Richard Burton

Linda Blair

Louise Fletcher

Max von Sydow

Kitty Winn

Paul Henreid

James Earl Jones

Ned Beatty

Belinda Beatty

Rose Portillo

Barbara Cason

Tiffany Kinney

Joey Green

Fiseha Dimetros

Ken Renard

Hank Garrett

Lorry Goldman

Bill Grant

Shane Butterworth

Joely Adams

Robert Lussier

Charles Parks

Richard Paul

George Skaff

Marianne Muellerleile

Dana Plato

Kelley Karel

Karen Knapp

John Boorman

Ennio Morricone

Axel Hubert Sr.

Gary Liddiard

Jim Blount

Jeff Jarvis

Bruce Walkup

Wayne Edgar

Victor Hsu

Richard Lawrence

Dean Mitzner

William Peter Blatty

William S. Beasley

Richard M. Rubin

Jim Atkinson

Albert Whitlock

Bonnie Prendergast

Jack T. Collis

John P. Austin

Dick Smith

Phil Rawlins

Ron Spang

John R. Coonan

Peter R. Romero

Ted Koerner

Bennie Moore

Lynda Gurasich

Rospo Pallenberg

John Ashby

Ron Berkeley

Michael Minkler

Bill Milton

John Merritt

William C. Gerrity

Les Fresholtz

Richard Ratliff

Gerry Johnston

Gene Rudolf

Russ Hill

Chuck Gaspar

Katrine Boorman

Roy Kelly

Robert De Mora

Gae Clark Butler

Arthur Piantadosi

May Boss

Betsy Cox

Charles Orme

Eugene Marks

Carrie White

Terry Miles

Harold Broner

Walter Goss

William Goodhart

Tom Priestley

William A. Fraker

Richard Macdonald

Richard Lederer

Whitey Hughes

Dan Perri

The Exorcist Collection

Horror

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Warner Bros. Pictures

United States of America

English

1970s

religion and supernatural

exorcism

possession

hypnosis

pact with the devil

sequel

examination

priest

devil

catholic church

demonic possession

locust

faith healing

supernatural horror

playful

absurd

audacious

I have all the respect in the world for John Boorman--his 'Point Blank' and 'Deliverance' are excellent--but this sequel to one of the greatest horror movies ever made simply falls listless and flat. Of course, the script is extremely talky and lifeless--as if it had been 'exorcised' of all the wonder and shock that William Friedkin's vision of the battle of good vs. evil would entail. Yes, Sir Richard Burton was a great actor--yet when shoehorned with a crappy script and with his more irritating peccadillos left unrestrained, he can be such a chore and bore to watch. Though I have not seen the two more recent 'prequels' for the 'Exorcist' franchise, I can safely say that while 'Exorcist II' is not the worst horror movie ever made (that, by the way, never seemed its intention), it's certainly the worst of the original trilogy--and by a country mile. This is a work that would probably bore the demons so much, they would decide to get out of Regan MacNeil's body, and perhaps even leave Earth's plane altogether, never even wanting a return ticket.

One of the many things that make The Exorcist arguably the greatest horror films ever made – or simply one of the greatest films ever made, regardless of genre –, is that it has no use for the obligatory final shot suggesting that the evil will continue. On the contrary, it ends on a hopeful, optimistic note; a welcome relief following the ordeal we, characters and viewers alike, have just endured.

Exorcist II: The Heretic carries on as if that final shot had actually been there all along. It's not just that Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) must go back to dealing with Pazuzu four years after the fact – meaning that two good men died for nothing –; it's how this reencounter comes about.

Once we accept the possibility of demonic possession, everything else in The Exorcist is perfectly plausible. The Heretic, on the other hand, comes up with a "synchronized hypnosis" device that leads to such ludicrous dialogue as "Your machine has proved that there's an ancient demon within her!"

That this line is delivered by a frantic Richard Burton – who could achieve greatness with the right material – doesn't do it any favors. All things considered, the only heresy on display here is what director John Boorman does to the source material (in fairness to writer William Goodhart, his script was apparently rewritten beyond recognition) – I did, however, really enjoy the metaphorical use of locusts, which can go from solitary and harmless grasshoppers to, well, Legion.

Official Trailer

Original Trailer

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - Teaser Trailer HD 1080p

Eli Roth on EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC

Exorcist II: The Heretic( 1977)

It's Four Years Later... What Does She Remember?

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A review by talisencrw

Written by talisencrw on Fri Oct 07 2016

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