William Friedkin

The Reputation: Friedkin was much more known for his dramatic/thriller work – The French Connection, The Boys In The Band and comedy The Night They Raided Minsky’s.

Friedkin wasn’t exactly the studio’s first choice for his horror outing either – the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Mike Nichols and peter Bogdanovich passed before Friedkin was offered the job.

The Horror Flick: The Exorcist (1973)

Poor Regan McNeil (Linda Blair) has a bigger problem than worrying about puberty – she’s been possessed by a demon.

Two priests (played by Jason Miller and Max von Sydow) are brought in to exorcise her, but the supernatural entity doesn’t give up without a violent, vomit-stained fight.

The Signature Move: Friedkin’s early work in documentaries carried over into movies like The French Connection and The Exorcist is no different – it’s a jagged, in-your-face experience, which seems to suit the based-on-an-allegedly-true-story background for the movie.

The Critical Response: Reviews were mixed. The New Republic Gushed: “This is the most scary film I’ve seen in years — the only scary film I’ve seen in years.”

But the New York Times had a different opinion: “A chunk of elegant occultist claptrap. A practically impossible film to sit through… It establishes a new low for grotesque special effects...”

It ended up the second most popular film of the year.

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