Exclusives
‘The Real Story Behind The Exorcist’ Gets Adapted to the Big Screen!
God bless Vertigo Entertainment for taking the high road and keeping their hands off remaking The Exorcist, one of the few films that should never be touched. Instead, the producers of The Ring, The Grudge, Quarantine and countless other remakes, are working on an adaptation of Mark Opsasnick’s book “The Real Story Behind The Exorcist“. Read on for the skinny on this exclusive breaking news.
In the vein of Exorcism of Emily Rose, Vertigo Entertainment is adapting “The Real Story Behind The Exorcist: A Study of the Haunted Boy and Other True-Life Horror Legends from Around the Nation’s Capital,” which at this point is currently untitled, Bloody-Disgusting learned exclusively.
What’s interesting about this project is that it is NOT a remake of The Exorcist, nor is it even based on the newspaper articles that inspired the most terrifying film ever made.
“The Real Story”, written by Mark Opsasnick, is the story of a reporter trying to track down the real person that the movie The Exorcist was based on and discovering that there was more to the story. During the investigation, different stories are told by “witnesses” from their perspective.
The investigation ends with the reporter actually tracking down the real-life inspiration for The Exorcist. How does it end up? I guess you’ll have to read the book or watch the movie when it hits big screens in the coming years.
This sounds like it could be pretty interesting!
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika