In the genre of horror, both the Halloween and The Exorcist franchises are mainstays in their own ways. Both films paved the way in the ’70s for subgenres to follow, and decades later, a filmmaker is tackling both in order to bring them back to big-screen audiences in new ways. With Halloween endsthe latest installment in his trilogy, which premieres Oct. 14, GameSpot Perri Nemiroff got to sit down with the writer-director David Gordon Green to chat with him about the approach he’s taken to these two pop culture beasts, so to speak, and how the projects compare.
In 2018, Green’s return to the original Halloween franchise brought back our final daughter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) for the first time since 2002. In this timeline, Green wipes the slate clean of everything that happened after John Charpentierfrom 1978, and brought attention back to Shape and his inexplicable gravitational desire to destroy Laurie, and vice versa. Now, in October, we finally get to see what this lifelong battle is all about in Halloween endswhich seems like a huge responsibility for Green and yet he is also the head of another franchise that has shaken society to its core: The Exorcist.
In their interview, Nemiroff asked the director what elements were consistent when these two iconic films returned, as well as what’s unique between the two. As any avid fan would, Green handles these reboots with respect for the original material, saying, “I’m dealing with historical and cinematic figures,” and he views each as two very different projects, adding:
“…they look nothing alike. Halloween is a horror movie, it’s a slasher movie, it’s midnight madness, good time at the movies, eat popcorn. The Exorcist is a highly sought-after drama about shitty things – spirituality, religion, mental health, family – and it’s… you can straddle these two very different horror subgenres, but the approach technically, creatively, is very different.
With The Exorcist reboot, Green is once again honoring those classic horror stories by bringing back one of the original’s lead actresses. By Ellen Burstyn in retaliation for his role as Chris MacNeil. The timeline of the 1973 film starring Burstyn and Linda Blair will be the cornerstone of an all-new trilogy, and Green says, “The similarity is that we take Chris MacNeil… fifty years later, we re-contact him. the movie are Leslie Odom Jr. and Anne Dowd…and then Ellen [Burstyn] is part of that journey, returning to that role.” In his efforts to resurrect these horror legends, Green appreciates and uses the original actresses as sources of information to add richness and respect to his reboots, saying:
“For me, I like to have a perspective anchor, and so I feel like I’m dealing with, it’s not a historical subject, but I’m dealing with historical and cinematic figures, and I I have the iconic actress who played this role fifty years ago, and she’s here to ask questions. She would be there to assess, give me notes on the script, and she became like my spiritual guru that I go to, who… just the way the movie affected her life, we found out that the story that we’re creating affected Chris MacNeil in some way.”
Both trilogies are based on the original characters, and both are produced by Jason Blum under Blumhouse Productions. Green vegetables The Exorcist is slated for release in 2024, and Michael and Laurie face off one last time in Halloween endsin theaters October 14. Check out the trailer for Halloween ends below, and check out our interview with Green soon for more.
David Gordon Green On The Difference Between Doing The Exorcist And Halloween – CNET – ApparelGeek