Review of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) by Johnny T — 28 May 2015

The whole thing is just an insult to the original film. The first Exorcist was a chilling battle between the devil and a priest questioning his faith, with an innocent little girl used as the arena. Then the sequel comes along with mind-reading headbands, African demons and James Earl Jones dressed up like a giant locust, and everything is pissed against a wall. You'd be mad if you didn't make a sequel to one of the hugest movie hits ever, but a disastrous critical reaction, and even laughter during the premiere, buried its reputation almost immediately, despite high credentials. It's not a film I'd heartily recommend, but it's interesting as a direct sequel to the classic, with many of the original cast reappearing. It comes as a tremendous shock to hear that Richard Burton was generally sober for the first few weeks of production, because every second of his performance simply bellows "liquor-soaked ham." Rather than sample more Mike Oldfield, the film stretches to a terrific music score, mixing liturgical and African themes, from Ennio Morricone. Boorman's film does have a keen sense of visual impact, and the sheer fact that it attempted to be original is worth noting. How could such a sure-thing sequel end up so absolutely atrocious? I've no idea.

VERDICT: "Hit The Exits" - [Panned Reaction] These are some of the worst films ever made. These films do everything wrong and do it worse than bad. Audiences should never see this film under any circumstances! (Films that are rated 0.5 or 1 stars).