The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin, based on William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel. The film follows the demonic possession of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil, played by Linda Blair, whose mother Chris, played by Ellen Burstyn, desperately seeks help after medical science fails to explain her daughter's increasingly violent and disturbing behavior. Two Catholic priests — the elderly, experienced Father Merrin, played by Max von Sydow, and the young, doubt-plagued Father Karras, played by Jason Miller — attempt to perform an exorcism to save Regan's soul.

The Exorcist is widely considered the most frightening film ever made and one of the most culturally significant horror films in cinema history. Upon its release, audiences reportedly fainted, vomited, and fled theaters, and the film generated a wave of reported psychological disturbances that led to studies of what was termed "cinematic neurosis." William Friedkin's documentary-influenced direction treated the supernatural events with a clinical realism that made them feel not like fantasy but like something terrible happening in the real world. The film earned $441 million worldwide on a $12 million budget, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film for decades, and won two Academy Awards from ten nominations.

The Exorcist was the first horror film nominated for Best Picture.