When the film premiered, theatergoers fainted and vomited. It went on to inspire a series of copycat films – while fomenting a cultural panic about the demons in our midst.
Jane Levy in a scene from Evil Dead, based on a fictional Sumerian book that summons evil.
Sony Tristar/AAP
Some of popular culture’s most famous ghosts and demons have roots in ancient Mesopotamia. What did ancient humans believe about the supernatural? And what stories did they tell?
From Mean Streets to The Exorcist and Badlands, 1973 was a year that showcased the audacious talent in Hollywood that was experimenting with darker themes and new film techniques.
William Friedkin, far right, with his Oscar for best achievement in directing for The French Connection.
AP Photo, File
In reality, most Roman Catholic exorcists recognise the danger of encouraging a person suffering from auditory hallucinations to believe that these are demonic.
A still from the Netflix series “Midnight Mass.”
Eike Schroter/Netflix
A scholar of religion in film explains the varied representation of Catholicism in horror. In some films, it is used in the fight against evil, while others show the Church itself as evil.
A painting showing Saint Francis Borgia, a 16th century saint,, performing an exorcism.
Francisco Goya
Forty-five years ago, ‘The Exorcist’ terrified viewers with its portrayal of a practice that goes back several centuries and continues today in Christianity.