Horror films are no stranger to scandal, but The Exorcist? He practically invented it. William FriedkinThe 1973 shocker set new standards for controversy, sending waves through cinemas around the world. With the story of a young girl possessed by a demonic force, the film’s shocking content sparked enough outrage to have it banned in parts of the UK. The move only fueled his forbidden appeal, helping him become a box office superstar.

Unlike any horror movie, The Exorcist played up the drama, delving into themes that religious groups considered to be more than offensive. The producers knew the storm they were heading into and leaned into it. Playing on his reputation, he excited 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 garnered a cult following, grossing over $400 million – $2.4 billion if we adjust it for today’s inflation.

However, it wasn’t just the blood and terror that made The Exorcist so controversial. It arrived as films began to test the limits of censorship. The Hays Code, a strict set of content guidelines, had been abolished five years earlier, in 1968, giving films like The Godfather and A Clockwork Orange the green light to push the boundaries. British audiences, in particular, have felt the shock of this new wave of unrestricted content. For them, The Exorcist was not just a film: it was a real cultural upheaval.

The content itself was raw. Scenes like the infamous crucifix sequence were taboo in every way, and rumors of fainting, vomiting, and panic attacks quickly spread. And did you think the studio would be afraid of that? No. They embraced the chaos with almost carnivalesque enthusiasm. Taking a page from B-movie master William Castle’s book,

Friedkin and crew played into the hysteria, implying that the film was too much for the average viewer. It was a marketing ploy as shocking as the film itself.
However, The Exorcist had its artistic defenders. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) recognized the cultural weight of the film and authorized its theatrical release.

The 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 resulted in physical reactions such as vomiting. And this trailer? It’s still considered one of the scariest of all time, and it’s now available on YouTube (but viewer beware: the flashing effects are intense).

By the time The Exorcist finished its theatrical run, the hype had become legend, with audiences around the world claiming it was the scariest film ever made. His legacy endures, as does the controversy that helped define him. For Friedkin and Warner Bros., the reaction didn’t hurt, on the contrary, it pushed The Exorcist into the Horror Hall of Fame.

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