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Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

Ep929: Page2Screen: THE EXORCIST (1973)

Ep929: Page2Screen: THE EXORCIST (1973)

Ian Simmons

In honor of The Exorcist's 50th anniversary, Ian and Cole are compelled to see how William Friedkin's genre-defining horror film stacks up to William Peter Blatty's blockbuster novel!

In 1973, Friedkin unleashed a waking nightmare about a Hollywood actress (Ellen Burstyn) whose young daughter (Linda Blair) becomes possessed by a demon. Their only hope is a local priest (Jason Miller) whose crisis of faith happens to coincide with a murderous, telekinetic monster living in his neighborhood--plus an aged exorcist (Max Von Sydow), who is called away from an archaeological dig in Iraq to confront the darkest of horrors.

This spoilerific Page2Screen finds Ian and Cole examining the conflicts between faith and science, literature and film, and director's cuts versus original theatrical releases! PLUS: They decide, once and for all, if The Exorcist is really a horror movie...or something else assuming the form of a horror movie!

The Exorcist is now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment!

Show Links

  • Watch the Exorcist (1973) trailer.

  • Purchase the new Exorcist 4K UHD Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, featuring the Original Theatrical Cut and "The Version You've Never Seen" (Director's Cut)!

  • Watch "Weighing the Value of Director's Cuts", a video essay by hbomberguy, referenced in the show!

  • Watch "Subliminal Messages Hidden in The Exorcist" by Heavy Spoilers Clips, also referenced in the show!

  • Keep up with all of Cole's literary goings-on at his website.

  • For more literary wizardry, crack open our "Page2Screen" Playlist!

  • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ep930: Beyond Hammerland: REPULSION (1965)

Ep930: Beyond Hammerland: REPULSION (1965)
Ep928: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: SERPICO (1973)

Ep928: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: SERPICO (1973)