What is the scariest movie of all time? 

Dracula?, Psycho?, Halloween?  One title that regularly tops this list is 1973's The Exorcist.  And it's definitely scary. 

Ellen Burstyn stars as Chris MacNeil, a successful Hollywood actress filming a movie on location in Washington, D.C.  She is recently divorced and seems to have a good relationship with her 12-year-old daughter Regan (Linda Blair).  When the girl begins acting strangely, doctors are consulted, finding nothing.  After top psychiatrists and neurologists provide no answers, the desperate mother consultes a local priest, Father Karras (Jason Miller), about possible demonic possession..

The Exorcist starts very slowly, developing characters that we truly care about.  The quiet moments are intercut with the horrifying.  When the title character, Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) finally arrives, we are ready for the ultimate confrontation between good and evil.

Until this time, horror movies consisted mostly of exaggerated monsters like Frankenstein, the Mummy or assorted giant insects.  This movie, and Rosemary's Baby a few years before, brought screen terror into the home.  Mundane, relatable situations are devestated by unnatural events.

The cast does a superb job playing very human characters trapped in a living nightmere.  The quiet Washington neighborhood of Georgetown is almost a character, contrasting sharply with the horrors within.

To say more about The Exorcist would be unfair, since even with repeat viewings, this film is still full of surprises.

Truly, one of the scariest movies of all-time.