Exorcist best horror film yet

The Exorcist has been named the greatest horror film yet in a poll.

The 1973 supernatural thriller came out on top in a survey of more than 6,000 HMV customers, published as Halloween approaches.

Directed by William Friedkin, the movie, which also scooped the most votes last year, features performances by Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn and Max von Sydow.

Second spot in the poll went to director Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson, which came out top two years ago.

British director Ridley Scott's deep space adventure Alien came in third.

Jonny Scurfield, HMV DVD buyer, said there has been a surge of interest in the horror genre - probably more than in any other movie category, with younger customers in their late teens and early 20s leading the way."

He added: "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 said the advent of DVDs had brought a greater interest in more contemporary types of horror, such as "slash" movies by directors like Eli Roth.

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