The Exorcist Movie Facts, Easter Eggs and hidden details

Filmed before the stedicam had been invented. To show actors going upstairs toward the demonic bedroom a makeshift seat-swing was designed using pulleys and rope, and guided by crew. The handheld shot was revolutionary for the time (as was much of the film).

Director William Friedkin was notorious for hiding guns around set so he could fire them during takes, startling his actors to get genuine reactions.

The scene where Regan projectile vomits at Father Karras only required one take. The vomit was intended to hit Jason Miller in the chest, but the plastic tubing misfired, hitting him in the face. His reaction of shock and disgust while wiping away the vomit is genuine.

I'm sure this is known, but I haven't seen it on here: The actor who plays the radiologist's assistant in The Exorcist (1973), Paul Bateson, would become a convicted murderer who later became a suspect in a series of murders in 1970's New York that inspired the director's later film Cruising (1980).

When we first see the director of the movie being shot within the movie, he's being pestered by a producer about a scene being cut. That part is a cameo by Exorcist writer/producer William Peter Blatty, who famously butted heads with the director over cutting various scenes.

- when Brad Dourif's character is asked how he's able to come and go from jail without being seen, he responds - "It's Child's Play". Brad Dourif also provided the voice for Chucky.

O Mercedes McCambridge provided the dubbed voice of Pazuzu, the demon possessing the young girl Regan played by Linda Blair. To sound as disturbing as possible, McCambridge insisted on...

Max von Sydow plays an elderly priest. As Sydow was only 44, it took them 4 hours in makeup every time so he'd look old enough. They did such a good job he had trouble finding work for several years after because everyone thought he was too old. He died March 8, 2020 at 90.

When Father Karras falls down the stairs after taking the demon into himself, you can see "Fight Pigs" on the left, referencing the Bible story of Jesus exorcising demons into a herd of pigs.

Regan's scars aren't just random demonic markings; they first appear during the violet masturbation scene because she's cut her face while thrusting the crucifix.