Exorcist II Heretic: 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, John Boorman, Charles Orme, Richard Lederer, Rospo Pallenberg, William Goodhart, William Peter Blatty: Amazon.ca: Video

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This sequel to the Oscar-winning horror film based on the novel by William Peter Blatty was virtually laughed off the screen when it came out in 1977. It was an unintentionally hilarious mishmash and received such terrible reviews that director John Boorman yanked it out of theaters. He reedited it, cutting eight minutes in hopes of getting the story (written by William Goodhart) to the point of coherency, to no avail. The film remains a kind of reverse gold standard for sequels. It's still a ridiculously overacted, although at times visually haunting, movie. Richard Burton stars as a troubled priest (something of a specialty of his) who is brought in to follow up on the case of Linda Blair, who is institutionalized, still troubled by her encounter with the devil (who wouldn't be?). By the time they confront Satan's minion in the final struggle, you'll be rooting for evil to win. --Marshall Fine

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Customer Reviews

117 Reviews

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(33)

Average Customer Review

2.9 out of 5 stars (117 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Strange, But Worth A Look, Mar 31 2006

By

Noirdame (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Exorcist II: The Heretic (Widescreen) (DVD)

The infamous sequel to the one and only horror box-office smash is not as bad as its reputation, but it might have faired better if the powers-that-be hadn't tried to duplicate the success of the original. The premise is interesting: four years later, a priest, Father Phillip Lamont, (Richard Burton) is asked by the Cardinal (Paul Henreid) to investigate the work of Father Lankaster Merrin (Max Von Sydow), particularly his last exorcism and unexplained death. The reluctant clergyman tracks down Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), now a young woman, who is still under psychiatric care, where her doctor, Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) is trying to retrieve the girl's repressed memories of her possession. Still plagued by nightmares, Regan agrees to undergo hypnosis, aided by a machine that can transfer her thoughts and images into another person's mind. Both doctor and priest discover that the demon Pazuzu that had possessed her is still attempting to take over. Due to the transfer of thoughts, Father Merrin's past work and warnings takes us on a trip to Africa, back to the house in Georgetown, and into a swarm of giant locusts. It is revealed that the victims of the ghastly entity's torture are healers -and therefore saviors of the world. The music, by Ennio Morricone, especially Regan's theme, is beautiful and haunting. Director John Boorman extensively recut the film several times, due to the scathing reviews of critics and public alike (the latter of which threw objects at the screen during its viewings), but the film was quickly withdrawn from the theatres. Restored to the original cut on video and DVD, the visuals, effects and music are top-notch; unfortunately, the screenplay and the clashing of images make the film somewhat incoherent and hard to follow. The competent cast tries gamely, but despite the hypnotic gaze and voice of Burton, Fletcher's warmth and Blair's energy, and the rest of the performer's efforts, they become increasingly lost in the perplexing imagery. If you think you can handle the puzzling presentation, you may find it worth a look.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Truly, one of the worst..., July 6 2004

By

William Smith (Fontana, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Exorcist II: The Heretic (Widescreen) (DVD)

...if not THE worst movie. As I was watching this it was hard to come to grips with how far askew a sequel could be. This movie seems little more than a reason to rehash the first movie and it seems the protaginists are simply 'looking for trouble.' Just about the only bright spots in this is the rather gritty, realistic areas that must have been filmed on location, seeing Regan again (not necessarily hearing her), and seeing Louise Fletcher (see Regan). The dialogue here is simply not any good, but the worst part is the story. I'm sorry... WAS there a point to this movie? No, I mean beyond the financial aspect. Didn't think so. This is without a doubt the biggest let down in a sequel ever, but beyond that may be one of the worst movies ever, no, really. Think how the Lost World tainted Jurassic Park, not multipy that by 100.

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5.0 out of 5 stars I like it better than Exorcist!, Nov 1 2011

By

S. K. L. Ip "Stephen" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Exorcist II: The Heretic (Widescreen) (DVD)

I don't really understand why people keep saying this is a bad movie. It's much better than Exorcist III and the prequel, and it's definitely better than a lot of horror movies made in these days. I'd give it 6 stars if such a scale is allowed.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sequal
Great sequal picks up perfectly after the first and does an amazing job and explains more aobut the origional, a must have! great acting aswell with all the Exorcist movies!

Published on Aug 25 2004 by Deimos

3.0 out of 5 stars Not perfect, but risk-taking and bravely ORIGINAL
This film has a notoriously bad reputation, largely garnered from having disappointed the huge expectations of legions of fans of the first Exorcist movie looking for more of the... Read more

Published on Jun 26 2004 by Vorthog