Hi,

I was wondering if anyone felt the same way that I do....

This weekend, my girlfriend and I watched the Exorcist. It was her first time to see it. To me, it is one of the scariest movies of all time. Very very creepy.

She kept referencing scenes from Scary Movie 2 when it showed the exorcism. After the movie, she said that it wasn't as scary as people say.

My question is, Do the numerous comedy film parodies dimish the originals and make them less appealing??

I can watch the Exorcist and still get that same creepy feel, but now after having seen Scary Movie 2, I also think back to those comedic scenes.

Well, you've pretty much answered your own question there, haven't you?

I remember teenagers chuckling during Mel Gibson's Hamlet when any of the famous lines came up, presumably because they thought the movie was actually stealing popular lines, rather than realizing that the lines actually originated in Hamlet.

I think it just depends on the movie. I can see it diminishing horror movies because they rely on a total serious mood, whereas other movies including dramas have scenes you can still laugh at.

I remember watching Rain Man, for the first time since it came out, earlier this year. I hadn't realized just how many lines from it had been paradied over the years. Really detracted from the movie.

I don't think parodies diminish originals, it's really up to the person. Star Wars for instance is still a classic, and there's been lots of parodies for that.

Scary Movie 3 had some funny parodies of The Ring and Signs that made me laugh when trying to watch the originals recently.

no. they don't.

I would say it depends on which you see first. If you see the parody first and then pick up the original I would say it definitely has a negative impact.

Take the Scary Movies, say you see one of the parodies and you recognize what it is, but haven't seen the film. You definitely won't be in the right frame of mind when you catch the original that it copied.

I think this is pretty much my experience too. Like I said earlier, my girlfriend had never seen the Exorcist so she didn't find it as scary after seeing Scary Movie 2.

It can happen. But it's rare. If the parody is stronger than the original, it can diminish the original. People will look at a badly made movie and say, "Yeah . . . that is pretty dumb, isn't it?" But 16 years of Simpsons's parodies hasn't diminished Citizen Kane one whit.

True.

Maybe horror films are more susceptible to this since you need to be afraid and comedic parodies about them can cause the opposite effect/emotion while watching the original.

I loved Young Frankenstein and thought it was genious. But, when I watched the original Frankenstein on DVD when it came out, I kept thinking back to scenes from Young Frankenstein.

Sometimes parodies just come off as rip offs only. I guess its a fine line between originality and ripping off the original.

I think it depends 100% on whether you saw the original first or the parody first. If you've seen the parody first, good or bad, the original won't have the same impact. This is twofold for scary movies. If I've seen the original first, however, the parody won't ruin future viewings for me.