The Exorcist (film) film's plot. In the book, the spider-walk is somewhat more muted, consisting of Regan following Sharon around near the floor and flicking a snake-like tongue at her ankles. A take of this version of the scene was filmed but went unused. A different take showing Regan with blood flowing from her mouth was inserted into the 2000 Director's Cut of the film however. "The Exorcist" contained a number of special effects, engineered by makeup artist Dick Smith. In one scene from the film, Max von Sydow is actually wearing more makeup than the possessed girl (Linda Blair). This was because
Pazuzu (The Exorcist) was published, "The Exorcist" was released in theaters as a motion picture. In the beginning of the film, Father Merrin finds a ruined statue of the demon during a dig in Iraq. The majority of the film deals with Regan's demonic possession by a being she initially refers to as "Captain Howdy". During the attempted exorcism of Regan the statue of Pazuzu Merrin found at the beginning of the film briefly appears, The demon is ultimately exorcised out of Regan's body after Merrin dies of a heart attack, and Father Damien Karras sacrifices himself by luring the demon into his