The Opening of 'The Rite' in New York City

I love midnight movies. Midnight movies in New York City are especially exciting, as many residents are artists and filmmakers themselves who also want to see a movie when it's first released. Another important aspect of seeing a movie is doing so at the right time, to help set the atmosphere. Midnight was the perfect time to see "The Rite," which is a part-horror, part-spiritual movie.

I saw "The Rite" at a special midnight screening. The theater was about half-way packed, a respectable showing for late night movies, which can often be rather desolate. People excitedly chatted about their expectations for the movie. Would it be a horror film in the tradition of the iconic 1973 film, "The Exorcist," or a more objective take like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose?"

What resulted was really a mix of the two. Special effects (though no turning heads or child doing mind-bending physical tricks) are very much on display in the movie, yet, until the last few minutes of the movie, the skepticism of the lead character allows a voice to those who think exorcism is dangerous and should be replaced with mental health care.

Part of the fun of seeing this kind of movie is experiencing it with others, even strangers. One of the few "horror movie tricks" that surprise the viewer with an expected "shock" in a scene had the young girl behind me screaming and jumping in her seat in fear. It made me not feel so bad for also being a horror movie "jumper," one who just cannot help but jump in fear at the director's carefully placed scares.

When the movie ended, the fact that it was in the wee hours of the morning added to the feeling that you had just gone on the exhausting journey with the young, skeptic priest, the ultimate hero of the film. I recommend that, if you want to see the movie, going to a midnight movie with a packed crowd. It adds an extra, important and somewhat spooky element to the fun of seeing the movie.