read their story here) and a late-stage reboot. Another reboot is in the works. Additionally, “The Exorcist” remains one of the single most-imitated films of all time, its iconography reused shamelessly by multiple generations of filmmakers. To this day, any child who is possessed by a demon must be strapped to a bed and growl in pain as a priest sprinkles them with holy water. It’s practically part of the natural order.
The early Iraq scenes in “The Exorcist” were actually filmed in northern Iraq, among the ruins of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Hatra. It’s located about 68 miles to the southwest of Mosul, and can be visited to this day. It’s also a site that certain American military soldiers recognized while they were stationed there during the Iraq War. The story goes that the soldiers, who has recently been watching “The Exorcist” on home video, went out and saw the ruins that Friedkin had filmed many decades earlier. In an interview with Vulture back in 2013, Friedkin recalled his interactions with the American military when they called to tell him they were on his old set.
