Shudder Presents: Cursed Films Episode 1 – The Exorcist

Horror fans have long shared stories of cursed productions on the set of some of the most famous and infamous horror films. It’s easy to shake many of these away as superstition or paranoia, but we are talking about the horror genre here, so is it too far out of the reach of our minds, that maybe… just maybe the films that scare us the most are cursed? That is the question being posed by Shudder, AMC’s horror streaming service, which unveiled today Cursed Film, its new 5-part series. The series covers Poltergeist (1982), The Omen (1976), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), and The Crow (1994). Perhaps fittingly, though, the premiere episode deals with William Friedkin’s genre-defining classic from 1973, The Exorcist.

Not the news horror fans wanted on Friday the 13th for sure, but the man responsible for creating the greatest horror story of the 20th century has passed away. William Peter Blatty died last night in a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, according to his wife of 33 years Julia Alicia Blatty, who confirmed to CNN. He was 89.

The acclaimed writer, director, and screenwriter died of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. William Friedkin, who directed the film version if Blatty’s most infamous work, The Exorcist, posted the news to his Twitter account.

The Exorcist III
Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Director: William Peter Blatty
Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty
Cast: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Nicol Williamson, Brad Dourif
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 110 Minutes
Release Date: October 25, 2016

“I have dreams of a rose, and falling down a long flight of stairs.”

Written and directed by William Peter Blatty (The Ninth Configuration), The Exorcist III is the latest cult curiosity to receive a two-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Released in 1990, the film is based on Blatty’s 1983 novel Legion, which picks up several years later. The “true sequel” to William Friedkin’s 1973 film, The Exorcist III ignores the events of Exorcist II: The Heretic completely, despite its sequential title – the film was originally titled Legion, but was changed by studio executives to make the movie more commercially appealing.

FEARnyc is the destination for horror fans in New York as we get closer to Halloween. The film festival, put together by director John Capo, is showing over 65 horror movies through Thursday, including world premiere originals and timeless classics. FEARnyc emanates from Cinema Village, located near NYC’s Union Square. On Saturday, I arrived at 4:45 pm and took in an awesome four-film marathon that included the world premiere of Pool Party Massacre, as well as classics The Lost Boys, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and 1973’s The Exorcist, the latter of which included a seance.

“If we can give a couple people nightmares, I’ll go to bed a happy man.” – Writer Jeremy Slater

The Exorcist is the latest classic horror film to make the move to the small screen, following the like of Psycho (Bates Motel), Scream, and The Omen (Damien). The show set in Chicago, stars Academy Award winner Geena Davis as Angela Rance, a woman convinced her family, specifically her daughter Casey (Hannah Kasulka) are beset by a demon. As in the film, a pair of priests, one young, one old come to the aid of the family.

Check out the video below.