Director of 'The Exorcist' releases new documentary
William Friedkin's 'The Devil and Father Amorth' is out this April
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MOVIES The Exorcist
William Friedkin, the director who brought the world the terrifying horrors from 'The Exorcist,' is back—but this time it's for real.
An exorcism is the attempt to expel an evil spirit from a person or place. Since it is most commonly practiced in the Catholic religion, Friedkin went straight to the source to film Father Gabriele Amortha, the Vatican’s resident exorcist.
The documentary shows the real-life practice of Amortha as he performs his ninth exorcism on an Italian woman. “It was terrifying,” Friedkin said according to NME. “I went from being afraid of what could happen to feeling a great deal of empathy with this woman’s pain and suffering, which is obvious in the film.”
Amortha apparently allowed Friedkin to film the experience because he was a fan of 'The Exorcist' movie. However, Amortha unfortunately passed away in September 2016.
“I think I came along at a time when he wanted people to become aware of this work because he wanted the Vatican to train more exorcists,” Friedkin said. “He believed that I had enough cachet to take his story… that I would be able to bring it to the public by way of a film.”
'The Devil and Father Amorth' will be released in select theaters April 20.