2023: Bedlam in Print
Looking back over last year’s books!
William Friedkin’s Films, Ranked
On August 7, 2023, film director extraordinaire William Friedkin, a.k.a. Hurricane Billy, passed away. Here’s my ranking of his 20 features.
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Arguably the most interesting of William Friedkin’s pre-FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) films
THE EXORCIST LEGACY: 50 YEARS OF FEAR
A 50 year overview of an enduring classic, written by an author who was ideally suited for the job
RAMPAGE (1987/92)
From the sometimes-great William Friedkin, a so-so serial killer drama
The Strange Saga of the Exorcist Sequels
1973’s THE EXORCIST remains one of the most successful and enduring horror movies of all time yet, Hollywood being as it is, multiple sequels were an inevitability.
BUG (2007)
It’s been awhile since director William Friedkin made anything to match his seventies masterworks THE FRENCH CONNECTION and THE EXORCIST, but BUG handily accomplishes that task
THE EXORCIST
Here we come to perhaps the most famous and revered horror movie of our time–indeed maybe of all time
THE FRIEDKIN CONNECTION
This isn’t the greatest memoir by a film director I’ve ever read, but it is essential
HOUR OF THE WOLF
An Ingmar Bergman horror movie! THE HOUR OF THE WOLF was largely dismissed by critics, and truth be told it is quite dumb