5 Essential Post-Exorcist Linda Blair Performances | News | Chiller 7/23/18, 452 PM 5 Essential Post-Exorcist Linda Blair Performances Mar 12 2014

Possession movies are still big in horror (just see The Possession of David O'Reilly on Chiller on March 14), but there's one actress who's responsible for that: Linda Blair. Blair hit it big early in her acting career in the classic horror film , earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and setting a high bar for possessed performances that has yet to be topped. But what about after The Exorcist? Aside from an appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race or Pit Boss, Blair hasn't spent a lot of time in the spotlight recently. It's a shame, really, because she has some real underrated performances in her filmography that are just dying to be rediscovered. Here are the five most essential post-Exorcist Linda Blair performances.

Airport 1975 (1974)

You know that scene in Airplane! where the stewardess sings with a guitar to a little girl who's sick and inadvertently knocks out her IV? Well, Linda Blair plays the protoype for that character in Airport 75! Riding high off her Exorcist fame, Blair plays a young girl who is in need of an organ transplant and happens to be a on a plane headed for disaster. Strangely enough, this is her second role in two years where she's mostly confined to a bed. Nevertheless, look how happy she is getting serenaded by Helen Reddy!

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

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Four years after the wild success of The Exorcist, Hollywood did what it does best and tried to cash in with a sequel. Blair had blossomed into a young woman who still sounded like a chipmunk when she returned to play an older Reagan MacNeil as well as a demon succubus posing as Reagan. What range! In the above scene from the film, watch as Reagan tries to make small talk with an autistic child and off-handedly (and almost cheerfully) references her demonic possession, as one does.

Roller Boogie (1979)

Disco was alive and well in 1979 (as it would be for the next decade, right?), and so Blair starred in , a film about the timeless tradition of roller skating to disco music. Blair plays a gifted flautist who's heading to Juilliard but considers giving it all up for a skating contest to be with the guy she likes (as one does). The film is truly a classic of its era, in the vein of Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu.

Hell Night (1981)

Armed with a truly impressive amount of cleavage and dressed like Mrs. Claus, Linda Blair returned to the horror genre in the little-seen classic Hell Night. Nominated for a prestigious Razzie award for her performance, Blair plays a young girl at a fraternity initiation who is targeted by a serial killer. She gives Jamie Lee Curtis a run for her money in terms of her "acting scared" abilities, and her fine talent was clearly not rewarded enough.

Savage Streets (1984)

Linda got gritty and raw in 1984's Savage Streets as a woman who goes out for revenge after her sister is raped by a gang of thugs. Armed with a crossbow (and more cleavage), Blair cuts a bloody path through the streets of Los Angeles. If that female version of The Expendables gets off the ground,

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hopefully they think of Linda!

In conclusion, LInda Blair is one of the finest actresses of her generation, and you should go and rent all of her movies.

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