I was there in 1999 for the theatrical release of The Version You’ve Never Seen Before (a version of The Exorcist that, as I explain here, I didn’t care for and still don’t). Until today, that was the first and only time I’ve seen the movie in theaters.

The 50th Anniversary of the movie is being celebrated this October with a theatrical re-release, and a new Blumhouse/David Gordon Green sequel is premiering in four days. Fans are perhaps rightfully apprehensive about Exorcist: Believer, featuring the return of Ellen Burstyn as Chris McNeil. I myself have a surprising, almost overwhelming love for 75% of the Exorcist “franchise”, so stay tuned to this blog for my thoughts on this new chapter.

The version I saw this afternoon is something called “The Extended Director’s Cut,” and if I’m not mistaken, it’s a print that’s even further from “The Director’s Cut,” which takes elements from “The Version You’ve Never Seen” but excludes the worst parts of that one, such as the cheap, worthless CGI morphs slapped all over the place.

For me it was definitely a new experience of watching The Exorcist. Here’s why (spoilers for “The Extended Director’s Cut”}:

The Colors. I’m not telling you this remaster looked like Suspiria. Or did it? The subway scene in this one had that Dario Argento color quality. The scenes in Iraq looked vibrant and gorgeous. Reds and blues popped out throughout. This version received a deluxe 4K release and in much of its promotional materials, the famous streetlight scene has a bluer tint as opposed to the sickly pea soup green that we’re accustomed to. Does this improve the film? Not for me, though it also did not detract overmuch. The Exorcist‘s realism – yes, realism in a movie about supernatural demon possession – makes it what it is. More on that in a bit.

The Face of Captain Howdy. I’ve gone on long enough about “The Version You’ve Never Seen.” In this cut, the Eileen Deitz image still pops up in places where it’s not needed (the kitchen scene, the terrible facial morph during the hypnosis scene). What was interesting to me was the re-edit of the attic scene, which is early on in the film and where we’d yet to see a strong manifestation of Regan’s demon. That scene cuts to a quick shot of Regan in bed with her eyes open, and later that of the Captain Howdy face. Again, I am ambivalent about it, though I don’t outright despise it like I do in “The Version You’ve Never Seen Before.” Additional image inserts include the face of the Pazuzu statue and Mama Karras, both in the climactic exorcism scene.

Sharon! Kitty Winn gets an extra scene, one I hadn’t seen before (unless my recollection of “The Version You’ve Never Seen” is faulty – please correct me, readers). It’s almost humorous. As the final battle gets underway, and the demon in Regan is howling like a rabid animal, we cut to the rest of the cast. To cope, Chris McNeil starts knitting. And Sharon, in a desperate attempt to block out the horrors of the upstairs goings on, fumbles with a primitive 1973 headphone which she plugs into a transistor radio. If homegirl had survived to our current century she could have availed herself of a sweet set of wireless headphones. Alas, my beloved Exorcist II: The Heretic does not allow for that.

What’s The Score? As I said, stark realism made the original movie. My recollection is probably quite faulty, but for background score (not subliminal noise) I mostly only recall Tubular Bells in the scene where Chris walks back to her home after filming her awful film. But this “Extended Director’s Cut” I have learned features ‘remixed audio from Atmos.’ A score, musical cues, appear in the most jarring of places, including:

• The scene where Regan overhears her mother desperately trying to reach her father
• The attic scene
• The conversation between Karras and Lt Kinderman
• Throughout the entire Exorcism sequence
• Possibly more that is escaping my short term memory

And I continue to find myself conflicted. The soft drone during the Exorcism sequence almost soothes what should be the most jarring, disturbing part of the movie. The ominous music when Regan overhears Chris screaming at an operator is unnecessary; I prefer contemplating that scene and its implications without being told it’s a possible explanation for her state of possession. In fact I believe most of the dreck of current possession movies (looking at you, The Pope’s Exorcist) fails precisely because of bombastic, mid, horror movie scores.

What have I missed here, Pazuzu people? Let me know your thoughts.

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