10 Moments In Horror Where Actors Weren't Acting

With The Exorcist regularly touted as the scariest film ever made, it's no surprise it rattled the cast, emotionally and physically. However, certain actors suffered more than others.

About an hour in, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) bursts into the bedroom of her possessed daughter, Regan (Linda Blair) to find her stabbing herself with a crucifix. When Chris tries to stop her, Regan throws her mother into the wall. To capture this shot, Burstyn was wearing a harness that was yanked by the film crew to give the impression her character was being hurled across the room.

Unfortunately, the crew pulled the harness too hard during shooting, causing Burstyn to fracture her coccyx. Not only was the poor actress left with a permanent spine injury, the intense pain has become a part of cinematic history since this footage made it into the finished product.

Interestingly, another non-acting moment occurs less than ten minutes later. When Father Karras (Jason Miller) confronts Regan, she defiantly vomits across his face. Miller was under the belief the pea-soup puke was going to hit his chest, so his look of repulsion here is the real deal.

At first, you might think the filmmakers didn't tell Miller the vomit would be spewed on his face. In reality, the plastic tubing that withheld the slimy goo misfired, causing it to spray all over Miller.

Looking back, it was a happy accident, as it made this already freaky scene even freakier.