The greatness of the film, for me, is demonstrated by the fact that I'm not religious, I find the premise absurd (John Landis made the comment, and I paraphrase, 12-year old girl gets possessed by the devil and goes to pedophile priests for assistance?), and yet I still love it. Stars the great Ellen Burstyn and Max Von Sydow and even non-actor (playwright) Jason Miller is effective. Greatest of all, of course, is the make-up by Dick Smith. Despite all the advances in make-up and special effects that have been made in the years since 1973, this creation has never been matched in terms of sheer, chilling creepiness. This is the kind of no-holds barred movie they just don't make anymore, unfortunately. Can you imagine anyone putting a scene like the one with Linda Blair and the crucifix in a film today? Put this one up against the pitiful pseudo-Exorcist movie that came out last year, and you'll see how markedly the state of moviemaking has deteriorated over the past 20-30 years.