Thanks in part to Linda Blair's wrenching, Oscar-nominated performance,
The Exorcist was a huge hit, earning back 10 times its $10 million budget (a then-lavish sum, outrageous for a "mere" horror flick). Movie historians cite it (along with
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) as the conclusive end of old-school spook shows featuring Dracula and Frankenstein and bobbing rubber bats. If you think your teen is ready for this shocking film, keep in mind that audience members in the '70s reportedly fainted and, in some extreme cases, required psychiatric care after seeing Dick Smith's grisly makeup effects on Blair and director
William Friedkin's matter-of-fact way of presenting them. Also, the moans, snarls, and profane utterances from Regan (most are actually the dubbed-in voice of a well-known older actress, Mercedes McCambridge) amount to some of the most chilling audio ever done for film.