Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

A girl once possessed by a demon finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, a priest investigates the death of the girl's exorcist.

Director:

John Boorman

Writer:

William Goodhart

Stars:

Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Blair	...	Regan MacNeil
Richard Burton	...	Father Philip Lamont
Louise Fletcher	...	Dr. Gene Tuskin
Max von Sydow	...	Father Merrin
Kitty Winn	...	Sharon Spencer
Paul Henreid	...	The Cardinal
James Earl Jones	...	Older Kokumo
Ned Beatty	...	Edwards
Belinda Beatty	...	Liz (as Belinha Beatty)
Rose Portillo	...	Spanish Girl
Barbara Cason	...	Mrs. Phalor
Tiffany Kinney	...	Deaf Girl
Joey Green	...	Young Kokumo
Fiseha Dimetros	...	Young Monk
Ken Renard	...	Abbot

Storyline

Dr. Gene Tuskin works with troubled children, perhaps none more troubled than Regan MacNeil, who suffers from bad dreams and repressed memories. The memories she represses are of the time she was possessed by a demon. Dr. Tuskin's invention, a device that hypnotizes two persons and links their minds together, reveals that the demon, named Pazuzu, still lurks within her. It is desperate to emerge again and wreak havoc. Meanwhile, Father Philip Lamont is ordered by his cardinal to investigate the death of Father Merrin, the priest who died while performing an exorcism on Regan. Father Lamont undertakes his task reluctantly. He feels unworthy of his assignment. He also feels that Evil is literally an entity and that this entity is winning the battle over Good. His investigation takes him to Africa where he locates another recipient of Merrin's exorcising and learns something fascinating and terrible about locusts.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | priest | repressed memory | africa | exorcism | 

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Taglines:

It's four years later...what does she remember?

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Exorcist II

Filming Locations:

Glen Canyon, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Boorman's autobiography recalls an anecdote in which he claims Linda Blair came up to him one day during the beleaguered shoot and perkily announced, "without irony," "Did they tell you? I was only ten minutes late this morning!"

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Goofs

At the start of the film, with the burning woman, she appears to have non-flammable hair.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[theatrical version]
Possessed Woman: Father! Agh! Agh! Oh, Father!

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Crazy Credits

Tap Dance Routine Choreographed by Daniel Joseph Giaghi

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Connections

Referenced in Teenage Exorcist (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Lullaby of Broadway"
Music by Harry Warren
Played on the saxophone while Regan is tap dancing

User Reviews

A Brilliant, Lousy Film

Inside this terrible film is an excellent film screaming to get out. There are moments of real power and and frightening beauty, but they are drowning in sludge. One wonders if this mixture is a result of conflict amongst those making the film, or of Boorman simply not being able to keep his grasp of a vision.