20 Things You Didn't Know About The Exorcist
4. Someone Sued The Film Succesfully After Breaking Their Jaw Watching It
We've all heard of jaw-dropping moments in popular films but one unlucky audience member found a jaw-breaking one whilst watching The Exorcist.
One man who watched the film after the original release claimed that the use of subliminal imagery in the film caused him to faint, specifically, the demonic face that appears during the dream of Father Karras. As a result, the viewer somehow fell forward and hit the seat in front of him, breaking his jaw in the process.
The unfortunate viewer decided to sue Warner Bros, who allegedly settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. The identity of the viewer has never been revealed, whether or not as a result of a non-disclosure agreement or on account of the incident being made up.
It does seem somewhat strange that despite all the widespread reports of audience members fainting, no similar lawsuits have emerged. But they also could have been covered up with hush money from Warner Bros.