Movies
‘THE EXORCIST’: Watch Even More Unseen FX Test Footage!
Last week Bloody Disgusting presented you with an exclusive look at never-before-seen special effects test footage that’s been unearthed from William Friedkin’s 1973 horror masterpiece The Exorcist! The footage was provided by someone very special to us, who unfortuantely cannot be named.
Let me attempt to explain what you’re about to see (it will be broken into 3 parts with more “treats” coming in a few days!)…
This footage came from a 16mm print which was labeled as such: “Warner Bros color timed anamorphic test – The Exorcist.” The case had William Friedkin’s name hand written on the address label.
The following footage was shot on 35mm. This print was a 16mm reduction of the 35mm footage, probably intended to view tests at home or in the office.
The most interesting thing to my buddy is that this was shot SCOPE. As he explains, the camera slates in this footage list Friedkin as the director, so this leads one to assume Friedkin was originally going to shoot The Exorcist in scope. This footage, to the best of his knowledge, is totally unreleased anywhere and is the ONLY footage ever seen of the Exorcist set shot in scope. And it’s premiering exclusively right here on Bloody Disgusting!!!
He also believes that the man you sometimes see standing by the bed with a moustache is WILLIAM PETER BLATTY supervising the tests. (Note: this may appear in future videos I share next week.)
Another interesting thing you see in this footage is the ENTIRE ROOM is on some sort of device which makes it shake back and forth violently. Neither of us remember a scene in the finished movie where the entire room swivels around as if it is unhinged from the rest of the house…
HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM BLOODY DISGUSTING!
Below you’ll find 2 more of the 4 videos (shared over 3 days) in which we see the bed and room shake! You can see some effects tests where Regan floats, and where she is being thrown around her bed by clicking here.
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.