Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
29%RT Audience Score: 12%
Awards & Nominations: 3 nominations
Hokey mystical effects, lousy plotting, and worse acting directly tarnishes the first’s chilling legacy
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a movie that should come with a warning label: “May cause uncontrollable laughter and eye-rolling.” The film tries to be intellectually scary, but instead, it’s just plain silly. The dialogue is so bad that it’s almost impressive, and the plot is incomprehensible. The only redeeming quality is the fine color photography, but even that can’t save this load of old nonsense. If you’re looking for a good horror movie, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a good laugh, then Exorcist II might just be the movie for you.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Kayenta, Arizona, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1977
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, French, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Oct 10, 2006
Genre(s)
Horror
Keyword(s)
Exorcist II: The Heretic, Richard Burton, Max von Sydow, Louise Fletcher, horror, John Boorman, William Goodhart, produced by John Boorman and Richard Lederer, R rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Robinson, David Pirie, Christopher Porterfield, Vincent Canby, Helen Frizell, Tim Radford, Donald McLean, Romola Costantino, Russell Davies, Allen Oren, Bob Ross, directed by John Boorman, Linda Blair, Kitty Winn, Paul Henreid, The Cardinal, Father Lamont, Dr Gene Tuskin, Regan MacNeil, Father Merrin, Sharon Spencer, critic reviews, audience score, streaming, rent/buy from $2.99, horror movies, The Exorcist
Worldwide gross: $30,749,142
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $163,042,738
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 802
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 17,780,015
US/Canada gross: $30,749,142
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $163,042,738
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 471
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,735,000
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $35,711,333
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 367
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $14,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $74,232,912
Production budget ranking: 572
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $39,974,423
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $48,835,404
ROI to date (est.): 43%
ROI ranking: 1,185
Richard Burton – Father Philip Lamont
Louise Fletcher – Dr. Gene Tuskin
Max von Sydow – Father Merrin
Kitty Winn – Sharon Spencer
Paul Henreid – The Cardinal
Director(s)
John Boorman
Writer(s)
William Goodhart
Producer(s)
John Boorman, Richard Lederer
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (62) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (56)
A rather costly load of old nonsense, distinguished mainly by fine colour photography.
October 27, 2021
David Robinson
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
The theme is attacked with engaging intensity, and Boorman brings off more than one visual coup (notably the ingenious locust photography in the African sequences). Dennis Wheatley fans, at least, will love it.
October 27, 2021
David Pirie
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Here we are spared many of Friedkin’s cheap shocks — the mutilations, the vomiting, the bestiality. But what remains is twaddle.
October 27, 2021
Christopher Porterfield
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
There had to be a sequel, but did it have to be this desperate concoction, the main thrust of which is that original exorcism wasn’t all it was cracked up to be?
October 27, 2021
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Burton, noble enough, had his clerical tongue in his cheek, while Linda Blair was by turn fresh and appealing then sly and sinister.
October 27, 2021
Helen Frizell
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Richard Burton potters through it with a look of weary distaste, or even nausea.
October 27, 2021
Tim Radford
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The dialogue invites hoots of derision and audience catcalls, and director John Boorman strives to be intellectually scary and only succeeds in turning a former shocker into a current piece of shlock.
October 27, 2021
Donald McLean
Bay Area Reporter
Exorcist number one was nasty twaddle. The Heretic, to give it a slightly different definition, is nasty drivel. With it, the Hollywood superstition bonanza surely reaches rock bottom.
October 27, 2021
Romola Costantino
The Sun-Herald (Australia)
From the start the film is either unbearably silly or incomprehensible, and finally both at once.
October 27, 2021
Russell Davies
Observer (UK)
Evil spirits are at work in Exorcist II. They’ve produced a film both exploitive and amateurish.
October 27, 2021
Allen Oren
Charlotte Observer
Beneath the gloss of color and bluster, this movie offers absurd action based on a stupid premise. But those who waste time and money on it can always say “the Devil made me do it.”
October 27, 2021
Bob Ross
Tampa Bay Times
The dialogue is the worst within memory, so ridiculous that it invites explosions of laughter at its most serious and high-flown moments.
October 26, 2021
Stanley Eichelbaum
San Francisco Examiner…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Richard Burton “potters through it with a look of weary distaste, or even nausea.” – Sydney Morning Herald
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