For a couple of years now theres been talk of adapting The Exorcist for television, either as a mini-series or an ongoing show. Television. Clearly the brains behind this operation havent been reacquainted with the source material for a while. Heres the Cliff Notes version: Innocent twelve year old girl starts acting weird, saying obscene things, and making very inappropriate use of a crucifix. Psychiatrists are baffled so her mom turns to a priest whose faith has been broken. Eventually he teams up with another priest to perform an exorcism and try to save the girl. It was a monumental bestseller. Then two years later it was made into a movie. An excellent movie that many consider the scariest film ever made. Now for those who are familiar with the book or the movie, you know that a lot would have to be lost before translating it to television. Theres a lot of shocking material in there but its not all for shock value. Being horrified and having our comfort levels completely thrown away by watching this child say and do these things we are left in the same boat as the characters around her. We need to believe that in no way is this a normal twelve year old girl suffering from some psychological illness. This is true evil at work here. Call me crazy but a twelve year old bellowing a television friendly line like: Your mother dates a lot of guys in hell doesnt have the same impact as the more R-rated alternative. Heres another thought: If they want to draw from the well and make more money off of the Exorcist why not just do what they did in 2000: They just rereleased the original and it made a lot of money. Twenty seven years after it was made and it still drew in money. Why? When your movie has a reputation of being the greatest horror film ever made people are going to see it no matter how old it is. Just food for thought.
