Filmmaker/writer recently shared an extended look at the infamous "Pazuzu face" make-up test, and has now uploaded an entire 30 minute-plus video of rare, never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes from William Friedkin's The Exorcist.
You may have seen some of this footage in earlier docs (Mark Kermode's Fear of God, for example), but most of it is brand new. Highlights include shots from the deleted Washington Sightseeing trip where Regan asks her mother about death, the "Spider-Walk" sequence which saw Regan arch her back and crawl down the stairs at a terrifying angle, the full Pazuzu make-up test with Eileen Dietz standing in for Linda Blair, and much more.
We also see an early make-up test featuring Blair herself sporting a very different look as Possessed Regan. Friedkin previously revealed that he decided to revamp this particular design for the character because he felt she ended up looking a little too "witchy," and after watching the video, it's hard to argue!
This really is a must-watch for any fan of Friedkin's classic, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
David Gordon Green's legacy sequel, The Exorcist: Believer, is now in available on Digital. It's not a patch on the original, of course, but it's maybe not quite as awful as the reviews would suggest.
"Exactly 50 years ago this fall, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. Now, on Friday, October 13, a new chapter begins. From Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green, who shattered the status quo with their resurrection of the Halloween franchise, comes The Exorcist: Believer.
Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil."
The Exorcist: Believer also stars Ann Dowd as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.
The movie is still playing in some theaters, and was released on Digital last week. The Exorcist: Deceiver is currently set to arrive on April 18, 2025.