Flanagan’s foreword for the new release from Suntup Editions continues, “I don’t know that there has ever been a haunted house story as downright cinematic as Hell House. It is written by a man who thought visually, who had a flair for cinematic set pieces, audience expectations, and visceral thrills that eluded many of his literary predecessors. That is one of the reasons I Am Legend [also by Richard Matheson] resonates so deeply, and Stephen King is correct when he says: ‘Without his I Am Legend, there would have been no Night of the Living Dead.’ Without Hell House, I’d argue that there would be no Poltergeist, no The Conjuring, no Insidious.” However, Shane isn't just a movie guy. He also loves video games. Super Mario Sunshine, The Last of Us Part 1 and 2, and Batman: Arkham City are some of his favorites. Music plays a big part in his life as well. Given that Shane's a big horror fan, you might be surprised to learn that he's a pop guy. Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, The Jonas Brothers, and Demi Lovato play on repeat while he's writing.

Burstyn recently won acclaim for her role in the grief drama Pieces of a Woman and will next be seen in the Showtime series The First Lady as Sara Delano Roosevelt alongside Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gillian Anderson and Kiefer Sutherland.With Matheson’s exploration of the darkest corners of the human psyche and his ability to evoke a sense of impending doom, Hell House is still standing tall as one of the most terrifying and influential horror classics of its kind. Note: the extras identified above on the Theatrical Cut and Extended Directors Cut are available on ALL UK releases, including the standard edition as far as I’m aware. Are these issues worth boycotting this release over? For me, I’d say no – for nearly 90% of the run time, the picture quality is a significant improvement in every area over previous blu-ray editions. But for those of you who are particularly sensitive to image issues, this could very well prove to be a problematic release. It would be useful for WB to come out with a statement to once and for all state that the image issues are 100% director approved at least…but even if they did, we all know what happened with Friedkin’s previous film on blu, The French Connection…

The priests, Karras and Merrin (Max von Sydow), have a talk on the stairs after the first round of exorcism, and Merrin suggests the true satanic target may not be the girl but those around her--the devil wants them to despair. The scene is interesting from a theological point of view, but interrupts the momentum. Before William Friedkin’s The Exorcist there was William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, a novel published just two short years before Friedkin’s film adaptation terrified the world. In celebration of the legendary original horror novel’s 50th anniversary, Suntup Editions has announced a fine press limited edition of The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. Extras: Language(s): English, BD: Spanish-Castilian, French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese-Brazilian, Hungarian, Spanish-Latin, Polish, Hard of Hearing Subtitles: 4K: English, German, Italian, Subtitles: 4K: Cantonese, Spanish-Castilian, Complex Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Spanish-Latin, Norwegian, French-Parisian, Swedish. BD: Portuguese-Brazilian, Spanish-Castilian, Complex Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Spanish-Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish., Interactive Menu, Screen ratio 1:1.85, Dolby Atmos-TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, Commentary: Director's Cut BD: William Friedkin (Director); Theatrical BD: William Friedkin and Wiliam Peter Blatty (Producer/Screenwriter), Documentaries: Theatrical BD: 'Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist'; 'The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown, Then and Now'; 'Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of the Exorcist'. Special Features BD: 'Beyond Comprehension: William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist'; 'Talk of the Devil', Interviews: Theatrical BD: Interview, Theatrical BD: Introduction by William Friedkin; Original ending This will have a touch of new material in it as part of an all-around polish of the dialogue and prose. First time around I never had the time (meaning the funds) to do a second draft, and this, finally, is it. With forty years to think about it, a few little changes were inevitable — plus one new character in a totally new, very spooky scene. This is the version I would like to be remembered for.” The audio mix, in Dolby 5.1, is very good. This is a movie with a lot of quiet scenes and a lot of very loud ones, and the balance between the two is just right. There is a lot of ambient music and noise as well, and it's kept at just the right level. The scene where Father Karras listens to the many voices coming out of Regan on an audio tape sounds scarier than ever.There’s a really good spread of content that looks at origins, production and legacy, with a mix of hearing from the creators and fans, the obvious highlight of the set being Kermode’s superb ‘Fear of God’ look at the film. So while we can bemoan the inclusion of anything new – especially given there are two much newer docs on the film (William Friedkin’s Leap of Faith and Fear & Love in Georgetown) that maybe could have been included for a truly definitive set – this is a gathering of all of the available supplementals previously released and should be more than enough for most fans of the film.