The Visitor

Here's part of a recent email I sent to my friends Joanna and Chris, based on our talk about the 1979 film The Visitor:
^^^
...So here's something interesting, true, and fateful: years ago -- when I was 11 or 12 or something -- I saw this really weird movie. Couldn't remember what it was, it was just randomly on TV one day or something. I remember birds, and a woman on a tram going down stairs, and wire, and blood, and weirdness, and supernatural freaky religious stuff. Over the years I've reflected on this film, wondering, "What the hell was that movie anyway?" Several months ago I had a supposed revelation: It's The Exorcist II: The Heretic! I have the box set but for some reason hadn't watched Part II since childhood. It felt like the right time, so I popped it in. And while fascinating, and better than people give it credit for, and oddly risky in its thematic elements, it wasn't the film I'd been haunted by. I was disappointed. I ended up doing this whole Google search and asking around, but to no avail. So here we go and have a nice day with you, and we get home just now and Gus decides to look up The Visitor trailer. You guessed it. It's that freakin' movie! Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPqFwuKrOY

You'll note [that Drafthouse Films] says that The Visitor is "about an intergalactic warrior battling a demonic eight-year-old girl and her pet hawk, as the fate of the universe hangs in the balance." Um, yes please.

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin called it "a blackhearted blowout of interplanetary possession, telekinetic avian assault, exploding basketballs, and ecclesiastical laser storms." Double yes please.

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So there you have it. Can't wait for this oddball freakshow of a cult masterpiece to be re-released in theaters this fall, remastered in all its insane glory.

p.s. Exorcist II: The Heretic really is worth a second chance, if you've written it off or just believed all the negative reviews. It's a strange (satanic) beast of a flick.