The Exorcist (1973)

An actress (Ellen Burstyn) shooting a film in Washington D.C. is disturbed by the strange behavior and changes in her 12 year old daughter (Linda Blair). Medical doctors can find no physical reasons for the behavior and as the child's increasingly violent behavior escalates, she seeks the help of an exorcist. One of the most commercially successful horror films of all time, THE EXORCIST retains its primal anxiety and ability to tap into the most rudimentary of fears. The kamikaze direction by William Friedkin is like a sledge hammer, he keeps punching at you but there's no denying its effectiveness. Based on the best selling potboiler by William Peter Blatty (who also did the screenplay), the film is anchored by a terrific performance by Ellen Burstyn whose performance gives the fantastic a reality that grounds the movie. There are other good performances by Blair, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn and Max Von Sydow but it's surprising how poor some of the other actors are, notably Jason Miller and Jack MacGowran. The superb sound work (it just crawls under your skin) by Robert Knudson and Christopher Newman justifiably won the Oscar. With Peter Masterson and as the voice of the demon, Mercedes McCambridge.