10 Horror Movie Scenes More Real Than You Think
3. The Exorcist - Ellen Burstyn's Cries Of Pain Were Real
Director William Friedkin had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to elicit real fear and panic from his actors on The Exorcist, including turning the set into a freezer and shooting guns unannounced, but one scene involving Ellen Burstyn took this to the next level.
One of the most chaotic sequences in the movie is when Burstyn's Chris checks on daughter Regan, only to find her in full-on possession mode. After being struck by her daughter, Chris is thrown across the room and cries out in pain.
Those cries, it turns out, weren't faked at all. After a few takes that had the director unimpressed with the actress's reaction, Burstyn complained to Friedkin that the stunt man was pulling her too hard and that she could get injured. As the stunt man himself tells it, the director reassured Burstyn that the next take would be softer, but then informed him to yank her even harder.
This time, Burstyn went flying off her feet and landed on her back, crying out in genuine pain. The scene made it in the final film, and instead of cutting to make sure she was alright, Friedkin zoomed in for a close up.
The scene cuts off just before Burstyn told him to "turn the f***ing camera off".