Exorcist II: The Heretic

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Exorcist II: The Heretic

It was horrible, utterly horrible... and fascinating!
- Father Lamont

Genre:	Horror
Directed By:	John Boorman
Produced By:	John Boorman Richard Lederer
Starring:	Linda Blair Richard Burton Louise Fletcher Max von Sydow Kitty Winn Paul Henreid James Earl Jones
Cinematography:	William A. Fraker
Editing:	Tom Priestley
Music By:	Ennio Morricone
Distributed By:	Warner Bros.
Release Date:	June 17, 1977
Runtime:	117 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Budget:	$14 million
Box Office:	$30.7 million
Franchise:	The Exorcist
Prequel:	The Exorcist (1973)
Sequel:	Exorcist III: Legion

"10 minutes into the picture, a guy stood up in the audience. He stood up and looked around and he said, "The people who made this piece of shit are in this room," And somebody else said, "Where? Where are they?" 10 or 12 people get up and he says, "They're all back there!" The heads of the studio got up and ran out of the theater."
— William Friedkin

Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by John Boorman and written by William Goodhart. It stars Linda Blair, the late Richard Burton, the late Louise Fletcher, the late Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, the late Paul Henreid, and James Earl Jones. It is the second installment of The Exorcist franchise, and the sequel to William Friedkin's 1973 film The Exorcist based on the 1971 novel by the late William Peter Blatty, and part of The Exorcist franchise. The sequel is set four years after the first movie, and centers on a now 16-year-old Regan MacNeil who is still recovering from her previous demonic possession.

The film was a critical failure at its release and was called one of the worst films ever made. It was also the last film to feature the late veteran actor Paul Henreid.

Plot

Owing to his experience with exorcisms, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) is chosen by his superiors to investigate the death of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), who died during the exorcism of young Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). Lamont finds Regan under the psychiatric care of Dr. Tuskin (Louise Fletcher). By hypnotizing the girl, he can learn that Merrin previously exorcised the same demon from a boy in Africa. Hoping for answers, Lamont travels to Africa in search of the youth.

Why It Should Be Exorcised and Is A Heretic

The biggest problem with the movie is that it doesn't stay true to the 1971 novel or the first film and feels rushed, redundant, and unnecessary.
There's nothing scary in the movie. The film never tries to be more scary than the original, even if it's a horror sequel.
Laughable character and costume designs, especially for Regan's younger doppelganger who looks very much like Rainn Wilson, as pointed out by Doug Walker (Nostalgia Critic) in his review.
Many characters are dull, forgettable, or unlikeable, and they get no character development at all.
The film mixes up the mythologies of about three or four religions. And of those religions, Christianity is probably the one that gets mentioned the least.
Absolutley horrendous computer-generated imagery and visual effects even for its time in the 1970s, with the most notable example being the locusts, to the point that they look shockingly comparable to that of birds from the Birdemic film series, which later came out 33 years ago after the film was released.
Ridiculous dialogue throughout.
Terrible direction from John Boorman, although he isn't a bad person at all since the latter directed some good movies like Point Blank, Hell in the Pacific, Deliverance, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General, The Tailor of Panama, and Queen and Country, which are far better than this atrocity.
The film shows Linda Blair in all sorts of skimpy outfits, which feels creepy considering that she was only seventeen years old when the film was released. Also, if you know how much younger she was when the first film was released, it can feel a little more creepy.
The demon has a very laughable name instead, it's Pazuzu.
Abysmal ending: After Regan banishes the locusts (and Pazuzu) by enacting the same bullroarer ritual attempted by Kokumo to get rid of locusts in Africa (although he failed and was possessed). Outside the house, Sharon dies from her injuries and Tuskin tells Lamont to watch over Regan. Regan and Lamont leave while Tuskin stays to answer police questions.
Due to all of these problems listed here, this movie damaged the reputation of The Exorcist and its name so much, that even the far superior Exorcist III: Legion and the Blumhouse film trilogy couldn't save the franchise from being killed off.

Redeeming Qualities

Some decent performances, especially from Linda Blair, the late Richard Burton, and James Earl Jones (who later voiced Mufasa in The Lion King franchise).
Decent score by the late Ennio Morricone, who later had compelling scores in movies such as The Thing.

Reception

Exorcist II: The Heretic received extremely negative reviews as it had an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 3.61/10. The site's consensus read, "Hokey mystical effects, lousy plotting, and worse acting directly tarnishes the first's chilling legacy". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

William Friedkin, director of the original Exorcist, expressed his hatred towards the film upon its release. During an interview at the Chicago Critics Film Festival on April 14, 2013, Friedkin recalled hearing a story in which angry audience members at Exorcist II's first public performance began chasing Warner Bros. executives down the street within the first ten minutes of the screening. Friedkin saw half an hour of the film: "I tell you, I did see a great deal of Exorcist II, under the following circumstances. I was at the Technicolor lab, color timing something, and one of the timers said, 'We just finished Exorcist II, would you like to have a look at it?' And I don't know why, but I went into the room and I sat through maybe 40 minutes of it. It's the worst piece of shit I've ever seen. It's a f**king disgrace." He later added: "That film was made by a demented mind."