The horror movie Quentin Tarantino calls “absolutely killer”
Not only is Quentin Tarantino one of the greatest directors of his generation, but he also serves as something of a film critic and a walking encyclopaedia of cinema history. Tarantino’s knowledge of the movies is so vast that he’s also a good source of director for the next big film night.
Given Tarantino’s deep love for film, it’s unsurprising that he has a revival movie theatre in Los Angeles called The New Beverly. Around Halloween, the director puts some of the best horror movies on the schedule to give his audience the real creeps. One year, Tarantino put on a print of a true horror classic, although it took some doing to get the go-ahead.
The film is The Exorcist, William Friedkin’s 1973 supernatural religious horror based on Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name – who also wrote the screenplay. It tells of the demonic possession of a young girl and the battle to exorcise her by two Catholic priests. It’s easily one of the most influential horror movies, particularly in the possession horror subgenre.
When appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Tarantino once explained his screening of Friedkin’s film: “I got a gorgeous print of The Exorcist, and we showed it every Saturday at midnight during the month of October. And Friedkin doesn’t allow film prints – the thing about my theatre is that I only show 35mm, sometimes 16mm, but no digital. But he doesn’t allow film prints to be shown of The Exorcist; he only wants DCP.”
But Tarantino, being the man he is, was able to contact Friedkin and request that he make an exception just this once for his legendary horror movie to be projected on 35mm. “I called him up personally, and he allowed us and gave Warner Bros permission for me to show The Exorcist on film,” Tarantino explained.
The result, according to the director, was mesmerising. He continued, “And so we showed, and it was an amazing experience. I actually hadn’t seen the movie in a while, and it was killer, absolutely killer. So good that I went and saw it twice during the month it played.”
Tarantino then wondered whether he might have been able to make something like Friedkin’s movie, but upon closer attention, he realised he wouldn’t be able to capture its eerie tone. “I had to be honest with myself, and I could never make The Exorcist the way he made it, he said. “I don’t think I could commit to that sober tone that lingers, that beautiful one-note atmosphere. I don’t think anybody wants me to do that. That would be me working at half speed.”
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