Stanley Kubrick was shooting Barry Lyndon at the same time as Bill Friedkin was shooting The Exorcist.
Chicago born director Gary Sherman hit horror paydirt with his first feature, the cerebral British shocker Death Line a film that pre-dated The Exorcist by a year and matches it for stomach churning special FX frissons.
I must also admit, that as much as I was in awe of Kubrick, when I saw both films I thoroughly understood why WB was “throwing money” at The Exorcist and was worried about Barry Lyndon.
It’s pointless for us to over-rhapsodize about William Freidkin‘s landmark 1973 horror film The Exorcist.