'The Devil And Father Amorth': William Friedkin Revisits 'The Exorcist'

It’s been a few years since William Friedkin released his last film, 2011’s underrated “Killer Joe,” but the famous director is back at with a new documentary “The Devil and Father Amorth,” which just released its first trailer today. The film follows Friedkin as he meets with a church-approved exorcist. Here’s the official synopsis:

“In his latest, William Friedkin returns not only to his documentary roots but to the subject of one of his most towering works, 1973’s THE EXORCIST. Friedkin, a legendary raconteur, leads a tour that moves from the infamous Exorcist steps in Georgetown to Italy, where he meets with the 91-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, official exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, and accompanies Amorth on one of his harrowing house calls. A sprightly, at times gonzo-style investigation into the long history of demonic lore, and a one-of-a-kind insight into the persistence of medieval belief in the supposedly modern world.”

READ MORE: William Friedkin Weighs In On ‘The Exorcist’ Sequels And ‘It’

It’s interesting that Friedkin is revisiting exorcisms so late in his career, as he has spent a lot of the intervening years trying, and mostly succeeding, to carve out a filmography not just defined by that famous film. Yet, Friedkin has often admitted to the draw of spirituality throughout his work.

“The Devil and Father Amorth” will mark the first full-length documentary Friedkin has ever made and looks to be quite a frightening spiritual-sequel (to use a somewhat terrible pun) to “The Exorcist.” His obsession with Father Amorth has been quite a few years in the making, in fact, as this fascinating Vanity Fair story penned by Friedkin explains how the project came into being.

The short documentary (it only runs 68 minutes) will be released by The Orchard on April 20th in NY and LA. Let us know what you think of the trailer below.

the devil and the father amorth william friedkin