The film that started it all.

The first no-holds barred blockbuster gross-out to break through big screens across the US; the opening shot in the post-1960s Culture Wars that galvanized the Christian Right into fighting the Entertainment Industry like the anti-Christ itslef, in which 12 year old Linda Blair projectile vomits all over a priest and goes on a Tourreteis syndrome tear in which she spits out the words "f*ck" and "suck" and "cock" in the same room as the Holy Spirit.

Yep, after The Exorcist (the best version is the 25th Anniversary Special Edition) it was pretty clear that Saturday afternoons at the movies weren't going to be John Wayne and fluffy puppies anymore. Clearing the path for later 70s gore films about Satan and haunting spirits - The Omen, Amittyville - this is the one that declared loud and proud that Shirley Temple was dead and cold. The directors cut is even nastier and holds up well with age, making you realize they don't make them like this anymore.

Thinky says: I know what you did last century.