If you watch The Exorcist for the first time today, some elements will already feel familiar. The pea soup vomit scene and Regan’s revolving head are now indelible cinematic touchstones. So too is the general format for the exorcism itself, positioning Catholic priests as a kind of holy ghostbuster service. After five decades of filmmakers strip-mining The Exorcist for material, you’ll find similar scenes in countless copycats, from the Conjuring franchise to the CBS show Evil.
