The Exorcist same name, and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller. The film is part of "The Exorcist" franchise. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe, deals with the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother's attempts to win back her child through an exorcism conducted by two priests. The adaptation is relatively faithful to the book, which itself has been commercially successful (hitting the "New York Times" bestseller list). John Boorman's "" was released in 1977, and revisited Regan four years after her initial ordeal. The plot dealt with an investigation
The Exorcist (film) stuntman jerked her around using a special effects cable during the scene when Regan slaps her mother. According to the documentary "Fear of God: The Making of the Exorcist", the injury did not cause permanent damage, although Burstyn was upset the shot of her screaming in pain was used in the film. After Father William O'Malley confirmed to Friedkin that he trusted the director, Friedkin slapped him hard across the face to generate a deeply solemn reaction for the last rites scene; this offended the many Catholic crew members on the set. He also fired blanks without warning on the