Exorcist scariest film

The Exorcist has been named the scariest film of all time in a new survey, while the top horror villain was Hannibal Lecter.

A poll of more than 5000 film fans by internet giant MSN Movies found one in five were most frightened by The Exorcist followed by the Saw series and Jack Nicholson's The Shining.

Other films in the top 10 included The Omen, Jaws and The Blair Witch Project. More than a third of those questioned named the portrayal by Anthony Hopkins of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs as the top horror villain, followed by the Alien.