Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

A teenage 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:

Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher

Bottom Rated Movies #95 | 3 nominations.

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 | teenage girl | exorcism | african man | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Exorcist 2: The Heretic

Filming Locations:

Kayenta, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,735,000, 19 June 1977

Gross USA:

$30,749,142

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,749,142

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 102 min (VHS)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Walken was also considered to play Father Lamont, but the studio management was opposed to his casting.

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Goofs

When Fr. Lamont is showing Dr. Tuskin the drawing Regan had made of him on fire, Dr. Tuskin says "Where are you going?" but her lips don't move.

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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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Alternate Versions

Exorcist 2 exists in at least three versions. The original version was 117 minutes long and was recut by director John Boorman the day after the premiere into a 110 minutes version, the one released theatrically. Major differences include the addition of a recap of the events of the first film through narration and freeze frame. Using stock shots of Linda Blair from the first film for the climax (all new shots of Regan possessed were done by a double because Linda Blair refused to have the possession makeup done on her again) and an alternate ending where Richard Burton's character is killed (In the original version, he runs off with Regan to help her be a force of good). The European version is also purported to be different. For a long time, only the recut version of Exorcist 2 was available for TV, cable and on video. Recently, the original 117-minutes cut has found its way to video and recent TNT airings.

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Connections

Featured in Best of the Worst: Scary or Die, Chopping Mall, the Exorcist II: The Heretic (2016)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The worst sequel...ever.

Wow. What can one say? Boorman went from Deliverance to this? Okay, in addition to being completely hilarious, this is also the most pretentious movie ever made, (aside from The Matrix Reloaded). Good thing Burstyn sat out for this turkey. Please tell me that I didn't see James Earl Jones in a big locust suit. Please tell me that I didn't see Oscar Winner Louise Fletcher being groped by a matted Linda Blair stand in and moaning (I am not making this up) in such a way that would make Ron Jeremy take notice. And what in the name of all things good and holy is a "Synchronizer" and what does it have to do with anything at all? Why is Africa made of fiber-glass? Why is Richard Burton made of stone? Oh, God. They couldn't have made this worse if they had scripted it so. Oh, wait...they did. Well, for all its faults at least it's not a desperate attempt by a major studio to milk whatever money they can out of a pre-existing hit by combining a-list actors, and a controversial visualist director, with a hastily prepared screenplay that shares little of the spirit and intelligence of its predecessor, producing a boring, although often laughably pious bastardization of something far, far greater. Oh wait....it is. If you're a fan of bad movies, you have reached Zen here. If you're a fan of the original Exorcist, run, just run and don't look back. Run with your arms flailing into the night as the preview audiences surely did in 1977.