Exorcist II: The Heretic
An Ages-Old Evil Returns For Another Round.
Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator (Richard Burton) and a hypnotic research specialist (Louise Fletcher) free her from its grasp?
Employing production design and special effects that are dizzily exhilarating and a supporting cast (Max von Sydow, Paul Henreid, James Earl Jones) of compelling distinction, director John Boorman draws us into the tangible experience of evil. We fly with the demon, feel the African landscape vibrate and get engulfed in the terror of swarming locusts as Exorcist II: The Heretic weaves its fascinating, frightful spell.
Member Reviews
m'eh... - Rachy007
Now, this would make a good remake.
Regan is four years older and is plagued by nightmares. She is thearapy to understand what happened to her when she was "sick".
The concept/premise was really interesting and the background was delivered to support the first movie BUT, the acting was a bit hokey and the flashbacks to the original were TERRIBLE...
Richard Burton was HORRIBLE.
I would have liked to walk away with a better understanding of how demonic possesion "works" or how the Catholic Church proves/disproves each "case" instead of just going all around the mullberry bush with a bunch of priests.
I did like the idea of bridging two minds through hypnosis,(made me think of The Cell) it just felt like this movie was made to piggy-back on the success of the original.A fall from grace - Poet
This film is kind of a fall from grace in The Exorcist franchise. The first one was a true gem, a real classic. The second one? Not so much. The storyline? It is hokey and cheesy to a max. Not scary at all, to the point of being laughable. A cast of brilliant actors is involved, but none of them seem to be able to lift the material up from the pits. As for Linda Blair, more was asked of her here as far as acting goes, and it was not a great success.Scary? More like yawn inducing. - cathyottawa
This started out kind of promising.
It's only been four years since the original. Reagan is still young and angelic (they even dress her in flowing white gowns for much of the film), and it would make sense that she would still be haunted by the tragic events of the first film.
Though a little bit hokey, I thought the Vulcan mind meld like "synchronized hypnosis" machine was effective, and the first time it's used, they incorporate flashbacks to the original that are quite creepy and well done......but then it all goes wrong fast - right about the time we learn about "Bazoozoo". A really goofy idea.
For me, the best parts of this film were the use of flashbacks to the original, and the flashbacks to a young Father Merrin, and his work in another exorcism. There was potential here, but it's never realized.
Richard Burton was pretty terrible in this. Everyone else does what they can with the terrible material. The long, drawn out ending doesn't make much sense, and is way over the top. It's certainly far removed from the simple yet terrifying battle of good over evil that made the first one so compelling and horrifying.
Look for Dana Plato as a young autistic girl, and one of the kids getting a bath is a young Joey Lauren Adams.
Point of Interest: This was a huge flop when it came out, and is on the Razzie's top ten worst films ever made list. Can you believe Christopher Walken, Jon Voight, and Jack Nicholson were all considered for the role Burton ended up playing?
Member Reviews
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m'eh... - Rachy007
Now, this would make a good remake.
Regan is four years older and is plagued by nightmares. She is thearapy to understand what happened to her when she was "sick".
The concept/premise was really interesting and the background was delivered ...A fall from grace - Poet
This film is kind of a fall from grace in The Exorcist franchise. The first one was a true gem, a real classic. The second one? Not so much. The storyline? It is hokey and cheesy to a max. Not scary at all, to the point of being laughable. A cast of brilliant ...Scary? More like yawn inducing. - cathyottawa
This started out kind of promising.
It's only been four years since the original. Reagan is still young and angelic (they even dress her in flowing white gowns for much of the film), and it would make sense that she would still be haunted by the ...