Exorcist II: The Heretic

1977, US, Directed by John Boorman

Colour, Running Time: 113 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R2, Warner; Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic, Audio: DD Mono

Four years after the supposed exorcism of the demon possessing a young girl by the name of Regan, Father Lamont is assigned to investigate the event to determine whether the priest that was killed at the time was legitimate in his actions. Lamont attends a centre for children with difficulties where Regan is being helped overcome her trauma by Dr Tuskin, a woman who is pioneering the use of a ‘synchroniser’ device that permits a hypnotist to view the same memories as their hypnotised subject. With Lamont present Tuskin takes Regan back to the event of 1973, at which point Tuskin begins to experience irregular heart palpitations that threaten her life. Believing he knows what’s going on Lamont steps in to ‘pull out’ Lamont from Regan’s regressed memory. It becomes a disturbance to him to realise that a demon called Pazuzu is still attempting to break through into the physical world using Regan’s unwitting mind, body and soul.

The infamous first film was an international success of course, something that was bound to result in a follow up sooner or later. Utilising different writers and director on this project would inevitably produce a different film altogether, and that proved not to be in its favour either. Exorcist II straddles a thick line between being a potentially scary and intelligent movie, possibly in a similar fashion to The Omen a year before it, and being a ridiculous hamfest that can’t get enough right. Too often it falls into the latter category. Richard Burton was brought in to play Father Lament, and lament we should have because his performance here is an over-the-top joke most of the time. Not helped by some of the lines he’s forced to deliver. This is a perfect example of someone attempting to be deadly serious throughout but coming across as a complete prat instead - Patrick Troughton would have (and did) do the same thing with far more potent results. Burton’s hard-edged voice suited something like Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds but here seems at odds with the rest of the cast. Linda Blair returns as Regan natch, now several years older and several times as hot! Her desires to become a critically relevant actress were sadly never to be - she went on to star in the rape-revenge exploitation flick Savage Streets, and average supernatural non-frighteners such as Hell Night and Witchcraft (aka Witchery) but, whilst still vocationally active, I’m sure her career is done no favours by roles in the likes of The Blair Bitch Project! Anyway, she’s functional here though at least is pleasing to look at - one of the few plus points in Exorcist II. What is both compelling and utterly potty is Regan’s possessed equivalent, a poignant creation in The Exorcist to be transformed here into a weirdo fancy dress failure that misses the mark, although not by much. With perhaps a more perceptive director behind the reins (John Boorman was never meant to shoot horror pictures), this film could have perhaps hit a few more of its many targets. One area where its ambition is evident but ultimately not fully realised is a brief exploration of science/religion debates where Lament’s theistic beliefs clash with Tuskin’s resolute attitude towards pragmatic explanation of everything. There are a few other pseudo-intellectual contributions to the script, alas not enough to save the project overall. Similarly there are moments in the African sequences that are quite good in their elaboration of a strange world (I particularly like the idea that one spiritual place has to be reached by climbing between two frightening looking cliffs, the drop below like something out of a nightmare). So, whilst the content itself is not complete rubbish, the execution largely is. Despite this, a shambles was not nearly enough to kill off such a lucrative and notorious franchise as there were several more instalments (the third chapter itself not being bad at all actually) that were to be unleashed on to those wishing to commit self harm.

Warner’s UK DVD is presented with an anamorphic image containing plenty of SD detail, albeit one lacking contrast (that can be fixed to an extent with adjustments to your AV equipment). Alongside this is a functional mono track with an absence of real impact. There is (as bonus material) an alternative opening segment that wasn’t used for the main feature, and basically has Richard Burton narrating what brings him to his present circumstances, with some shots from the original film to outline this. The theatrical trailer is worth a watch because it’s completely off its head - manic disco music accompanies almost the entire story edited into its two minute timeslot. The film should have killed the series dead, as the first one was the only excellent one of the lot. However, whilst The Exorcist remains a landmark piece of cinema, part 2 is notable for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.