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
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