6. “Dimi, why you do this to me?”
Can’t give The Shining props and leave out The Exorcist! I know they’re both a little on the nose, but they’re also easily two of the most influential films ever made in the horror genre (everyone reading this is like “DUH”), in so many ways, but most relevantly, in terms of their masterfully manipulative sound design. The Exorcist is auditory perfection from beginning to end: the high-pitched subliminal whines and subsonic drones, the “Pazuzu bees”, the multi-layered voice of Regan. And then there’s the calculated choice to make the audience listen to the unspeakable horror in Regan’s bedroom, often muffled behind a closed door, before we ever see it. Brilliant. I’ve listened to audio rips of portions of this movie just to try to parse out some of the splicing and surround techniques they used. Still have no idea how some of it was accomplished.
