad in the first place?), a tale of survival of a kid who's unable to fully comprehend the disturbing events occurring around him, and a straightforward haunted-house story. I admire the fact that Kubrick was courageous enough to gave Jack a repulsive personality right from the start instead of using alcoholism as an excuse. The Shining twists, mocks and even parodies genre conventions without losing the characteristics of a chilling, epic horror story. The Exorcist, while very disturbing, still relies mostly on superstitious, religious BS. Today's audiences may not be impressed by it. But yes, I agree with robmoviefilms--the acting caliber is undoubtedly higher in Friedkin's masterpiece.
It's, like, The Shining, man. There's, like, y'know, subtext in that movie and it's about, like Native Americans and the White Man supplanting dudes and shit. Like, metaphors make my dick hard. No, but The Shining is is a well-crafted movie. Typical Kubrick. The Exorcist is mostly boring, but Tubular Bells is great stiffy material too. And like, you know, like.
on 12/22/2012
give*
on 3/17/2013
I watched the Exorcist last night and to be frank, it isn't as scary (even at night, in dark) as people make it out to be, even to this day. It did have its suspense, a great story and some fascinating characters, but I really just strongly believe that the level that Kubrick's Shining reached, cannot be topped by any horror film. The Shining has far more suspense, I mean most of the Exorcist, Regan is possessed and tied in her room (it doesn't feel that scary) whereas when Jack chases his son in the maze, that was some of the biggest suspense I've seen! Shining prevails!
Both terrific. I'd take Kubrick over Friedkin, but The Exorcist over The Shining. Both have a great atmosphere, which I love, but The Exorcist is filled with more interesting characters in my opinion. The Exorcist has the greater re-watch value for me also, I love them both so much my mind could change some time in the future, for now though, it's The Exorcist.
on 3/28/2013
The Shining is superior....Whilst the Exorcist tries extremely hard to scare us with stuff like the walk down the stairs, projectile vomit, Regan going crazy, The Shining does very little into your face and is far more suspenseful...The idea of a girl locked in her room who is possessed isn't as scary nor as effective as a premise of a man's personality being changed whilst residing at a hotel to the point where he realizes having to kill his family The Shining easily wins, no contest in my eyes
on 4/10/2013
The Shining and Psycho are the greatest horror films. Kubrick's masterpiece in my opinion
on 4/11/2013
I'm giving into the Shining because it holds up better on repeated viewing, in my opinion.
on 4/12/2013
I suppose the gross out, over the top stuff would put people off The Exorcist and I get why some would think it 'tries extremely hard to scare us', but I love it. I'd take it over The Shining and Psycho, it's the one that's stuck with me, it's got the great Tubular Bells theme, The Shining never managed to scare me much as a kid, but The Exorcist did and still does, albeit to a lesser degree. Anyway, I love them both, but The Exorcist is the more memorable one for me personally.
on 4/13/2013
Shining, not a contest for me
on 7/9/2013
The Shining is the better horror flick.
Two of the best horror movies ever. The Shining is my pick.
on 9/6/2014
The Shining is way too boring for me.
on 9/18/2015
As much as I love The Exorcist, I think The Shining is the better horror movie. The creepy atmosphere in The Shining really sticks with me.
on 1/26/2017
As far as which is the more effective horror movie, I saw The Exorcist when I was younger, so it was much scarier to me. However, I think The Shining as a whole is a better movie that I could watch again and again.
on 9/26/2022
For me it’s definitely the shining.
