The head-spinning scene from ‘The Exorcist’ has been voted the scariest movie scene of all-time.
The scene beat off competition from the shower scene in ‘Psycho’ and the chest-bursting sequence in ‘Alien’ to take top spot.
‘The Exorcist‘, released in 1973, starred 13-year-old Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, a child possessed by a malevolent demon. Her mother approaches two Catholic priests to save her child.
Upon its release, William Friedkin’s film – which is based on William Peter Blatty’s book of the same name – created much controversy at the time with cinema-goers fainting and vomiting in theatres and the picture was banned from being screened in many parts of the UK.
It went on also became the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
In a 2013 interview, Linda, 60, discussed what made ‘The Exorcist’ so popular.
She said: “You know, a lot of it has to do with the performances – everyone in this movie is just brilliant. Max [von Sydow] and Jason [Miller] are absolutely amazing, and you just don’t see movies like ‘The Exorcist’ being made anymore. It’s an extremely intelligent film and it’s challenging, whether or not you get anything out of it spiritually.”
Stephen King adaptations took fourth and fifth places in the list, with the ankle-breaking scene in ‘Misery’ followed by Jack Nicholson’s “Here’s Johnny!” scene in ‘The Shining’.
Galaspins.com, who conducted the poll, said that the results indicate that the British public is more likely to be spooked by older films.
The website said: “The research suggests Brits are more frightened by classic horror movies as five out of the top 10 films were made in the 1970s or earlier.”
Scenes from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, ‘The Ring’, ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Halloween’ and another chilling moment from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ rounded out the top 10.
