Magic (1978) - Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret

One of the all time best horror movie commercials. I always assumed the movie itself would be rather staid.

[quote]Something about a ventriloquist and his dummy just seems freakishly "off" to me

You're not the only one, OP. I don't like any of them nor clowns. UGH!

I always give up on this movie halfway. It starts well.

And, this is the other one...

LIVING DUMMY -- 2 Minute Twilight Zone -- The Dummy

The commericial scared the C R A P out of me. I was eight years old. I'm still too scared to watch this movie.

Hopkins deserved an Oscar just for voicing the dummy.

I've never understood the ending...what is it that Ann-Margret says at the end?

[quote]I've never understood the ending...what is it that Ann-Margret says at the end?

"GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!"

Ann-Margret gave one of her best performances in this movie.

Dolls are creepy creepy creepy.

[quote]I've never understood the ending...what is it that Ann-Margret says at the end?

She basically calls out to Corky (Hopkins) and says let's give it a "whack", meaning she'll leave her husband and run away with Corky. Then says something like "don't waste time, I'm a woman and have the right to change my mind". Her last line, said in the voice of a dummy is "You may not get this oppor-fucking-tunity tomorrow!"

Full movie on YouTube if anyone wants to watch, or watch the final scene to hear what AM says.

Gene Wilder was the original choice for Anthony Hopkins' role.

The part that freaked me out as a kid was the scene where Anthony Hopkins puts the doll down and gets up and the doll still moves a little. As an adult I assume the levers are just moving a little on their own after Hopkins sets the doll down, but as a kid I thought it meant the doll was alive. The audience where I attended screamed out when that happened in the theater.

First movie where I saw an actress’s tits. Got a boner. Still gay- but it was Ann- Margaret. It would be a slap in God’s face not to get a boner.

I don't see how you could get a boner when the love scene was intercut with footage of that fucking dummy!! C-R-E-E-P-Y scene...

In MY day, young ladies did not have to subject themselves to the ultimate indignity of public baring their private parts on film in order to give the make audience members (and Joan Crawford) a boner!

Yes, I mistyped but I'm 102!

I stuck it out, but am with R3: it starts out well, then drags on and on and on and loses whatever magic it had.

[quote]OP. I don't like any of them nor clowns.

They are weirdly reminiscent of clowns. Mines fall into this category too. Keep them all away from me!

Haven’t seen this since I was a kid. I remember it seeming really SLOW in parts, and I’ve never been the sort of movie watcher who has a hard time with slower movies, or older movies, or lack of action, etc. I know it’s on Shudder (hopefully in glorious HD), so I’m thinking I should check it out again, thanks to this thread.

Two years later, no one remembered that "Magic", because everyone was talking about this one.

I remember reading the book before the movie came out. I was excited to see the movie because I liked the book. The movie didn't live up to expectations, however. (Too long ago to remember the main differences, however)

I've always viewed the movie as a better treatment of the Twilight Zone story linked in R4. But, the big and much more believable difference was that Hopkins was truly mentally ill and thought the dummy was actually alive. What I remember and like about the movie is at the very beginning and how Burgess Meredith figures it all out and tells him something like; "Kid, you're ticky-ticky-boom-boom. You need help!"

OH! I HATE THESE THINGS!!!

Slappy from Goosebumps

17 Creepy Ventriloquist Photos

Freaked me the fuck out. I was 12 and went with a friend and his older sister which is how we were able to get into an R rated movie. I couldn't sleep afterwards and was so miserable I told my mother that I snuck into an R rated movie and was having nightmares. Instead of comforting me and finding out what upset me so much, my mom said the movie was rated R for a reason and I shouldn't have seen it. End of discussion. I have never seen it again and actually managed to avoid the whole horror genre -- never saw any of the Halloween or Jason movies.

I can never get through the whole film, but isn't it very close to the final segment of the 1945 British film DEAD OF NIGHT?

I just don't like dummies!

OP, boy do I have a "Twilight Zone" episode for you!!!

Me too, OP. I was 8. And when that ad would come on, I would go hide behind the couch and cover my ears. I don't know why they ran it during shows like The Brady Bunch.

Dave Eggers actually mentions this ad in "A Staggering Work..." for the same reason.