By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The in-depth examination of the all-time horror classic now has a general release date.
Shudder has announced its acquisition of LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON “THE EXORCIST,” which the streaming service will debut exclusively November 19 in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe, who previously examined other fright favorites in the PSYCHO doc 78/52 and MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF “ALIEN,” here trains his camera solely on Friedkin, who recalls both the production history and thematic inspirations of the 1973 devil epic in great and fascinating detail, as well as discussing its relationship to his own views on religion and faith.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the exceptional team at Shudder to bring LEAP OF FAITH to an audience of such savvy, passionate fans of genre cinema,” Philippe says. “Without a doubt, this is a perfect home and partnership for our film.” If you’d like an early look at the doc, it’s playing on-line this weekend as part of the Nightstream festival. You can read our review of LEAP OF FAITH here and Philippe’s comments on the movie here.