‘The Exorcist’ is voted the scariest movie of all-time

‘The Exorcist’ has been voted the scariest horror movie of all-time according to new national research carried out by Showcase Cinemas to celebrate the release of ‘Halloween Ends’.

The movie, originally released in 1973, took 13% of the vote, narrowly beating out 90’s favourite ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (11%) and Stanley Kubrick’s psychological horror ‘The Shining’ (10%).

Elsewhere, in a closely fought race to be named the UK’s favourite family film to watch on Halloween, ‘Hocus Pocus’ was named number one by over 1 in 10 film fans (11%). The 1980’s classic ‘Ghostbusters’ finished runner-up receiving 10% of the vote, with ‘The Addams Family’ (9%) rounding off the top three.

It was another victory for ‘The Exorcist’ as the movie’s ‘spinning head’ scene, which has been frightening film fans for nearly 50 years, came out on top as the scariest movie scene, with Alfred Hitchcock’s infamous shower scene from ‘Psycho’ (16%) finishing in second place.

Other movie scenes which terrified the nation include the chest burst from ‘Alien’ (14%), “Here’s Johnny” from ‘The Shining’ (14%)and the night vision scene from ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (13%).

Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ has been voted the best horror character of all time (21%).

Batman nemesis The Joker has been voted the nation’s favourite film character to dress up as for Halloween (13%), whereas his female counterpart Harley Quinn landed in second (12%), with classic horror character Dracula (11%) finishing in third.

Keith Lemon, Halloween fanatic and Brand Ambassador for Showcase Cinemas, said: “Halloween and Christmas are my favourite times of the year. Halloween decorations go up October 1^st then it’s the planning as to what am going to wear. We like a bit of dress up in our house. Love watching horror films at this time of year too. Apparently, The Exorcist was voted scariest movie – totally agree! I never ate pea soup again after watching that film – terrifying!”.

Mark Barlow, UK General Manager for Showcase Cinemas, said: “Horror movies continue to be extremely popular with our guests throughout the whole year, not just at Halloween, delivering so many iconic characters and moments.

“Our survey also revealed that scary movies are the UK’s favourite thing about Halloween, which is why we are screening some classic Halloween films in the lead up to the day itself, so our guests can enjoy spooky scenes on the big screen.”

Uk’s Top Ten Scariest Movies Of All Time:

1. The Exorcist (13%)
2. The Silence Of The Lambs (11%)
3. The Shining (10%)
4. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (9%)
5. The Omen (8%)
6. It (7%)
7. A Nightmare On Elm Street (7%)
8. The Ring (7%)
9. The Conjuring (6%)
10. Poltergeist (6%)

Uk’s Top Favourite Characters From Horror Films:

1. Hannibal Lecter – Silence Of The Lambs (21%)
2. Freddy Kreuger – A Nightmare On Elm Street (15%)
3. Ripley – Alien (14%)
4. Pennywise – It (12%)
5. Norman Bates – Psycho (11%)
6. Michael Myers – Halloween (11%)
7. Jack Torrance – The Shining (11%)
8. Chucky – Child’s Play (11%)
9. Carrie White – Carrie (10%)
10. Frankenstein’s Monster – Frankenstein (8%)

Find out more about Showcase Cinemas’ Spooky Season at https://www.showcasecinemas.co.uk/film-news/spooky-season