A Documentary 50 years in the making

Throughout my childhood and adolescence THE EXORCIST was the one film I could never summon the courage to watch. I grew up in a Catholic household and after first hearing the details of what the movie was about I was so disturbed by the concept that just the idea of it was enough to haunt me throughout most of my life. Being a cinephile and filmmaker who loved such a vast array of different films it was the one classic that I could never get myself to experience.

In August of 2018 I finally summoned the courage to sit down and watch the film in its entirety, facing a lifelong fear head on. That day ended up changing my life as the film instantly became my all time favorite. It affected me on a deep spiritual level. I was so stirred and inspired by this brilliant work that I HAD to do something creative to express my passion for it. Then, like a lightning bolt the idea came to me to make a feature length documentary that would touch upon how powerfully this film has impacted so many people and our culture as a whole, knowing that the big 50th anniversary (2023) was drawing near.

I want the film to be both a retrospective on the making of and release of the film and a deeper dive into how the film has effected the horror genre in the years since and also our culture’s belief in possession and exorcism in our society today.

What We Need

• As of now I have been able to film three interviews for the doc. The subjects include Father William O’Malley who played Father Dyer in the film. Roy Frumkes, editor in chief of Films in Review and Chris Newman the Oscar winning sound recordist on the film. Glimpses of their interviews can be seen in the trailer above. There are several other interview subjects I am working on obtaining but need the necessary funds to make that happen.

• I am aiming to raise $100,000 to help making this project a reality. This includes cost for crew, travel, compensating dozens of different interview subjects and handling the licensing cost for archival footage, scenes from countless films, music and photos.

The Impact

My goal is to make the ultimate definitive cultural impact documentary on the film. The days of audiences waiting in line to see a movie in theaters are long gone. The experience of seeing THE EXORCIST in 1973 and early 1974 is something that will never be replicated and I want this documentary to capture how powerful that moment in time was and how powerfully it shaped so many people in the years since.

Any contribution to helping make this project a reality is greatly appreciated. I hope that by 2023 I will have a finished piece that will fully capture the power that the release of THE EXORCIST has had on the world in the last 50 years. Thank You for taking the time to read my pitch.

– John Larkin (Director/Producer/Editor)

INTERVIEW SUBJECTS I AM AIMING TO GET:

The following people were either involved in the making of the film or are known to be fans of or have been heavily effected by the film.

Rick Baker (legendary makeup/effects artist who worked on the film under makeup artist Dick Smith)

Linda Blair

Ellen Burstyn

Kitty Winn (actress who played Sharon)

Eileen Dietz (Linda Blair’s double and face of the demon)

Spike Lee

Paul Schrader (director of DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST)

Ben Stiller

Quentin Tarantino

Martin Scorsese

Jessica Chastain

Karen Gillian

THE TEAM:

John Larkin (Director/Producer/Editor)

A lifelong cinephile and independent filmmaker, John Larkin has been making movies and writing about them since his early teens. He made his first short film while attending Eastchester High School and won his first film festival award at age 15. He attended The School of Visual Arts film school in NYC as a directing major and graduated in 2009. He is also the star of the 2018 Independent film STRETCH MARKS. The film won the audience award at the 2018 SOHO International Film Festival.

Michael Mastroserio (Producer/Director of Photography)

Michael Mastroserio is the co-founder of CatRockCreatives, a video production company whose mission is to produce visual content that resonates with viewers, regardless of genre, scale or platform.

As a Director of Photography Mike has lensed dozens of films, music videos and commercials. In addition to his work as a Director of Photography Mike co-produced the feature film STRETCH MARKS, which won the audience award at the 2018 SOHO International Film Festival.