The Exorcist is one of the most famous horror films in history. Released in 1973, it went on to become one the most critically and commercially successful horrors in history and has inspired many exorcist/possession films since. Here are 9 facts about the horror film that’s frequently regarded as the best of its kind and one of the scariest films ever made.
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Linda Blair played Regan MacNeil, the young girl who’s possessed, though she didn’t voice the character’s most demonic moments; this was instead done by renowned radio actress Mercedes McCambridge
2. Linda Blair received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, though when it become known that McCambridge had done some of the voice work for the character, her chances of winning the award became pretty much non-existent
3. Many of the film’s cast and crew believe it was cursed; a total of nine people associated with the film passed away before production was complete and there was even a studio fire on the film’s New York set
4. Linda Blair was protected by bodyguards hired by Warner Bros. for six months after the film’s release because religious zealots sent her death threats for apparently glorifying Satan
5. The film’s very first trailer featured a series of flashing white and black images and was banned from cinemas for being too frightening
6. Though it hit cinemas in 1973, it wasn’t released on video in the UK until 1999 thanks to numerous councils banning it
7. It was the very first horror film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture
8. When adjusted for inflation, it’s the ninth highest grossing film in history
9. Denise Nickerson, most famous for playing Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, was considered for the part of Regan, though when her parents read the script they weren’t at all happy with it and had her removed from the shortlist
