CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
This year’s Halloween treat has come early, fellow Exorcist fans, thanks to anonymous source and the masters of horror news, Bloody-Disgusting.
They have recently published the first clips of newly discovered test footage filmed ahead of principal photography. The built sets can be seen (Regan’s bedroom) and Linda Blair appears in costume, so principal photography must have been close, which dates this footage circa 1972.
Keep in mind, this footage is not from Owen Roitzman’s collection (as found on the 2010 Blu-ray), nor is it from The Fear of God documentary (some of Dick Smith’s test make-up and apparatuses are shown in that superb BBC documentary). According to Bloody-Disgusting, this particular footage came from a 16mm print (of a 35mm reduction) which was labelled: œWarner Bros color timed anamorphic test “ The Exorcist. The case had William Friedkin’s name hand-written on the address label.
They speculate that the man standing by the bed might be author and producer William Peter Blatty. This is most likely the case (its hard to tell but the ‘mo is a good indication), but he is not just in that shot to supervise– he is ‘standing in’ as Father Merrin/Karras would be placed in that frame (you can see him miming the act of flipping pages of a bible).
The footage is suitably creepy and astounding. Sit back and enjoy something that has been kept under wraps for over 40 years!
