Exorcist II: The Heretic

Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by John Boorman and written by William Goodhart. It stars Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Paul Henreid, and James Earl Jones. It is a sequel to William Friedkin's 1973 film The Exorcist based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, and part of The Exorcist franchise. The sequel is set four years after The Exorcist, and centers on a now 16-year-old Regan MacNeil who is still recovering from her previous demonic possession.

The film was a critical failure at the time of its release and called as one of the worst films ever made. It was also the last film to feature veteran actor Paul Henreid.

Plot
Owing to his experience with exorcisms, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) is chosen by his superiors to investigate the death of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), who died during the exorcism of young Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). Lamont finds Regan under the psychiatric care of Dr. Tuskin (Louise Fletcher). By hypnotizing the girl, he is able to learn that Merrin previously exorcised the same demon from a boy in Africa. Hoping for answers, Lamont travels to Africa in search of the youth.

Why It's A Heretic

 * 1) There's nothing scary in the movie. In fact, the film never even tries to be scary even if it's a horror sequel.
 * 2) This movie damaged the Exorcist name so much, that even the far superior Exorcist III: Legion couldn't save the franchise from being killed off.
 * 3) Abysmal ending.
 * 4) Weird moments all-around.
 * 5) It is really just a mystery genre movie with a traveling priest.
 * 6) The film shows Linda Blair in all sorts of skimpy outfits, which feels really creepy considering that she was only 17 years old when the film was released. Also, if you know how much younger she was when the first film was released, it can feel a little more creepy.
 * 7) Ridiculous dialogue throughout.
 * 8) Many of the characters are either dull, forgettable, or unlikeable, who gets none characters development at all.
 * 9) The film mixes up the mythologies of about three or four different religions. And of those religions, Christianity is probably the one which gets mentioned the least.
 * 10) This movie is really pointless. You can skip over this film and it would be fine instalment.
 * 11) The story is completely nonsensical and has very little to do with The Exorcist.
 * 12) Many of the characters are either dull, forgettable, or unlikeable.
 * 13) Because of the lack of scares, the movie becomes mostly boring.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Some decent performances, especially from Linda Blair and Richard Burton.
 * 2) The film does have some interesting ideas.
 * 3) No possessed Regan (thankfully).
 * 4) Decent score.

Reception
Exorcist II: The Heretic received extremely negative reviews as it had a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 3.61/10. The site's consensus read, "Hokey mystical effects, lousy plotting, and worse acting directly tarnishes the first's chilling legacy".

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