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Director William Friedkin (The French Connection) approached William Peter Blatty’s tale of demonic possession with seriousness and realism, striking fear in the hearts of moviegoers worldwide. Often feeling more like a documentary than a sensational horror film, The Exorcist lulls you into a false sense of security with its measured pacing, only to shock the piss out of you when the Devil tightens his grasp on young Regan (Linda Blair), the twelve-year old girl whose health and behavior deteriorate rapidly as the film wears on.

Blair’s performance is one of the most shocking and controversial ones ever given by a child actor. Ellen Burstyn plays her mother, a frantic woman taking her from doctor to doctor to try and figure out what is going on. She eventually relinquishes her doubt and calls an exorcist. That’s when Jason Miller and Max von Sydow arrive as Catholic priests and William Friedkin starts refrigerating the sets so that you can see everyone’s breath in the chilled atmosphere. It’s a genius touch — you start to feel cold yourself watching this film.

Adding to the realism is the absence of a traditional musical score, inventive sound design, and frightening makeup effects by Dick Smith. Burstyn, Blair, and Miller were each nominated for Academy Awards. The film was also nominated for best picture, director, editing, cinematography, and art direction. It won the awards for best adapted screenplay (by William Peter Blatty) and sound.

Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing

Nominations: Best Picture, Actress (Burstyn), Supporting Actress (Blair), Supporting Actor (Miller), Director, Cinematography, Art Direction, Film Editing