10 Facts About ‘The Exorcist’ to Make Your Head Spin

Warner Bros. asked Stanley Kubrick to direct this classic film, but he turned it down. (Things worked out pretty well with director William Friedkin in charge anyway.) That’s just one of the many facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which looks at one of the scariest horror movies ever made, The Exorcist.

Persistent rumors of a curse haunted the cast and creators of the film; one actor’s son was hit by a motorcycle and many others fell mysteriously ill throughout production (no wonder it scared people). Max von Sydow was only 44 at the time of shooting, but his character was many years older, so subtle makeup was used to age him. At times, he was wearing even more makeup than Linda Blair as the possessed demon child Regan MacNeil. Everyone remembers her pea-soup vomit, in part because of Jason Miller’s shocked and disgusted look when it hits him in the face, a reaction Friedkin achieved by lying to Miller and claiming the goop would only splash him in the chest.

“You Think You Know Movies?” is a ScreenCrush original series that dives deep into the cinematic worlds of your favorite movies and freeze frames a few tidbits you might not have known. We’ve already tackled Star Wars, The Avengers, and Spider-Man, but now the power of you-know-who compels you to watch this episode about The Exorcist.

Watch more installments of ‘You Think You Know Movies?’ below and let us know what movies we should cover next.