Before Superman, before Goonies, Richard Donner kicked off his film career with one of the all-time great occult horror flicks. What I love about this movie vs The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby is that it plays it straight for as long as possible.

These deaths were accidental!

If you need a straight man, getting Gregory Peck out of retirement as he seeks some catharsis from his own son's suicide is top shelf. David Warner is also great as the photographer capturing people's deaths before thy happen—and we get some of the best random deaths ever shot. Kudos to all, but Goldsmith's operatic and choral score is what actually makes this movie scary, and no matter how much Robert Thorn is trying to maintain his cool, Goldsmith never lets us off the hook. They even gave him an Oscar for it. Remember when the Academy used to recognize horror?

Welcome to Hooptober XI
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