Plot: When young Regan (Linda Blair) is possessed by a demonic entity, her mother is forced to turn to the Catholic Church for help to save her daughter’s life.
As I have said before, I start my 31 Days of Horror marathon every year with The Exorcist because it is the perfect horror film. To this day, the makeup and effects hold strong against the horror films of today, which have resorted to CGI in an attempt at realism.
This amazing makeup can be credited to one man, the recently deceased Dick Smith. Mr. Smith is responsible for the terrifying, demonically possessed face of young Regan. From the slashes in her skin to her decaying teeth, Smith managed to take a sweet and innocent fourteen year old and make her into the thing every parent’s nightmares are made of.
Linda Blair, at the young age of fourteen, portrays a possessed teenager with the believability that could only be pulled off by someone actually possessed. It is no wonder to me why so many people were terrified of the film in the 70’s.
41 years later, The Exorcist remains one of the most terrifying films ever made and, despite a surge in exorcism films since, none have come close to the power of William Friedkin’s demonic masterpiece.
As my number one of scariest horror films, I give this film a 10/10.
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Ann Hale is the horror editor for Pop-Break.com and a senior contributing writer, reviewing horror movies and television shows. She is also the American Correspondent for Lovehorror.co.uk. Ann attended East Carolina University, majoring in English Literature. She is a collector of Halloween (the film) memorabilia and is a self-admitted opinionated horror nerd. You can follow her, her collection and her cat, Edward Kittyhands on Twitter and Instagram @Scarletjupiter
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