10 Best "What's Around The Corner" Horror Movie Moments

There comes a point in The Exorcist where almost every other scene becomes a "what's around the corner" moment. As Regan's (Linda Blair) possession takes hold, she begins to deteriorate at an increasing scale. The sudden outbursts from the beginning of the film escalate into violent convulsions and attacks, until eventually, the innocent child we know gives way to rotting skin, pea-green vomit, and the growling tones of Mercedes McCambridge.

It is this version of Regan we meet once her mother Chris (Ellen Burstyn) pleads with Father Karras (Jason Miller) to perform an exorcism. Still unconvinced but moved by Chris' pleas, Karras heads to the McNeil house and slowly up the stairs to Regan's bedroom. It's a masterful moment in a film full of masterful moments, with director William Friedkin wielding tension, anguish and fear in equal measure as Karras moves up the stairs and swings open the door.

The scene on the other side is far from pleasant. Regan, caked in vomit and open wounds, lies restrained on the bed - the room's temperature at an icy chill. Karras, still skeptical, is visibly repulsed, and yet must find it within himself to look past the extraordinary and try to converse with the "Devil" in Regan's body.

What follows is one of the more quietly unsettling moments of The Exorcist, as Karras boxes verbally with the possessed Regan, and his crisis of faith at long last comes to a head.