Horror movies are no strangers to scandal, but The Exorcist? He practically invented it. William Friedkin1973’s Shock set new standards for controversy, sending waves through cinemas around the world. With the story of a girl possessed by a demonic force, the film’s shocking content sparked enough outrage to be banned in parts of the UK. This move only fueled his outlaw appeal, helping him reach box-office superstardom.

Unlike any horror movie, The Exorcist played the drama, diving into themes that religious groups found beyond offensive. The producers knew the storm they were getting into and leaned into it. Playing on his reputation, he hyped the marketing by encouraging stories of people fainting and even suffering heart attacks in the theater. Audiences were both captivated and horrified, and the film quickly amassed a cult following, grossing $400 million — $2.4 billion if adjusted for today’s inflation.

It wasn’t just the blood and terror that made The Exorcist so divisive, though. It arrived as films were beginning to test the limits of censorship. The Hays Code, a strict set of content rules, had been abolished just five years earlier in 1968, giving films like The Godfather and A Clockwork Orange the green light to push the limits. British audiences in particular felt the shock of this new wave of unrestricted content. For them, The Exorcist wasn’t just a movie, it was a cultural tremor on a large scale.

The content itself was raw. Scenes like the infamous crucifixion sequence were taboo by any standard, and rumors of fainting, vomiting and panic attacks quickly spread. And you thought the studio would be afraid of that? Not. They embraced the chaos with an almost carnivalesque enthusiasm. Taking a page from the book of B-movie master William Castle,

Friedkin and the team played into the hysteria, suggesting that the film was too much for the average viewer. It was a marketing ploy as shocking as the film itself.
Still, The Exorcist had its artistic defenders. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) recognized the film’s cultural weight and allowed it to play in cinemas.

Marketing reached new heights with the trailer – a minute-long barrage of strobe images featuring Regan MacNeil’s possessed face. Warner Bros. pulled the trailer after early screenings reportedly led to physical reactions such as vomiting. And that trailer? It’s still considered one of the creepiest ever and is now available on YouTube (but viewers beware – the flashing effects are intense).

By the time The Exorcist finished its theatrical run, the hype had turned into legend, with audiences around the world claiming it was the scariest movie ever made. Its legacy endures, as does the controversy that helped define it. For Friedkin and Warner Bros., the backlash didn’t hurt—if anything, it propelled The Exorcist into the Horror Hall of Fame.

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