Review of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) by Allan C — 15 Apr 2016

Notorious as one of the worst sequels of all-time and by some considered one of the worst films of all-time. However, I tried to re-watch this film with a open mind, especially since it was directed by John Boorman, who is a director I highly respect and who's made some true film classics ("Excalibur," "Point Blank," "Hope and Glory," "Deliverance," "Hell in the Pacific," etc.

). Even when Boorman goes off-the-rails with a film ("Zardoz") or even bland ("Where the Heart Is") it's still an interesting and worthwhile film. While this Exorcist sequel does not deliver the same kind of scares and or claustrophobic oppressive sense of dread that the first film so effectively did, it does have some striking visuals (photographed by William A.

Fraker) and a terrific score by Ennio Morricone. Boorman said he was attracted to the project with the idea of of making a metaphysical thriller. He did do that, but that aspect of the film, at best, fell flat with dull stretches of priest Richard Burton going into the mind of still possessed Linda Blair (now possessed by an African demon), but at worst the film becomes simply ridiculous (i.

E. Burton and Blair braving swarms of locust during her exorcism, endless hypnosis scenes with flashing lights that are supposed to be scary, and not to mentions Blair's sudden lack of acting skills, though maybe it was the scripts fault).

However, this film does have it's defenders, such as Pauline Kael and Martin Scorsese, who both preferred this film to the original.Overall, this film features a classy behind the scenes crew and a highly respected cast (Louise Fletcher, Paul Henreid in his final film role, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty, and Max von Sydow as Father Merrin, though only shown in newly filmed flashbacks [oh, Dana Plato apparently had an unmilled part]), but the overall film is not very good, but I would say it is worth watching for fans of John Boorman, mostly for some interesting visuals, but not for much else outside of ironic so-bad-it's-good enjoyment.