Long begins revealing his four horror favorites with two classics, “The Exorcist” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Both of these 1970s films are inventive horrors that frequently make “best of” horror lists, and for good reason. Based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist spawned a series of films and television series about demonic possession and exorcism. It all started with his one macabre movie in 1973. The film changed the young star Linda Blair forever and had a huge impact on horror movie marketing through her campaign of insane word of mouth. The film swooned in theaters through its depiction of a girl suffering from the agonies of demonic possession.
Another theme Long chose in the 1970s involved possession, but of a very different kind. The 1978 version of “Invasion of the Bodysnatchers” stars Donald Sutherland and has one of the most iconic singles in horror films: his frame. Both “The Exorcist” and “Body Snatchers” deal heavily with fear of the unknown and uncontrollable, so it’s no surprise that Long’s contemporary picks deal with similar themes.
