Revealing mistake: In some extended edition cuts of the film, Regan backwards spider walks down a flight of stairs, and blood falls from her mouth. But her face isn't that of Linda Blair, but of a stunt double.
The Exorcist (1973)
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Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, Lee J. Cobb, Linda Blair, Jason Miller
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Regan MacNeil: You're going to die up there.
Trivia: In the scene where Regan's mother is supernaturally blasted away from the bedside, she is being yanked by the crew by a length of rope. After dozens of takes director William Friedkin was still unhappy with the look of the shot and ordered the crew to haul her more fiercely. The scream in the shot that made the cut was of genuine pain and required no dubbing for effect.
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Answer: It was indeed Pazuzu, he wanted Regan to believe he was some friendly entity to gain her trust. Thus the Captain Howdy facade.