The Exorcist II: The Heretic

[mattnyc2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:29am

As a huge fan of the original "Exorcist" film and book, I am very fascinated by it's subsequent sequels. The most controversial sequel seems to be "The Exorcist II: The Heretic" which bombed in the theaters and had people throwing popcorn at the screen. However beneath all the mess I think there's a decent film in there. Here's my take on it.

Pros:
-The music is simply beautiful and really fits with the story that's being told.
-Visually the film to gorgeous to look at. The art direction is superb and the special effects are pretty great considering when it was made.
-James Earl Jones is great in his limited role.
-The film provides some unanswered questions to the first, such as why the demon Pazuzu chose to posses Reagan.
-Some interesting moral/ethical questions are raised concerning good vs. evil.

Cons
-The plot, most of which comes off as silly and nonsensical. Using a flashing light to enter someone else's subconcious, Reagan fighting with her doppleganger, and James Earl Jones in animal skins comes off as way too cheesy for such an intelligent franchise.
-The performances are incredibly uneven. Linda Blair's only genuine moments come when she's tap dancing. Louise Fletcher and Richard Burton seem to be acting in two different films and Kitty Winn is laughable (especially her "I...chose....EVIL!).
-Where the hell is Reagan's mother in this movie. As a woman who was so concerned about her daughter's health and well-being in the first film, she is surprisingly absent in the second. Chris Mcneil just isn't the kind of woman to dump her possessed daughter on the nanny.
-A possession scene from the first film is recreated, only the actress playing possessed Reagan is clearly NOT Linda Blair. The new possessed Reagan has the voice of an eighty year old and the body of a twenty-something soft porn star. If they were going for laughs they should have just hired Catherine O'Hara.


I think that with better direction and a tighter script this could have been a wonderful sequel, however it just fails on so many levels. Anyone else have any thoughts on it?

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:34am

Oy! We just discussed this on another Exorcist thread last week.

I'll post the link here but I'll add this...

As far as story goes, I was kinda pissed that they had to come up with a "logical reason" why the demon possessed Regan. I liked it much better when it was unanswered and felt random. He picked her. Why not? Just as he could pick anybody else at will. That made it more chilling. The unknown fantasy aspect of, could this really happen to someone? Could this really happen to ME?

No! He only goes after certain people with the right credentials, apparently.

Really dumb story idea.
Link to other thread

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:35am

Actually, we just talked about this last week, but anytime is a good time for EXORCIST II! One of my favorite nutjob movies of all time!
When Good Directors Go Bad: EXORCIST II (scroll down)

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:39am

Repossessed is better than this piece of crap.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:41am

^^^^^^^^^^^^

I liked when Linda Blair was dressed like an ice cream cone and kept yelling, "Lick Me, Lick Me".


But that's just me.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:41am

I can never pass up watching this dreadful but fascinating film. Bad acting GALORE! Cheesy beyond belief!

"Father, come down to my level"

"Call me by my dream name!"

"I used to be possessed by a demon...but it's okay...he's gone now."

Dana Plato as the autistic kid and the look on her face...PRICELESS!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:43am

Plato gives the best performance in the whole damn movie!

And I love Blair's whoopsy-daisy reading of the "I used to be possessed by a demon..." line.

Updated On: 11/5/07 at 10:43 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:45am

It's a classic of bad movie-making, on every level. I absolutely adore it!

[mattnyc2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:46am

I personally enjoy the hot Linda Blair and Richard Burton make out scene. So wrong yet oh so right!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 11:09am

Exorcist: The Beginning or Dominion? I saw the former and hated it. I simply assumed the latter was a rerelease, but I didn't realize it was the original version of the film by a different director. Is there really a huge difference? Is Dominion actually worth the time or is it simply as bad as The Beginning?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 11:14am

Supposedly, Dominion was much better, but not as gory or scary...so of course they gave Renny Harlin a billion bucks to make garbage, which became The Beginning, and they released that instead.

I did not see Dominion, but would like to see what Paul Schrader did with it.

[tazber]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 11:17am

I saw them both and enjoyed them both. Except for the crappy cgi hyenas in the Harlin version.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 12:57pm

Warner Brothers did not want to wait for William Peter Blatty to write a sequel, so they quickly put this turkey in the can, and released it to cash-in on the Exorcist craze! This film is a complete mess. Nobody seems sure what to do with the preposterous material. The always underrated Linda Blair actually rises above a script that seems to have been written under the influence of illegal substances. Some of the worst performances of all time are in this film, as well as some of the worst lines ever uttered on screen. The only person who seems well adjusted in the film is Regan. Yet, all the maladjusted adults spend most of their time trying to make her crazy, in the guise of helping her. None of it makes any sense, and it ends up being laughable. I just love the goofy wired helmets and the flashing light bulb "synchronizer"! It's truly a horrible film. Blatty went on to write a true sequel, called Legion, which became the film Exorcist III, which is excellent.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 1:00pm

I will post my Exorcist II comments from the other thread here, since who the hell has time to click on LINKS anymore. It's so exhausting, right?





I love Exorcist II: The Heretic. I was a geeky teenager and it was a geeky horror movie. We were a perfect fit.

Things I remember about it:

Linda Blair had huge boobs. Not that I was into it or anything, but I couldn't believe little Regan had "grown up" so very demonstratively.

Innovations at the time: The "ghost glass" trick was very cool at the time, and VERY expensive. They actually had to build her bedroom directly facing (and backwards!) to Louise Fletcher's office set. The action of the past possessed Regan interacting with the current "good" Regan, battling over Louise's fibrillating heart, happened LIVE while they cameras were rolling. The lights faded up and down to reveal the old set, not unlike a scrim would be used on stage. Very cool. Dorky and unnecessary by today's standards.

And the biggest innovation for film in general, not just this one... are you ready? Really ready? The Exorcist II contained the VERY FIRST steady-cam shot used in any feature film EVER. Cinematography was changed for all-time with this lousy flick... no sh*t. It's the shot where Regan is being chased by Father Richard Burton down the aisle of the commuter train, as it whisks them away to D.C. That had never been done before in a movie. (only tested previously) This "scientific achievement" was honored with a Techy Academy Award. And well deserved.

...and I totally loved the creepy-freaky music score by Ennio Morricone, no less!

Oh, and the other really WEIRD thing that happened, and it freaked me out for weeks until Warner Bros. finally confessed to doing it... After the film was initially released for the first week, it was PULLED from all theatres, and replaced with a new print that changed the ending of the film! It was a desperate attempt to "fix" it. And I'm sure a very expensive one.

I went back to see the movie again (yes, okay, I saw it TWICE in the theatre!!) a few weeks later, and I did a total mind-f*ck on myself. I thought I had "dreamed" the first ending, and completely forgotten how the film had actually ended. Seriously!

That was the "most disturbing" thing about this sequel to me.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 1:03pm

Honestly, I've never been able to get through it. That wired, lighted helmet thing with the weird noises is used too often and for too long. Eventually I have to turn it off.

And yes, JB2, we both agree that Blair is underrated as a talent. The Exorcist was the best and worst thing that could have happened to her career. Probably weighing more on the worst side. I wish they'd put out a double dvd of Sarah T. and Born Innocent.

[tazber]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 1:04pm

Oh Rath, you missed the locusts!

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 1:05pm

I guess so.

[mattnyc2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:00pm

I agree that Linda Blair is incredibly beautiful in this film. It's a shame that she didn't go on to a more successful film career, as she seems like a very nice lady in real life.

Just checked out her official website and there is a pic of her in a midriff and she's totally ripped! Looks like she aged pretty well and devotes most of her time to her animal charities. I guess she turned out pretty well.

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:10pm

The Heretic? I thought it was "Exorcist II: Electric Boogaloo"?

[tazber]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:11pm

You're mixing up your classics again Joe.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:39pm

I've met her a couple times and she is ridiculously tiny and in shape.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:48pm

"I wish they'd put out a double dvd of Sarah T. and Born Innocent."

Why not "Roller Boogie" and "Hell Night"?

I agree that the book and film of Legion are great.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:55pm

She was always beautiful, check her out in anything. And always had a great body. She was totally killer in those Rizzo costumes.

And yes, teeny TINY. During the time she was in GREASE, I would be surprised if she weighed over a hundred pounds, and that was muscle.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:56pm

I googled her and got nude pics...great...my pink slip should be coming shortly!

[tazber]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 2:58pm

the question is, how are her pink slips?