In 1973, he brought us the film classic. 45 years later, director William Friedkin brings us the real thing.
2018-04-20
N/A
68 min
William Friedkin attends an exorcism with Father Gabriele Amorth, as he treats an Italian woman named Cristina for the ninth time. Prior to filming, Cristina had purportedly been experiencing behavioural changes and “fits” that could not be explained by psychiatry, and which became worse during Christian holidays.
Fascinating and thought provoking.
This is not a perfect doco and there are a lot of things that could have improved it (like having no music at all, going into the background of Father Amorth and possession more). (Secretly, I wonder if the release was rushed for legal reasons).
But it is incredible to watch an actual exorcism (which is nothing like the movies) and also to see health professionals talking about it afterwards (and I would have liked more of this too).
Some people have complained about the quality of the footage and sound during the actual exorcism, but I think that considering there was only 1 camera with no prep for something he had never experienced before, that it was well done.
Watch this movie either on netflix or youtube for a different view on exorcisms in movies.
