The Fright Stuff

It's a style that can be a little off-putting to some performers. Some see him as the director from hell. While auditioning actresses for the role of nanny last year, he told one svelte actress she was too fat and she broke into tears. On The Exorcist and To Live and Die in L.A., he reportedly slugged actors to get the emotional effect he wanted.

''He hasn't done any of that stuff with me,'' says Dwier Brown, who had a small part in To Live and Die in L.A. ''He does say some things. It must be just to get a reaction, to freak people out. I tend to do well with those kinds of personalities, so I wasn't too worried about it. I don't get upset ; about people being excessive, so they just don't do it anymore.''

Jenny Seagrove — who, with her peaches-and-Devonshire-cream complexion, might be a stand-in for Friedkin's own Nanny From Hell — says, ''Billy is very much more into the sharp edges of life, the dark side of life.'' Her face is streaked with tear-smudged mascara and blood and bruised with makeup. ''The nanny was a fairly horrific part to play. This is my first time working with special effects and prosthetics makeup. I sort of turn into the tree at the end of the film, so this vine starts growing all over me.''

This is a tree, by the way, that would make Joyce Kilmer turn in his grave. ''All the big branches blow spraying blood as they go,'' says the tree's creator, Daniel Miller, ''and large patches of bark peel off and blood comes out from behind as well. The tree holds 500 gallons of blood.''

When the first effort fell short — the tree has to grab and eat people in a convincing manner and it wasn't getting it right — Friedkin brought in a new effects crew. This model seems to be working just fine, and right now Jenny Seagrove is seated within the branches of the mechanical monster.

Below, they're getting ready to shoot a scene with timber wolves. A dummy beneath the tree, the body of a punk, has been stuffed with raw meat. The set is breathless during the long wait. Any disturbance can set off the animals. A prop person, holding a fake baby, stands still, like some surreal madonna in denim.

From a distance come the sharp reports of barking and you can see the wranglers lead the silver-coated canines down through the forest. These are definitely not poodles in makeup.

When the wolves arrive on the set, the camera starts rolling. It had better be good. These extras won't turn around and do another take. Yet, surprisingly, there's no frenzy. The wolves merely tear into the dummy quietly and start eating. All this quiet is scarier, somehow.

There's only the rustling of the leaves among the real trees as Friedkin stands there beaming, just like a proud father.