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.

Directors:

John Boorman, Rospo Pallenberg (uncredited)

Writer:

William Goodhart

Stars:

Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher

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:

The evil lives on. . .can it be stopped?

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Pauline Kael hated the original film, once again going against the grain, she loved Part 2; " The film is too cadenced and exotic and too deliriously complicated to succeed with most audiences (and when it opened, there were accounts of people in theatres who threw things at the screen). But it's winged camp-a horror fairy tale gone wild, another in the long history of moviemakers' king-size follies. There's enough visual magic in it for a dozen good movies". This is unusual, as most critics despised this movie.

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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

The original 1977 UK cinema release featured the shorter (recut) print, and this was later released on video in 1987. However the 1998 "Terror Vision" VHS featured the longer print of the film, and all subsequent UK releases have also featured this version.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Guiron (1991)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Not as bad...

Some people say this movie is horrible, though I actually found it quite entertaining. I think the problem is the high expectations. The expectations for the movie were so great that there was just no way that it could be achieved. People habitually compare Exorcist II to the original exorcist movie, but as it's own movie, it is actually better than most horrors out there.

The scientific part was actually quite interesting to me, and the metaphor was excellent foreshadowing. Linda Blair has grown since the first exorcist, and was very good as an actress.

While not as scary as the original, this movie was filled with mystery and suspense. I recommend this movie to most fans.

7/10 ~*StaRz*~

Details

Country:

USA UK

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