The Exorcist voted greatest horror film ever

Washington, (ANI): The 1973 thriller, The Exorcist, based on William Peter Blatty's book, has been named as the "best horror film ever made" in a new Halloween poll. William Friedkin's flick topped the online poll, which asked more than 6,000 HMV customers - all thanks to its unique blend of supernatural horror, religious iconography and a taboo-breaking script.

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of the Stephen King novel, The Shining, secured the second spot while Alien was voted third. James Wan's Saw, from 2004, nabbed the fifth place and the highest-placing film from the 21st century.

"Over the last few years, we've seen a significant upsurge of interest in this genre - probably more than for any other movie category, with younger customers in their late teens and early 20s leading the way," Contactmusic quoted Jonny Scurfield, an HMV DVD buyer, as saying.

"Halloween has become a key retail event, with sales of horror DVDs more than doubling in the past three years, and this year, with the doom and gloom of the credit crunch, you get the feeling it may prove a bit of a boom for horror, with more people staying in to watch their favourite movies," he added.

The top 50 films are:

1 The Exorcist - (1973)
2 The Shining - (1980)
3 Alien - (1979)
4 The Silence of the Lambs - (1991)
5 Saw - (2004)
6 Halloween - (1978)
7 A Nightmare on Elm Street - (1984)
8 Ring (Ringu) - (1998)
9 The Wicker Man - (1973)
10 The Omen - (1976)
11 The Birds - (1963)
12 The Thing - (1982)
13 Lost Boys - (1987)
14 Dawn of the Dead - (1978)
15 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - (1974)
16 Jaws - (1975)
17 The Blair Witch Project - (1999)
18 An American Werewolf in London - (1981)
19 Se7en - (1995)
20 Poltergeist - (1982)
21 The Amityville Horror - (1979)
22 Candyman - (1992)
23 Scream - (1996)
24 Carrie - (1976)
25 Friday the 13th - (1980)
26 Final Destination - (2000)
27 The Evil Dead - (1981)
28 Hellraiser - (1987)
29 Hostel - (2005)
30 Salem"s Lot - (2004)
31 The Descent - (2005)
32 The Hills Have Eyes - (1977)
33 Wolf Creek - (2005)
34 Misery - (1991)
35 Rosemary"s Baby - (1968)
36 Child"s Play - (1989)
37 The Orphanage - (2008)
38 The Entity - Sidney J Furie (1981)
39 Nosferatu - (1922)
40 Night of the Living Dead - (1968)
41 House on Haunted Hill - (2000)
42 The Haunting - (1963)
43 It - (1990)
44 Audition - (1999)
45 The Changeling - (1980)
46 The Mist - (2008)
47 Suspiria - (1977)
48 The Vanishing - (1993)
49 Shutter - (2008)
50 Planet Terror - (2007)