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In the majority of iconic horror movies, the film delivers a memorable antagonist who imposes a formidable presence on screen for audiences. Given how most horror villains traditionally frighten viewers with terrifying examples of murderous acts or unnerving personalities, these characters reveal a staggering amount of power that takes hold of fans, as well as becoming more fleshed-out within a larger franchise.

No matter the stakes in the plot or how many characters get in the way of these villains’ plans, each one possesses the raw might to deliver some unforgettable frights. As a result, these powerful antagonists stand out from their cinematic peers as true juggernauts of the horror genre.

Jason Voorhees Embodies a Frighteningly Determined Killer The Friday the 13th Franchise Creates Brutal Violence for Fans

Positioning himself as one of the premier horror villains in American cinema, Jason Voorhees has had an illustrious career slashing away his...

When a horror movie is said to be based on a true story, the intended scary effect on the public is even more powerful. As a consequence, even in cases when the film is only loosely inspired by reality-or even urban legends that themselves borrowed some elements from ambiguous events-the label "based on a true story" is still worth using as a clever marketing tool. The possibility that the chilling story told on the screen could happen plays with the fear of the public, drawing them deeper into the narrative.

The horror genre is adept at reinventing history to suit its needs, exploiting the mysteries behind it and exaggerating the more alarming details. This ability to blur the line between fact and fiction and thrive into the unknown has created some famous horror movies that, although presumably based on a true story, can barely be called true.

The Exorcist Released...

Linda Blair's role as Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist terrified viewers and left a lasting impact, even causing trauma for the young actress. Peter Lorre's portrayal of the child murderer Hans Beckert in M solidified his reputation as a scary actor and typecast him as a villain. Jack Nicholson's performance as Jack Torrence in The Shining showcased his ability to play deranged characters, cementing his scary reputation in the industry.

There were certain performers whose mere appearance in a movie signaled that viewers were in for a spooky time and deserved to be ranked among the scariest actors of all time. From roles in traditional horror movies to more sinister performances across a variety of genres, being able to convincingly play for scares was no mean feat and to truly terrify viewers was something that only a select few could do on a consistent basis. The scariest...

As we're still at the beginning of the spooky season, we're still celebrating how impactful the horror genre is. One movie that transformed the horror genre entirely was none other than The Exorcist. While it has been 50 years since it was released, this movie’s impact can still be witnessed in horror films to date. Many people from that time claim that it was so frightening that theaters had paramedic assistance for their audience.

To make matters even more bone-chilling, it was based on an actual story. This book-turned-movie goes down in history to be one of the most terrifying movies to exist. However, the most interesting part of The Exorcist is that the crew and cast expressed that they often felt darkness during the set, which led to unexplainable, and some creepy incidents. Here are some of the insights on 10 behind-the-scenes facts that haunted the cast of The Exorcist.

Director William Friedkin at the re-release screening of The Exorcist in September 2000 Photo: Hulton Archive Nosferatu, the original vampire movie, set in motion the cinematic tropes of the subgenre, and since then many subsequent movies have done great things with its concepts, from Universal’s Dracula to Fright Night. John Carpenter...

The ExorcistPhoto: Bettmann (Getty Images)

Nosferatu, the original vampire movie, set in motion the cinematic tropes of the subgenre, and since then many subsequent movies have done great things with its concepts, from Universal’s Dracula to Fright Night. John Carpenter’s Halloween crystallized everything we now associate with the slasher subgenre,...

The Exorcist's cast had some injuries and illnesses, some of which led to death. The Exorcist's crew also suffered plenty of trauma. The Exorcist set had to be blessed as it was deemed to be cursed.

With fans eagerly awaiting The Exorcist: Believer this Halloween, some are scouring online to learn more about the original movies. The '73 flick, in particular, would stand out, as that film starring Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil and Ellen Burstyn as her mom, Chris, truly redefined the demonic possession genre.

It paved the way for modern horror films that focus on evil spirits, such as The Nun 2 and the other Conjuring movies. However, newbies would be shocked to learn Exorcist has a very turbulent history that caused chaos before the content even hit the editing room. Its dark past may well hint the set was cursed, which some conspiracy theorists...

'The Exorcist: Believer' set was affected by a "weird energy" that influenced the horror movie.The upcoming supernatural film is a direct sequel to the 1973 horror classic 'The Exorcist' in which Linda Blair starred as Regan MacNeil, a 12-year-old girl who is possessed by a demon.The original movie was disturbed with supernatural goings-on during production, with the crew believing 'The Exorcist' set was haunted as the shoot was plagued with tragedies.Before or soon after its release, nine people died that were associated with the movie, most notably Jack MacGowran - who played Burke Dennings - who passed away from influenza a month before the movie released.Director David Gordon Green - who has helmed the Blumhouse Productions sequel - has now revealed that his shoot was affected by a "spiritual intensity" which made "s***" happen.In an interview with SFX magazine, Green...

The 50th anniversary extended director’s cut of the 1973 tale of teenage possession still shocks

William Friedkin’s deadly serious contemporary horror, adapted for the screen from the bestseller by novelist William Peter Blatty, is back now in cinemas for its 50-year anniversary in the extended director’s cut. This is the film that whispered its evil into the ears of US audiences traumatised by political and generational upheaval. It is also the great ancestor of the entire horror genre: a 132-minute jump scare – with horribly malign slow sections – taking place in upper-middle class America rather than some exotic central European locale.

Ellen Burstyn plays movie actor Chris MacNeil, a single mother ordinarily resident in California but currently renting a handsome townhouse in Washington as she shoots a film called Crash Course; she is playing a liberal academic at odds with the student body who are violently possessed with revolutionary ideas.

Burbank, Calif. – As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the iconic supernatural film The Exorcist from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection) will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time this September.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1973 release, on September 19, The Exorcist will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu, and more.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs include both the 1973 theatrical version of the film and the 2000 Extended Director’s Cut of the film, which features eleven additional minutes of footage not seen in theaters.

Directed by Friedkin, who died today at age 89, from a screenplay by Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, the film is based on Blatty...

"What an excellent day for an exorcism." Warner Bros has unveiled a new official trailer for the 4K Ultra HD re-release on Blu-ray of the horror classic The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin. As everyone already knows, there's a brand new reboot/remake of this Exorcist series coming up later this year - called The Exorcist: Believer (featuring Ellen Burstyn returning again). This original film is celebrating its 50th anniversary, originally released around Christmas time (seriously) in the US back in 1973. When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious demonic entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to try and save her daughter. The Exorcist stars Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, and Jason Miller. Still regarded as one of the scariest movies ever made, this looks better than ever properly restored in pristine 4K quality. Is it still as creepy as before?...

As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the iconic supernatural film The Exorcist from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection) will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time this September, Bloody Disgusting has learned today.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1973 release, on September 19 The Exorcist will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs include both the 1973 theatrical version of the film and the 2000 Extended Director’s Cut of the film which features eleven additional minutes of footage not seen in theaters.

Directed by Friedkin from a screenplay by Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, the film is based on Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name.

Ron Faber, an Obie Award-winning stage actor whose widest fame came from a brief but crucial scene in the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist, died March 26 of lung cancer. He was 90.

His death was only recently announced. In a Facebook post, Faber’s longtime friend and colleague, the actor David Patrick Kelly, remembered him as a “great artist and gentleman with a wonderful voice and laugh.”

Faber had just won an Obie Award for his performance in the 1972 Off Broadway play And They Put Handcuffs on Flowers when he was spotted by director William Friedkin for the small role of Chuck in The Exorcist.

In the film, Faber’s Chuck is the assistant director of Crash Course, the movie-within-the-movie in which Ellen Burstyn’s actor character Chris MacNeil stars. In a pivotal scene, a stunned Chuck arrives at MacNeil’s Georgetown home to deliver the news that Crash Course director Burke...

Ron Faber, a theater, television and film actor who appeared in “The Exorcist,” died on March 26 of lung cancer. He was 90.

Faber’s career as an actor landed him roles in films including “The Exorcist,” “Tree of Guernica” and “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover,” in addition to appearances on TV episodes of “Law and Order,” “Kojak” and “The Edge of Night.”

In 1973’s “The Exorcist,” Faber played the role of Chuck, an assistant director who reveals to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) that Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) has died. He was also part of Broadway productions including “First Monday in October” with Henry Fonda and “Medea” with Irene Papas.

Faber was born on Feb. 16, 1993 in Milwaukee, Wis., where he grew up with a passion for jazz music and the Disney film “Fantasia.” After being accepted into Marquette University and pursuing a business degree, Faber swiftly landed his first entertainment...

Guillermo del Toro has visited an iconic location from The Exorcist. The 1973 horror film, which was directed by William Friedkin, follows the possession of a young girl who is living with her movie star mother in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Georgetown. One of the film's most iconic locations is a long stone stairway where the director Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) and Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) both fall to their deaths over the course of the film.

As the film nears its 50th anniversary, del Toro took to Twitter to share an image of himself paying a visit to The Exorcist's iconic stairway, just a few months before it is likely to get rejuvenated interest thanks to Blumhouse's upcoming Exorcist sequel.

pic.twitter.com/b2bNCYa2F6 — Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) April 8, 2023

Although he didn't share a caption with the image, it shows the director standing at...

Few major Hollywood pictures have developed the kind of infernal reputation that "The Exorcist" has since its release in 1973. The audience reaction to its shocking scenes is the stuff of legend and religious figures have widely deplored it. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Film and Broadcasting (Usccb-ofb) condemned the film; The Christian Century labeled it "hardcore pornography;" and evangelist Billy Graham also had plenty to say (via Sage Journals). He stated that watching the film was like "exposing oneself to the Devil" and that "there is a power of evil in the film, in the fabric of the film itself" (via True Crime Edition).

Was Graham right? If the myth is to be believed, "The Exorcist" was surrounded by malevolent forces from Day One; William Friedkin's production was apparently beset by a series of mishaps, bad omens, accidents, injuries, illnesses, and even deaths, with nine...

It’s time for a new episode of The Manson Brothers Show, which is hosted by the writers/stars of the horror comedy The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre – Chris Margetis (Stone Manson) and Mike Carey (Skull Manson). With this episode, the Manson Brothers are looking back at one of the most popular horror movies, ever made, the 1973 classic The Exorcist (watch it Here). To find out what they have to say about The Exorcist, check out the video embedded above!

Directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay written by William Peter Blatty (based on Blatty’s own novel), The Exorcist has the following synopsis: When young Regan starts acting odd — levitating, speaking in tongues — her worried mother seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest, however, thinks the girl may be seized by the devil. The priest makes a request to perform an exorcism, and...

In May 2020, a former NASA engineer named Ronald Edwin Hunkeler passed away at the age of 85. During his time with the space agency, he had patented heat shields that helped put people on the moon in 1969, but he lived in constant fear that his other claim to fame would be unearthed. For during his teenage years, he was the boy who inspired "The Exorcist."

Although the case has been subject to great scrutiny and skepticism since it was reported in 1949, the "Roland Doe" exorcism remains one of the most famous possession cases, largely thanks to its relation to William Friedkin's blockbuster movie. Hunkeler, who was given pseudonyms to protect his identity, was 13 years old when the disturbances began. First, there were strange noises and moving objects. Then he started displaying increasingly unusual behavior, talking in a guttural voice unlike his own, speaking Latin phrases, and showing extreme discomfort when presented with sacred objects.

Death and the horror genre go hand in hand. Not every scary movie features the death of a character, and horror is certainly not the only type of film in which characters die, but terrifying films deal with the business of death (i.e. the realms both near and beyond the grave). Once the cameras stop rolling and the director yells "cut," most actors walk back into the sunlight and leave the terrifying scenes they're creating behind. Every once in a while, the shadow of death seems to follow actors home, claiming them shortly after they've finished making their films. Sometimes these deaths lead to rumors of curses and jinxed productions, but they are simply one part of life's vicious circle. However, unsettling coincidences and the eerieness of seeing an actor in a role after passing on often lead to the feeling that something darker is afoot.

The following list...

Writer/director Martin McDonagh and actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson have become the holy trinity of Irish films thanks to the critical and commercial success of 2008’s “In Bruges” for which Farrell won a Golden Globe, and their current collaboration “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which won best screenplay and actor for Farrell at Venice this past September. Since then, the Oscar buzz surrounding “Banshees” has become deafening.

During his four decade film career, John Ford made classic Westerns and dramas (“The Grapes of Wrath” and “How Green Was My Valley”; he won best director for both). But the no-nonsense filmmaker born John Feeney in Cape Elizabeth, Maine to Irish immigrant parents always revisited his Irish heritage.

The year 1924 saw the release of “The Shamrock Handicap” of which Variety noted “Ford loves everything Irish, and he made the most of the little human-interest touches.” His best-known Irish films, and for...

Few movies have the diabolical aura of "The Exorcist," and much of its reputation comes from its sensational and controversial release almost 50 years ago. William Friedkin's film had people queuing in the streets to see what all the fuss was about, as tales of moviegoers vomiting or passing out in theaters only served to emphasize its devilish allure. Critic Andrew Sarris of The Village Voice even went so far as to call it "a thoroughly evil film." Then there were the predictable rumors of an on-set curse and the subsequent ban in the UK, all of which added to its stature as one of the most frightening mainstream horrors ever made.

Despite its whiff of sulfur, I never saw the film as anything remotely evil. I approached it with caution at first but I consider it a good film in the purest sense of the word. Sure, it catalogs...

The recent Top 5 on our picks of the Most Extreme Films went down rather well with you, our Nerdly audience, so we thought we’d bring you another Top 5 – this time looking at the Top 5 Cursed Films… in no particular order may I add! Check out the list below and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Opera Mortem

Written and directed by English painter David Fleas, Opera Mortem was apparently filmed over almost 10 years, in super-8 mm and VHS no less, and screened only one time in the 1973 at the Nottingham’s Odeon Film Theatre. Described as weird, trippy, filled with graphic blood, sex, and black magical ritualistic symbols, Opera Mortem – and its 1973 screening – are “believed” to be cursed; with reports of fires in projection booths, people dying after seeing it, riots… you name it, Opera Mortem reportedly caused it. Undoubtedly due to all the satanic symoblism within it!

Toot Toot! The Little Engine that Could becomes a tale of the little town that could, when their tiny rail service is discontinued. A crackerjack cast of Ealing regulars — Stanley Holloway, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson — band together to take over the little spur line and keep it running. We get to see a vintage locomotive from the early 1800s in action, but the appeal isn’t limited to lovers of trains — Ealing’s knack for inspired, understated comedy is all over this show. Plus, it’s the company’s first feature in Technicolor, and is beautifully remastered.

The Titfield Thunderbolt

Blu-ray

Film Movement Classics

1953 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date , 2020 /

Starring: Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle, Hugh Griffith, Gabrielle Brune, Sidney James, Reginald Beckwith, Edie Martin, Michael Trubshawe, Jack MacGowran, Ewan Roberts.

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe

Film Editor: Seth Holt

Original Music: Georges Auric

Written by...

By Todd Garbarini

Long before a carcharodon carcharias wreaked havoc on Amity Island in New York over the July Fourth weekend in the 1970s, atomic blast activity in the 1940s disrupted Mother Nature’s natural chain of events and Hollywood was all too willing to jump on to the atomic admonition bandwagon, churning out fantastic tales of miniscule creatures ballooning to hundreds of times their original size and going medieval on their human counterparts. Gordon Douglas’s Them! (1954) is my favorite film from this era and I find the overall tone of the film to be creepy even today. I was eleven when I first saw it and the sight of oversized, monstrous ants (resulting from nearby military atomic bomb tests) terrorizing La from deep within the Los Angeles Riverbed was truly unnerving. James Whitmore impressed me in his role as the police officer who was determined to save two...

Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, William O’Malley, Barton Heyman | Written by William Peter Blatty | Directed by William Friedkin

More than the possession of a young girl, The Exorcist possesses every inch of our bodies, dragging us from our safe rooms into the very streets of George Town. It embodies everything that is grand and glorious about cinema, everything that is tragic and hard about life and everything terrifying, shocking and haunting that is horror.

The Exorcist was first released in 1973 and I suppose, by now, everything that can ever be said about the film has surely been said, however that won’t stop me saying how I feel, or even what this film did to me. Now as I write down these words The Exorcist is a film that I’ve only had in my world for...

Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) starring Sharon Tate is currently available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives

It’s the living end, a fancy-dress ball for blood fiends in Count Von Krolock’s Transylvanian castle. Surely no mortal would be foolish enough to infiltrate this hemogobbling horror of a soiree. But partygoers notice something in the ballroom mirrors: the reflections of humans – vampire killers – dancing among them. Director/cowriter Roman Polanski spoofs vampire movies with this droll balancing act of shocks and laughs. He also portrays Alfred, mousy apprentice to a doddering researcher of vampirism (Jack MacGowran)…and the lovestruck defender of gorgeous Sarah (Sharon Tate) when the Count (Ferdy Mayne) tries to make her the ghoul of his dreams. It’s all fang-tastic fun!

This sly and stylish Sixties send-up of Hammer-style horror turns genre conventions on their side while shooting straight for the jugular. Expelled from the...

Some movies just don’t get the respect they deserve, which cues pushy reviewers to sing their praises. Forget everything you’ve read and give this Roman Polanski picture a chance — it’s the classiest Halloween treat ever, a lavish blend of Hammer horror, slapstick comedy and wistful romance — plus a vampire horde more balefully scary than a carload of zombies. It’s the beloved Sharon Tate’s best picture, and its vampire king is an original apart from Bela Lugosi and Chris Lee’s Draculas — an aristocratic one-percenter on a satanic mission to put all of humanity in a graveyard of the undead. Warners’ Panavision-Metrocolor restoration is drop-dead beautiful. And they’ve even revived Frank Frazetta’s original ‘jolly chase’ poster art.

The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 107 91 min. / Dance of the Vampires, Your...

“Brace Yourself For A Shock!…200 Feet of Living Burning Horror!” Eugène Lourié’s second feature about an irate sea monster wrecking a city features sober eco-preaching, good performances by Gene Evans and André Morell, and several minutes of exciting stop-motion animation nirvana. One just needs to overlook a few lunkhead effects scenes and concentrate on the key Willis O’Brien / Pete Peterson material. It’s a Shock all right — do you prefer to be stepped on like a bug, or fried by a zillion volts of ‘projected radiation?’

The Giant Behemoth

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1959 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date January 22, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Gene Evans, André Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison, Jack MacGowran, Maurice Kaufmann, Derren Nesbitt.

Cinematography: Ken Hodges

Production Design: Eugène Lourié

Special Visual Effects: Willis H. O’Brien, Pete Peterson, Phil Kellison, Jack Rabin, Irving Block, Louis DeWitt.

Original Music: Edwin Astley...

A dreamy tropic idyll … or a dirty old man’s movie? Our verdict chooses the first option for Michael Powell’s retelling of the old tale of the artist’s innocent yet sensual creative adventure with his young model. Producer James Mason eases nicely into the part, but then-newcomer Helen Mirren takes the prize as the most fearless and liberated woman in filmdom circa 1969.

Age of Consent

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 107, 100 min. / / Street Date November 26, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £14.99

Starring: James Mason, Helen Mirren, Jack MacGowran, Neva Carr-Glyn.

Cinematography: Hannes Staudinger

Film Editor: Dennis Gentle

Original Music: Peter Sculthorpe, Stanley Myers

Written by Peter Yeldham from a novel by Norman Lindsay

Produced by James Mason, Michael Pate, Michael Powell

Directed by Michael Powell

The great director Michael Powell’s career was all but finished in 1969. After leaving his partnership with Emeric Pressburger, he hit a major commercial...

Photographed by Douglas Slocombe, Roman Polanski’s serio-comic tribute to Hammer Studios is probably his most ravishing film. It stars himself and, at her most exquisite, Sharon Tate, along with Jack MacGowran as the addle-pated Professor Abronsius (a vampire hunter more batty than the vampires themselves) and Ferdy Mayne as the aristocratic blood drinker, Count von Krolock. Krzysztof Komeda (Rosemary’s Baby) contributed the eerie score.

Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lionel Stander, Françoise Dorléac, Jack MacGowran, Iain Quarrier | Written by Roman Polanski, Gerard Brach | Directed by Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski’s taste for dark absurdist comedy is in full swing in 1966 comedy-thriller Cul-De-Sac. It’s his second English-language film, sandwiched between Repulsion and Fearless Vampire Killers. Compared with his towering classics (and there are a few) it is slight, but even minor Polanski is a joy to watch.

Especially with a setup like this. We open with Dickey (Lionel Stander, the spit of Ernest Borgnine) and Albie (Jack MacGowran), their car sputtering along the Northumberland coast. Albie is dying from a gunshot wound, so Dickey heads off for help, and finds himself on a coastal island, in a castle owned by George (Donald Pleasence) and his glamorous wife Teresa (Françoise Dorléac).

So begins a strange semi-hostage relationship between the very American gangsters and the gentle married couple.

With Halloween right around the corner, we're counting down the days by posting five fun or freaky facts about our favorite fright flicks. Today's featured film is "The Exorcist."1. The film is considered cursed. Ellen Burstyn was permanently injured during filming, stars Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros both died before the movie was even released and a fire destroyed most of the set. A film-goer seeing the movie also broke his jaw after fainting ... and sued Warner Bros., claiming the flick made him pass out.2. While everyone knows Regan's vomit is made from pea soup, did you know it's specifically Andersen's brand? The filmmakers reportedly tried using Campbell's but didn't like how it looked.3. The flick was the first horror movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. It lost to "The Sting," but won Best Adapted Screenplay. Since then, "Silence of the Lambs" is the only...

Without really trying, William Friedkin has been on the cutting edge for nearly half a century.

He won Best Picture and Best Director for "The French Connection" (1971), followed it up with the scariest movie of all time (1973's "The Exorcist"), and followed that up with "Sorcerer" (1977), a movie so far ahead of its time that only in recent years has it been acknowledged as an overlooked masterpiece. (A newly-restored print of the allegorical adventure tale, released this week on Blu-ray, should help burnish the film's reputation.)

At 78, Friedkin continues to stay ahead of the pack. In his most recent movie, "Killer Joe" (2011), he cast Matthew McConaughey in an unlikely role as a corrupt cop/hitman, thus helping launch the "McConnaissance" that changed the actor's image and led to his recent Oscar victory for "Dallas Buyers Club." For his upcoming projects, he's thrilled to be working in digital and scoffs at...

"The Exorcist," released 40 years ago this week (on December 26, 1973), is widely regarded as the scariest movie ever made, but after four decades, two sequels, two prequels, and countless spoofs, is there anything about the tale of demon-possessed Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) and the priests who try to save her (Max von Sydow and Jason Miller) left to jolt and shock us?

Maybe there is. "Exorcist" director William Friedkin's 2013 memoir, "The Friedkin Connection," has three chapters full of dish on the making of the film, including which characters were based on famous people, how some of the famous special effects were accomplished, how he came to slap a Jesuit priest, and whether or not the production was cursed. Here are 25 things you may not know about "The Exorcist," many of them from Friedkin's recent book.

1. The real case that inspired William Peter Blatty's novel and screenplay was the 1949 exorcism of a 14-year-old boy,...

By Todd Garbarini

William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), based upon the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, is one of the greatest and most powerful American motion pictures ever made. With an impressive cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Jack MacGowran and newcomer Linda Blair, The Exorcist had its origins in a 1949 case involving the purported demonic possession of a young Evangelical Lutheran boy in Cottage City, MD who is still alive to this day, is retired from Nasa, and claims to have no memory of the events that he experienced. Mr. Blatty, who read about the events at the time, thought about the story for years until he wrote the book circa 1969, some 20 years later, in the house of his ex-wife in Encino, CA.

Coming on the heels of my all-time favorite film, 1971’s Oscar-winning The French Connection, Mr.

With Halloween right around the corner, we're counting down the days by posting five fun or freaky facts about our favorite fright flicks. Today's featured film is "The Exorcist."1. The film is considered cursed. Ellen Burstyn injured her back while being thrown around the set. Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros both died before the movie was even released and a fire destroyed most of the set. A film-goer seeing the movie also broke his jaw after fainting. He sued Warner Bros., claiming the flick made him pass out.2. While everyone knows Regan's vomit is made from pea soup, did you know it's specifically Andersen's brand? The filmmakers reportedly tried using Campbell's but didn't like how it looked. When Regan pukes on Father Karras' face, actor Jason Miller's disgust is real -- he was told the soup would land on his chest. 3. To get the actor's breaths to appear during the exorcism,...

Ask 10 people what their favorite horror movie is, and chances are over half will say "The Exorcist." Yes, that's a completely non-scientific statement based on absolutely no solid evidence, but it's totally understandable that horror fans revere the 1973 classic.

"The Exorcist" has it all, and is genuinely scary. It has the creepy religious element, the frightening possessed child, a variety of deaths, and it features just the right amount of blood, vomit, flies, and vulgarity. Forty years later, horror filmmakers are hard-pressed to match "The Exorcist," and many see it as the gold standard.

Here are my top five reasons why "The Exorcist" is the best horror film ever made -- though I could definitely come up with more.

The Alleged "Exorcist Curse"

Nothing makes a horror movie scarier than when some of the legend/story seeps into real life. When you find out that the young actress who played...

Morgan Creek and screenwriter Jeremy Slater are currently shopping a TV series based on The Exorcist, which is fitting since this year marks the 40th anniversary of director William Friedkin's horror classic.

No details regarding the story have been released, but the project has received interest from both broadcast and cable networks. Roy Lee (Bates Motel, The Ring) is on board to executive produce. The success of movie-to-tv adaptations such as A&E's Bates Motel and Hannibal, both of which were renewed for second seasons, may have been the springboard for a classic such as The Exorcist to move to the small screen.

Ironically enough, Morgan Creek developed a limited series based on The Exorcist last year with writer Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene), but this version written by Jeremy Slater is said to be completely different. The Exorcist, which starred Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, and Lee J. Cobb,...

Alec Guinness: Before Obi-Wan Kenobi, there were the eight D’Ascoyne family members (photo: Alec Guiness, Dennis Price in ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’) (See previous post: “Alec Guinness Movies: Pre-Star Wars Career.”) TCM won’t be showing The Bridge on the River Kwai on Alec Guinness day, though obviously not because the cable network programmers believe that one four-hour David Lean epic per day should be enough. After all, prior to Lawrence of Arabia TCM will be presenting the three-and-a-half-hour-long Doctor Zhivago (1965), a great-looking but never-ending romantic drama in which Guinness — quite poorly — plays a Kgb official. He’s slightly less miscast as a mere Englishman — one much too young for the then 32-year-old actor — in Lean’s Great Expectations (1946), a movie that fully belongs to boy-loving (in a chaste, fatherly manner) fugitive Finlay Currie. And finally, make sure to watch Robert Hamer’s dark comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets...

When The Exorcist was first released in 1973, viewers were frightened out of their wits - and literally out of their seats. Now Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Wbhe) will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Academy Award winning director William Friedkin's suspense masterpiece that haunted and intrigued the world, with a new Blu-ray release featuring the Extended Director's Cut and Theatrical Version with new special features and premiums ($49.99 Srp). Available October 8, just ahead of Halloween, this 40th Anniversary Edition will include two new featurettes: "Beyond Comprehension: William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist" and "Talk of the Devil," as well as an excerpt from Friedkin's book The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir.

A true cinema landmark, the theological thriller is one of the top ten box-office performers of all time. The Exorcist took 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won two Oscars, for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as winning for Best Sound.

‘Cursed productions’ are not exclusive to horror pictures. But, it’s typically horror films that garner the most attention for tumultuous circumstances surrounding their filming. At one point, people seemed to like the idea of those involved with horror movies being condemned for their participation in the devil’s work. But, these days, many people would, attribute a cursed production to nothing more than bad luck, negligence, unfortunate circumstances, or a combination of the above factors. Films from The Wizard of Oz to Superman have spawned rumors of a curse associated with their production. But, a lot of people argue that there is a slightly less fantastical explanation for films that endured a particularly turbulent shoot.

Despite the fact that people try to tell us that there is no such thing as a ‘cursed production’, we thought it would be interesting to reminisce on some of the most notorious ‘cursed productions’. As a disclaimer,...

The Exorcist, one of the scariest movies of all-time, is turning 40 years old. To celebrate, we caught up with the original film's heart and soul, Linda Blair, to chat about this terrifying anniversary that spans five films and a lot of green vomit and head twisting. This Sunday, in honor of The Exorcist's timeless take on possession, FEARnet is running "The Complete Exorcist" special, which includes back-to-back airings of The Exorcist, Exorcist II: The Heretic, The Exorcist III, Exorcist: The Beginning, and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Be sure to check it out, but first, check in with our exclusive chat, which finds Regan looking back on Exorcist II: The Heretic, her history with the franchise, and what her dogs think of the movies (to learn more about Linda's WorldHeart Foundation, were you might discover a horror movie loving dog of your own, clickHere) The Exorcist 40th Anniversary: Its...

Yesterday, we caught up with star of the iconic thriller The Exorcist, Linda Blair, who has joined forces with Reader's Digest for Be Afraid of the Dark, the must-have soundtrack to Halloween. The Playlist contains 15 seasonal classics, including the theme song from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dreamcatcher from The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Little Fugue in G Minor, Things That Go Bump in the Night and The Exorcist theme, Tubular Bells.

Linda Blair is also the founder of the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization devoted to the loving care and rescue of animals throughout Los Angeles, to which proceeds from this new CD will go to.

Linda Blair combines her love for rescue dogs and haunting music with this special Halloween interview, in which she offers up some helpful tips for your dogs this Halloween, along with a little bit of head-spinning and...

The Fearless Vampire Killers

Written by Gérard Brach and Roman Polanski

Directed by Roman Polanski

USA/UK, 1967

Roman Polanski’s comedy was his first foray into both Hollywood and colour filmmaking, and, whether intentional or not, feels like a deliberate parody of the Hammer studio’s brand of gothic horror. Polanski’s film has similarly striking castle locales, but the general aesthetic here excels beyond imitation and is among the most beautiful in both horror and comedy cinema. Taking place in a snowbound Transylvania, the lavish studio sets and location shots from the Alps combine to create a gorgeous widescreen film that feels like a winter wonderland; a snow globe environment host to production and costume designs fit for a period epic.

The production of The Fearless Vampire Killers was also where Polanski met his doomed love Sharon Tate. Though the director himself and Jack MacGowran are the stars, it...

Martha Marcy May Marlene writer-director Sean Durkin is reworking The Exorcist as a 10-episode TV series, with Roy Lee attached to produce.

Morgan Creek is backing this series, adapted from the classic William Peter Blatty novel. The show will take a different approach than the 1973 film classic, following the events that lead up to the demonic possession, and how the family turns to Father Damien Karras after doctors and psychiatrists fail to explain the bizarre behavior.

The series won't be shopped to the networks for two weeks, although executives are already scheduling meetings for this updated series.

William Friedkin directed the 1973 adaptation of The Exorcist, which centered on a priest (Max von Sydow) who tries to remove a demonic spirit from a young girl. It was the first horror movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

The Exorcist was released December 26th, 1973 and stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow,...

From John Gall, art director for Vintage and Anchor Books, comes word that legendary publisher and film distributor Barney Rosset has passed away at the age of 89. Gall points us to a lively profile by Louisa Thomas that ran in Newsweek in late 2008: "Rosset's publishing house, Grove Press, was a tiny company operating out of the ground floor of Rosset's brownstone when it published an obscure play called Waiting for Godot in 1954. By the time Beckett had won the Nobel Prize in 1969, Grove had become a force that challenged and changed literature and American culture in deep and lasting ways. Its impact is still evident — from the Che Guevara posters adorning college dorms to the canonical status of the house's once controversial authors. Rosset is less well known — but late in his life he is achieving some wider recognition. Last month, a black-tie crowd gave Rosset a standing ovation...

It's been nearly two years since Swiss authorities, acting on a request from the Us, arrested Roman Polanski, jailed him for two months and then held him under house arrest for seven more. While incarcerated, Polanski managed to complete The Ghost Writer, which won him a Silver Bear at the 2010 edition of the Berlinale and then swept last year's European Film Awards. While we anxiously await Carnage — his adaptation of Yasmina Reza's play God of Carnage featuring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C Reilly; it'll see its premiere in Venice before opening the New York Film Festival — MoMA has announced a month-long retrospective (September 7 through 30) and today Criterion releases Cul-de-sac (1966) on DVD and Blu-ray.

"Cul-de-sac remains a searing reminder that Roman Polanski's idiosyncratic grasp of the human mind was once evinced theatrically, rather than through narrative ferocity," writes Joseph Jon Lanthier in Slant. "Where Chinatown,...

Rank the week of August 16th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time: New Releases Jane Eyre

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #3143

Win Percentage: 55%

Times Ranked: 1594

Top-20 Rankings: 7

Directed By: Cary Fukunaga

Starring: Mia Wasikowska • Michael Fassbender • Jamie Bell • Judi Dench • Imogen Poots

Genres: Drama • Gothic Film • Mystery • Period Film • Romance • Romantic Drama • Romantic Mystery

Rank This Movie

Something Borrowed

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #8753

Win Percentage: 40%

Times Ranked: 456

Top-20 Rankings: 3

Directed By: Luke Greenfield

Starring: Kate Hudson • Ginnifer Goodwin • John Krasinski • Colin Egglesfield • Steve Howey

Genres: Comedy • Comedy Drama • Drama • Romance • Romantic Comedy • Romantic Drama

Rank This Movie

Priest

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #6278

Win Percentage: 43%

Times Ranked: 1274

Top-20 Rankings: 5

Directed By: Scott Charles Stewart

Starring: Paul Bettany • Karl Urban • Cam Gigandet • Maggie Q • Lily Collins

Genres: Action • Comic-Book Superhero Film • Horror • Monster Film • Religious Horror • Science Fiction • Sci-Fi Action • Sci-Fi Horror • Supernatural Horror...

DVD Playhouse June 2011

By

Allen Gardner

Kiss Me Deadly (Criterion) Robert Aldrich’s 1955 reinvention of the film noir detective story is one of cinema’s great genre mash-ups: part hardboiled noir; part cold war paranoid thriller; and part science- fiction. Ralph Meeker plays Mickey Spillane’s fascist detective Mike Hammer as a narcissistic simian thug, a sadist who would rather smash a suspect’s fingers than make love to the bevvy of beautiful dames that cross his path. In fact, the only time you see a smile cross Meeker’s sneering mug is when he’s doling out pain, with a vengeance. When a terrified young woman (Cloris Leachman, film debut) literally crossed Hammer’s path one night, and later turns up dead, he vows to get to the bottom of her brutal demise. One of the most influential films ever made, and perhaps the most-cited film by the architects...

On March 20th, the hard-to-find cult favorite How I Won the War will be making its DVD debut exclusively on Amazon.com as part of the MGM Collectors Series. John Lennon stars alongside Michael Crawford in his first film performance in this hilariously surreal collage of battle footage and one-liners lampooning the absurdity of the war. To help celebrate this unqiue release, we have an exclusive clip of John Lennon on the battlefield. Check it out below.

Click to watch Exclusive: Hearts Not in It!

For a limited time, How I Won the War the Special Editition DVD comes with a Commemorative Photo Album, which features behind the scenes photos from the film. The feature has been remastered for this DVD release with supervision from Richard Lester (Director), and John Victor-Smith (Editor). Now you can bring home John Lennon's only non-Beatles performance in a feature film.

How I Won the War...