The Exorcist Collection

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

Jack T. Collis

John P. Austin

Robert De Mora

Ron Spang

Axel Hubert Sr.

John Merritt

Charles Orme

William Peter Blatty

Ron Berkeley

Wayne Edgar

Gary Liddiard

Lynda Gurasich

Carrie White

Gae Clark Butler

Terry Miles

Dick Smith

John R. Coonan

William C. Gerrity

Victor Hsu

Rospo Pallenberg

Phil Rawlins

William S. Beasley

Richard Lawrence

Gene Rudolf

Richard M. Rubin

Harold Broner

Katrine Boorman

Jim Atkinson

Les Fresholtz

Walter Goss

Michael Minkler

Arthur Piantadosi

Russ Hill

Dean Mitzner

Peter R. Romero

Jim Blount

Chuck Gaspar

Jeff Jarvis

Richard Ratliff

Albert Whitlock

Roy Kelly

Ted Koerner

Gerry Johnston

John Ashby

May Boss

Bennie Moore

Betsy Cox

Bruce Walkup

Bill Milton

Eugene Marks

Bonnie Prendergast

William Goodhart

Richard Lederer

William A. Fraker

Tom Priestley

Richard Macdonald

Whitey Hughes

Dan Perri

Horror

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Warner Bros. Pictures

United States of America

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.

English

Official Trailer

Original Trailer