exorcist

A cinematic reboot of William Friedman’s horror classic ‘The Exorcist’– considered by many to be the scariest movie of all time– has been churning in development hell for years.  Has FOX found the key to reviving this property?  Perhaps, as the network has placed a pilot order for a television adaptation.

A previous attempt to adapt the movie into a TV show was made in 2012.

The project is described as:

“A propulsive, serialized psychological thriller following two very different men tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession, and confronting the face of true evil.”

FOX’s dramatic ‘The Exorcist’ follows on the heels of Destination America’s reality special ‘Exorcism LIVE!’ which depicted the exorcism of a haunted house.  In perhaps a sign of the zeitgeist, the Catholic Church has reported an it is increasing the number of exorcism trained priests.

The original 1973 movie was based on the novel by William Peter Blatty and centered on a young girl named Regan (played by Linda Blair) who was possessed by Satan and featured such memorable images as her throwing up “pea soup” on those attempting to banish the demon, her head rotating 360º and crawling on the ceiling like a spider.  When adjusted for inflation, ‘The Exorcist’ remains the #9 highest grossing movie of all time.

If the idea of a TV version of ‘The Exorcist’ fills you with dread, then this bit of news will make you feel even worse.  The adaptation is being written and produced by Jeremy Slater, who crafted the original screenplay for last year’s bomb ‘Fantastic Four’.  (In all fairness, his original script was greatly altered into the finished product.)  He also wrote the supernatural thriller ‘The Lazarus Effect’, the in-production ‘Pet’ and is attached to the controversial U.S. remake of ‘Death Note’.

Also attached as executive producers are James Robinson, David Robinson and Barbara Wall.  The Robinsons previously produced 2004’s ‘Exorcist: The Beginning’ and 2005’s ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’.

Do you think the story of ‘The Exorcist’ will work as a TV series?  Or do you consider that blasphemy?

Source: Entertainment Weekly