William Friedkin to Make a Very Spooky Appearance on ‘Treehouse of Horror XXVIII’
The Simpsons has a rich history of celebrity guests on their annual Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween-themed episodes. Who could forget the densely allusive intro that Guillermo Del Toro whipped up for XXIV, or Daniel Radcliffe’s cameo in XXI? TV’s longest-running miniature horror franchise will get its latest installment on October 22, and it’ll arrive with a big horror name in tow.
TV Line notes that Treehouse of Horror XXVIII will feature a cameo from none other than William Friedkin, director of horror cornerstone The Exorcist. (As well as The French Connection, Sorcerer, To Live and Die in L.A., and a whole mess of other excellent films.) Friedkin will portray one “Dr. Kenneth Humphries,” a sinister physician who appears in the segment titled “MMM... Homer.” The TV Line item specifies that that segment revolves around “Homer cannibalizing himself after he runs out of food while Marge and the kids are away from home,” about the level of self-sufficiency we could expect from the inept paterfamilias.
The episode will also pay homage to Friedkin’s horror landmark with a segment titled “Exor-is,” which my journalistic instincts are telling me is a pun on the word “exorcist.” Sounds like Lisa will get possessed by a demon and go all Regan MacNeil on everybody. The standards and practices department at Fox would have to present Lisa from quoting any of Regan‘s most memorable lines — network TV viewers will never know what your mother does, or where she does it — but here’s hoping we can still get some of the signature projectile vomiting.