Exorcist II: The Heretic (Limited Edition Arrow Blu-Ray)

Director: John Boorman
Screenplay: William Goodhart
Starring: Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, James Earl Jones
Country: USA
Running Time: 117 min
Year: 1977
BBFC Certificate: 18

In the long history of horror franchises, perhaps the most intriguing is The Exorcist. After William Friedkin’s lightning in a bottle 1973 adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel, there have been two official film sequels, one prequel and, recently, a legacy sequel in the form of Exorcist: Believer, as well as a short lived TV spin off. Other than the TV series, none of these subsequent films has been particularly well received, with perhaps Blatty’s own Exorcist III receiving a bit of a re-evaluation in recent years, leading it to become more appreciated as a different take on the concept, and the messy history of the production of the prequel, Exorcist: The Beginning, being the stuff of legend. And then there’s Exorcist II: The Heretic, a film many argue may be one of the worst sequels of all time.

We pick up 5 years after the events of the first film with young Regan (Blair) now 18 years old, living in New York and having no memories of her possession and subsequent exorcism. Enter Father Lamont (Burton), tasked by the vatican of investigating the death of Father Merrin (von Sydow), one of the priests who exorcised Regan, who becomes convinced that the demon Pazuzu still lurks within her, and tracks its history to the arid plains of Africa in an attempt to rid the world of its evil once and for all.

I’m going to get this out of the way early – Exorcist II is not a good film. It isn’t even one of those “So bad it’s good” films. Much like previous duffers I’ve reviewed for this site, like Critters Attack and Hitchhike to Hell, Exorcist II is a hodge podge of bad ideas that sometimes delivers something a bit entertaining but, on the whole, is a confusing, dull, slog of nearly two hours. It opens reasonably well, with Father Lamont attempting an exorcism on a young girl which goes wrong, resulting in an unsettlingly creepy sequence, but very quickly dips into what is one of the core parts of the narrative – exploring other peoples dreams.

You see, while it’s not really clear why Regan is in New York (it’s hinted that she’s moved there with her mother, but we’ll get onto the elephant in the room of the character of Chris MacNiel in a moment…) she’s clearly undergoing some kind of psychotherapy at a clinic under the care of Dr Tuskin (Fletcher) which involves exploring dreams and memories. When Lamont meets her at this clinic we jump straight into a sequence of him sharing her dreams which ends up with us revisiting the finale of the first film and Karras exorcising Pazuzu from young Regan. This is also the first time we learn the demons name, with it having gone previously unknown, and results in Lamont tracking down a previous possession by the beast in Africa with him heading off globe trotting while leaving Regan to waft slightly aimlessly around New York.

And that kind of sums up Exorcist II overall – aimless. We get two plot strands; Lamont uncovering the truth about Pazuzu in Africa and Regan in New York with the former being more compelling and more akin to director John Boorman’s previous work, full of delirium and psychedelic sequences of marauding locusts and sweaty heat. A lot of the film by comparison is rather flat and lifeless, likely the result of a troubled production which required a lot of rewrites and reshoots, some of which Boorman may not even have directed if anecdotal stories are to be believed. As for the cast we have a very mixed bag here with the late, great James Earl Jones making a “barely appearing” cameo but still delivering as you’d expect him to, Max von Sydow delivering a calm and measured return as Merrin in flashback scenes, and Louise Fletcher delivering a rather bored performance as Tuskin. It’s really Richard Burton who, despite clearly not caring particularly for the material, gives a watchable performance. In a usual late career Burton turn, Lamont snarls and growls his way through his scenes, all the more watchable for it.

But it’s Linda Blair that’s one of the main sources of tedium here, losing any of the eager innocence she had 5 years earlier, but still seemingly unable to deliver a convincingly adult performance, her Regan is just painful to watch and it feels like you’re watching a completely different film when she’s on screen. It’s very telling that many of the cast refused to return to this film, with Ellen Burstyn not appearing as Regans mother Chris. Indeed, Louise Fletcher was originally cast to take this part thanks to her resemblance to Burstyn, but the decision was then made to cast her as Fletcher with Kitty Winn coming back to play Sharon, Regans tutor, clearly taking on the role that her mother should have played. Also not returning is Jason Miller as Father Karras, easily as important a role as that of Merrin in the first film given that it’s he who is responsible for delivering the final blow in exorcising the demon from Regan, who doesn’t even get a mention in this story, leaving a massive and blatant hole in the plot.

Exorcist II is just a chore to get through; dull, confused and bizarrely toothless compared to Friedkins original and even Blatty’s own third chapter, Exorcist III, which didn’t come out until 1990 but has very quickly become a cult classic thanks to its more detective mystery style plot and being largely detached from the Regan story of the original. Arrow are also releasing that on UHD alongside this film and, for my money, it’s by far the superior film. Perhaps Exorcist II’s saving grace is it’s beautiful and melancholic soundtrack by legendary composer Ennio Morricone, as well as some occasionally inspired visuals. On a whole, though, it’s a dreary film which only serves to blunt the legacy of the original, and is best avoided.

Bonus Features

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the 118-minute Original Premiere Version and the 103-minute International Version
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Savieri
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Glenn Kenny and Matt Rogerson, plus an archival interview with cinematographer William Fraker

DISC ONE – ORIGINAL PREMIERE VERSION

• New commentary by film historian Lee Gambin and filmmaker David Kittredge, director of the forthcoming feature-length Exorcist II documentary, Heretics
• New audio commentary by screenwriter and author Kelly Goodner and film historian Jim Hemphill
• Archive audio commentary with director John Boorman
• Archive audio commentary with special consultant Scott Michael Bosco
• It’s Okay, He’s Gone, a new visual essay by film critics BJ and Harmony Colangelo
• What Does She Remember?, an archive interview with actress with Linda Blair
• Archive interview with editor Tom Priestley
• Theatrical trailer
• Teaser trailer
• Extensive image galleries

DISC TWO – INTERNATIONAL VERSION

• Archive audio commentary by film critic Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
• Theatrical trailer

While the film may be a bit of a duffer, the same can’t be said for this usually lavish Arrow set which comes with a bevy of features, including two versions of the film. The differences don’t do too much to the overall plot aside from an alternate ending, but it’s interesting to see the “Premiere” version which was hastily recut by Boorman before the film’s overall release. If you are a fan of the film, you certainly won’t be disappointed by this set.