[howdythere]

They did the one with the serpent tongue. Then the one with the blood. Was another shot?

[fatherbowdern]

Jagged, thank you for posting this here!

This confirms to me that Vercoutere’s recall is miserable despite the timing of the article. Of course, he could be working his own “movie-magic spin.” This article is a confirmation of the filming of the infamous spiderwalk scene only.

If Vercoutere’s verbatim words are pulled out of each paragraph, he is ultimately only saying that the bloody part occurs in “…an alcove and then bites somebody in the leg,” after the staircase descent. Therefore, the blood did not come from Regan at all and that answers the issue about where the blood came from to begin with.

Additionally, the “bite” is not what’s in the book, script, or how it was filmed at all for the spiderwalk scene from everything I’ve researched (including Friedkin’s own words). The book, script, and the filming of the spiderwalk scene involved Regan descending the stairs sans the blood or bloody face and then chasing Sharon around with a serpent-like tongue “licking at Sharon’s ankles everywhere she moved.” A “bite” to Sharon’s “leg” is even more far-fetched and implausible than the blood pouring from Regan’s mouth. On a more settling term, Vercoutere is truly verifying in this article that Regan never had blood pouring from her mouth at all.

What does surprise is that Vercoutere doesn’t even recall the simplest aspects in terms of who the “somebody” is (that would be Sharon or Kitty Wynn). Also, Vercoutere gets mixed up in his answers in this article by saying where the “bite” occurred: “alcove,” “all around,” and even saying, “blood was running down all over her face, because she was upside down at the time,” although he just said that the “bite” just took place after Regan flipped over upright.

Here are the revealing examples, in bold, from the article that make Vercoutere’s statement unreliable … even after he has finished answering the questions in a standard interview fashion:

Fang: There was a scene in the book where Regan walks down the stairs like a crab. Rumor has it that this was filmed.

Vercoutere: It was all filmed, yeah. But they never put it in. Maybe because Friedkin felt it was too heavy. Because you see the scene like this: she gets out of bed and gets to the top of the stairs and turns upside down. And then runs down the stairs on her hands and legs – upside down! All the way down the stairs. Then turns into an alcove and then bites somebody in the leg.

Fang: How did you do that?

Vercoutere: I built a gag that was on the same level as the staircase, coming down. Then I rigged her up with a belt and two fine piano wires, so she could turn over. When she started at the top I could go down at the same level as she was. So actually the only thing she had to do was move her arms and legs; I could make her move at any speed I wanted to. As soon as I got her down at the bottom, I released her. She ran around the room and she bit somebody.

Fang: Too bad that didn’t make it into the film.

Vercoutere: Well like I said I think it was too much. Friedkin didn’t know how far to take it. He didn’t want a film people would laugh at. Besides that scene was kinda bloody, when she bites somebody. Blood was running down all over her face, because she was upside down at the time. Besides I think that would have clinched it for the audience that she was possessed. It was planned to be in the film before any of the other really bad stuff is used, so you see, Friedkin wanted to keep the audience guessing whether she was possessed or not at that point.

Again, Jagged, thanks for posting this here. This article is the true pinnacle and turning point to answer the mysteries of the “bloody spiderwalk.” 🙂

[Jagged]

Well, here’s the actual text of the relevant question from the interview. Make of it what you will. Seems to suggest there was blood involved. but not necessarily the way we see it in TVYNS. No mention of Linda Hager either.
The previously linked to website does seem to have slightly edited the quote to suit their article.

Fang: There was a scene in the book where Regan walks down the stairs like a crab. Rumor has it that this was filmed.

Vercoutere: It was all filmed, yeah. But they never put it in. Maybe because Friedkin felt it was too heavy. Because you see the scene like this: she gets out of bed and gets to the top of the stairs and turns upside down. And then runs down the stairs on her hands and legs – upside down! All the way down the stairs. Then tuns into an alcove and then bites somebody in the leg.

Fang: How did you do that?

Vercoutere: I built a gag that was on the same level as the staircase, coming down. Then I rigged her up with a belt and two fine piano wires, so she could turn over. When she started at the top I could go down at the same level as she was. So actually the only thing she had to do was move her arms and legs; I could make her move at any speed I wanted to. As soon as I got her down at the bottom, I released her. She ran around the room and she bit somebody.

Fang: Too bad that didn’t make it into the film.

Vercoutere: Well like I said I think it was too much. Friedkin didn’t know how far to take it. He didn’t want a film people would laugh at. Besides that scene was kinda bloody, when she bites somebody. Blood was running down all over her face, because she was upside down at the time. Besides I think that would have clinched it for the audience that she was possessed. It was planned to be in the film before any of the other really bad stuff is used, so you see, Friedkin wanted to keep the audience guessing whether she was possessed or not at that point.

[ReganMacNeilfan]

I too would like to see that scene. So I guess I need to see Fear Of God then.

[Author]

Posts