10 Horror Movie Secrets Never Meant To Be Found

The Exorcist remains one of the easiest ways to lose three nights of sleep to this very day.

Released in 1973, this adaptation of William Peter Blatty's novel is still utterly chilling for a number of reasons - some obvious, some less so.

Director William Friedkin made it his personal mission to scare the living bejeezus out of every single one of his viewers in ways they couldn't even comprehend. He would layer the movie's score with deeply unsettling noises like bees buzzing or heavy machinery going off in an attempt to trigger audiences' fight or flight responses.

Flight - always flight!

And then there are the faces.

So.

Many.

Faces.

The movie is peppered with subliminal frames of the demon Pazuzu's face that crop up out of nowhere. Exorcist fan site Captain Howdy has an incredibly detailed catalogue of all of them, if you fancy freaking yourself out for half-an-hour.

So much work went in to making The Exorcist what it is, and it all paid off. It still stands head and shoulders above 90% of the horror genre and will still find new ways to make you scream even after so many years.