Victoria Calls In Exorcist On Good Friday

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday April 6, 2001

Cynthia Banham and AAP

The NSW Government will not follow the lead of Victoria, where the horror film, The Exorcist, has been banned from screening on Good Friday for fear of offending Christians.

The Victorian Premier, Mr Bracks, said yesterday a parliamentary committee was reviewing legislation which permitted the Government to prohibit R-rated horror movies from cinemas in Victoria on Good Friday.

The 1973 film, which is undergoing a revival in cinemas around the country, with a new director's cut version being shown, is about a 12-year-old girl who is possessed by the devil.

The Catholic Church welcomed the Victorian Government's action, saying the film ``trivialises the central and consoling message of Good Friday".

But in NSW it will be business as usual, with cinemas screening The Exorcist come Friday 13.

A spokeswoman for the Premier, Mr Carr, said legislation does exist in NSW which could allow the Government to ban the film, but the Government would not invoke it.