Where were my parents growing up?
What was I doing watching such classics as The Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver, Paris Texas, and Caligula before the age 13?
In fact, I was right about to turn 13 when I watched Caligula for the first time. It was a long, boring summer. I was dragging ass on mowing the yard. My dog puked on the tile floor. And instead of taking care of both of those problems, for whatever reasons we had a rented copy of Caligula so I popped it in the DVD player.
I remember the moment better than I remember 9/11.
Next thing I know, Malcolm McDowell was fucking his sister, penises were everywhere, and there was blood. So, so much blood (with a few blowjobs to boot).
I just didn’t see it coming.
Hardcore porn and bloody movies weren’t anything new to me. But when they got mixed together, you go from being aroused to utterly horrified in one frame. It’s too much for a young mind to take in.
I was so traumatized by the experience, I couldn’t watch it again until I was 20.
But now I’m happy that it’s being recognized as a truly awful classic, and a marquee role for Malcolm McDowell and a disgustingly hott Helen Mirren. It’s been therapeutic for me to say the least.
The Internet Ruined Everything 
I saw it in a theater a few years after it’s initial release, and was horrified by its depravity and violence. Such a terrible and utterly repulsive film.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s an interesting artifact from the late 70s. Bob Guccione was probably betting on the porn chic becoming something huge, especially after the success of Deep Throat, and it just didn’t take off. Now it’s an oddity featuring the talents of Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud, and Gore Vidal. I just wish that someone told me that before I watched it lol!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I knew of its controversy and pornographic nature beforehand. I had no problem with the sex, but it was things like pouring wine down the throat of the newly-married husband, then cutting off his penis, or raping his wife while he had to watch. Just too violent and disgusting for my taste.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yeah! They pack so much shit into that movie that there’s a lot that I’ve forgotten about. I think it was the whole experience: McDowell’s over-the-top performance, the disorienting production design and editing, the soaring score, and the constant bombardment of blood and naked bodies and depravity. But the scene that oddly messed me up was the death of his sister 🤷♂️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course! I always enjoy sharing my traumatic experiences
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember watching the original Evil Dead when I was 5. Maybe we’re equally disturbed LOL.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I would have been disturbed too if I saw it at 5. But if I saw Evil Dead II, I would have just been confused
LikeLiked by 2 people
Probably more confused. I mean, why would Ash go back? It’s a nightmare of demons, but also continuity. Lol
LikeLiked by 2 people
Prolly bc Sam Raimi had a bigger budget even though he got it right the first time
LikeLiked by 1 person