What's it about? Adapted from the novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist reworks a real life incident and tells the story of a little girl by the name of Regan who begins displaying increasingly erratic and disturbing behaviour. Her mother calls in a priest who becomes convinced she is possessed by the devil, and opts for carrying out an exorcism. What makes it groundbreaking? The Exorcist might not be the first ever "demon child" movie but it's certainly one of the most influential, and also has the honour of being the first horror movie to be nominated for Academy Awards across the board (unfortunately losing out on Best Picture to The Sting). Its influence throughout popular culture since cannot be understated - from copycat movies to countless parodies, it's embedded in the cultural landscape.
