the exorcist

Blatty and Friedkin Reunite for 'Exorcist' Mini-series

Nov 14th 2009 9:05AM by: Mike Bracken

1 Comment

News today straight from the "holy crap!" department. The new issue of Cemetery Dance is out and it features an interview with author William Peter Blatty. Blatty, who's best known for writing The Exorcist, drops a bombshell in the article (which Shock Till You Drop was kind enough to share with the rest of us): He's potentially reuniting with director William Friedkin to remake The Exorcist as a mini-series.

When asked if he'd have done anything differently in crafting the classic fright flick, Blatty responded, "Yes and no. I would love to have been able to include the subplot involving Karl and his daughter Elvira which I did in my first draft, but that script ran to 172 pages, much, much too long."

"But I might have it my way in the near future, inasmuch as I've written an Exorcist miniseries script that not only faithfully includes all the main elements of the novel, but also some rather spooky new material and scenes, as well as a totally new (and perhaps much more satisfying) ending. I've also updated it. Billy Friedkin has agreed to direct."

Generally speaking, I'm against remaking classic films like The Exorcist. However, given that both Blatty and Friedkin would be involved, I think this is an instance where I can make an exception. In a perfect world, Showtime or HBO would jump on this and then no one would even have to worry about content being approved for network television. And while this isn't guaranteed to happen, the idea of an updated Exorcist is still quite intriguing.

Now that I've made my feelings perfectly clear, share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Filed under: News/Reactions

 EMAIL | SHARE

What Are the Creepiest Movie Soundtracks?

Oct 7th 2009 9:03AM by: Horror Squad Staff

7 Comments

HellraiserBy Jenni Miller

"Listen to this!" A friend pressed the ringer on his BlackBerry, and it played the theme to The Omen, "Ave Satani" by Jerry Goldsmith, which he'd assigned to a particularly heinous client of his. Another friend had, for a time, assigned a relative the unforgettable score from Halloween as composed by writer/director John Carpenter himself. And I'm sure somewhere there is someone with the theme from The Exorcist, which was written by Mike Oldfield.

Ringtones aside, there's no denying that a deft soundtrack or score can ratchet up the tension in any movie, especially one that uses droning noises and other disturbing, almost subliminal effects that can slip past the viewer and straight into our brain. Some of my favorite spooky soundtracks sure to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end include the above, naturally, but there are a few that need some love as well.

Filed under: Discussion Posts

 EMAIL | SHARE