The Exorcist's William Friedkin details 'terrifying' experience of filming REAL exorcism

Anyone remotely interested in the idea and concept of exorcism and horror will be familiar with the 1973 movie The Exorcist. The horrifying recreation of alleged demonic possession left many crapping their pants, fainting and needing paramedic help back then.

One interesting fact about the movie is its director William Friedkin had never experienced an exorcism. The director has now — 44 years later — brought forward a documentary recording titled The Devil and Father Amorth, which shows a real exorcism taking place.

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How was the experience, Variety asked the horror film director, and he termed it terrifying. Presenting the documentary at the Venice Film Festival, the director revealed that the process involved violent thrashing, foaming at the mouth and screaming by the "possessed".

And the experience was possible thanks to Father Gabriele Amorth, who performed exorcisms for the Vatican's Rome Diocese.

"It was terrifying. 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. I had to shoot it alone, obviously. The conditions were that I come along with no crew and no lights. So I used a Sony still camera that shot high-definition video. I had only that camera running and I was about two feet away from them, probably even closer," he said.

The woman Friedkin said had to be exorcised every month, and the one he filmed was her ninth visit to Father Amorth.

"I was shocked. I had no idea that I would ever be able to even meet with him. I did know how busy he was. He was doing exorcisms all day every day right up until he went into the hospital and then died [in September 2016]," the director said.

The taboo topic is finally being recognised by physiatrists, Friedkin revealed. During his research for the film, he approached few of US' best neurologists and brain surgeons to understand the woman's (in the movie) condition. But they had no idea what her affliction was.

"The psychiatrists described how psychiatry now recognises demonic possession. It's called dissociative identity disorder/demonic possession. And if a patient comes in and says they are possessed by a demon or a devil, they don't tell them that they are not. They do whatever psychiatric treatment they think is necessary, including medication. And they bring an exorcist in," he revealed.

Fans watching the genre flip when they watch the recreation of the exorcism. It is interesting to see what the reactions to the documented film presentation would bring.