(William Friedkin, US 1973, 122 min.)

It’s been nearly 40 years since this terrifying tale of a single mom (Ellen Burstyn) and her demonically possessed daughter (Linda Blair) caught audiences off guard with its unapologetic blasphemy, taboo sexuality and graphic images — some theaters even handed out “stomach distress” bags to queasy patrons — and it still packs a punch. Combining the European cool of the auteur cinema he admired with good old-fashioned scares, director Friedkin shocks, frightens, and reminds us all that horror movies need not be silly kids’ stuff.

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