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Date: 9/26/2018
I would love to be in the meeting when a company such as Shout Factory decides which movies it should release in a deluxe format on Blue-ray.
Did someone mention that “Exorcist II: The Heretic” is one of most reviled film of the latter 20th Century? Did someone realize that audiences seeing the film when it was released in 1977 laughed in theaters when viewing it?
Now, there are films – just like novels – that find their audiences over time. There are also films and novels that are critical or popular successes at the time of their release that do not age well.
For instance “Big Trouble in Little China” was a dismal box office failure when it was released in 1986. It has since become a cult classic and a staple on cable TV.
So, perhaps they thought the time for this film has come. After all, the film was made by an acclaimed director, John Boorman, who had received critical acclaim for his previous film “Deliverance.”
And the film had a considerable budget in 1970s dollars – about $12 million. This was not going to be a cheap sequel to a hugely popular and influential film.
If you’ve seen ‘The Exorcist,” you know that at the end of the film Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) has a heart attack and Father Karras (Jason Miller) dies when he drives the demon out of the body of Regan (Linda Blair) and into his own.
The sequel now shows the aftermath of the exorcism and how it has affected Merrin’s supporters within the church and Regan herself.
Regan is now living with a nanny in New York City where she is in high school and is undergoing therapy with a doctor (Louise Fletcher) who is convinced Regan is suppressing the memories of the exorcism.
Father Lamont (Richard Burton) has been delegated to investigate Father Merrin’s death – no mention is made of the other priest – and is drawn into the hypnotic therapy where he establishes a psychic link with Regan. Why this investigation is taking place years after the death is never explained.
There are so many things wrong with this film. Burton delivers a one-note performance that simply is varying elements of despair. His priest is neither inspiring nor apparently a true believer.
Performances, though, from other cast members seem to be far more nuanced. Both Blair and Fletcher clearly are trying to do something but the script defeats them.
According to the new interview the Blu-ray has with Blair, the initial script was very good and Blair noted there were many re-writes during the course of filming – seldom a good thing for any film.
With flashbacks showing Merrin as a young man trying to learn about the demon Pazuzu one can gets the sense that story would have made a far better film. Linking it to the storyline with Regan seems clumsy at best.
Boorman doesn’t seem to know if he is making a horror film or a drama about a young woman and trauma or a priest questioning his own commitment to the church.
The film keeps all of his horror film elements until the conclusion, which takes place in the Washington, DC, townhouse where the first film took place. One thing that is important in any horror film is setting up the rules of the narrative and the motivation of the characters. By the time Regan and Lamont reach Washington it’s pretty cloudy just what is happening.
A cringe-worth element is introduced when the demon assumes Regan’s appearance and acts and dresses in such a way to seduce Lamont, which works temporarily.
This film may be a compelling view for die-hard horror film fans, but for anyone else it is a waste of time.