While many Hoyas are anxiously preparing for a happy Halloween – scrambling for last minute costumes, plowing through midterms and getting the lowdown for trick-or-treating on Embassy Row – the folks down at the Georgetown AMC are prepping for another exciting event: a happy anniversary. A happy 40th anniversary, to be specific, for none other than the Georgetown movie classic, The Exorcist.

That’s right. The Georgetown AMC will be holding a limited, one-week screening of the 1973 Academy Award-winning classic (which features scenes on and around Georgetown’s campus) from October 31st through November 7th. And to kick things off, the Halloween screening will feature a special Q&A session with none other than screenwriter William Peter Blatty (COL ’50).

Blatty, who earned an Academy Award for his now-famous screenplay adaptation of William Friedkin’s suspenseful tale, has recently made headlines for his controversial statements on Georgetown’s Catholic identity.

Warner Bros. Pictures describes The Exorcist as “the now-famous story of a young girl’s demonic possession, and her mother’s struggle to find a priest able and willing to perform an exorcism, resulting in a gripping fight between good and evil”.

To coincide with the Georgetown screening, the studio will also release a commemorative 40th anniversary Blu-ray disc that includes new special features and a preview of Friedkin’s new book, The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir.

Tickets for the AMC event can be found here. In the meantime, check out some of our seasonal movie picks and have a very Hoya Halloween!

 Photo: Warner Bros., ZekeFilm