Exorcist II: The Heretic

"It's four years later... What does she remember?"

1977 1h 58m EN

💀

4.5

SKIP

★4.5TMDB · 826

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator and a research specialist free her from its grasp?

“It's four years later... What does she remember?”

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Cast

Richard Burton
Father Philip Lamont
Linda Blair
Regan MacNeil
Louise Fletcher
Dr. Gene Tuskin
Max von Sydow
Father Lankester Merrin
Kitty Winn
Sharon Spencer
Paul Henreid
The Cardinal
James Earl Jones
Older Kokumo
Ned Beatty
Edwards

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Boorman
Writers: William Goodhart, Rospo Pallenberg
Languages: English, Tahitian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Tahitian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Exorcist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Boorman, shot by William A. Fraker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Merritt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Burton and Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's four years later... What does she remember?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Boorman directs. William A. Fraker behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. John Merritt cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Tahitian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

149 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Tahitian.
3Part of the "The Exorcist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by John Boorman, shot by William A. Fraker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor John Merritt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Richard Burton and Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It's four years later... What does she remember?".
9IMDB entry: tt0076009 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "based on novel or book", "1970s", "religion and supernatural", "exorcism".
11Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: William A. Fraker
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: John Merritt
Production design: Richard Macdonald
Costume design: Robert De Mora
Makeup / hair: Gary Liddiard
Sound: Michael Minkler
Stunt coordinator: Whitey Hughes
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $14,000,000
Box office: $30,749,142
Return: 220% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Part of

The Exorcist Collection

A horror anthology series focused on fictional accounts of demonic possession, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter it with various acts of faith. Inspired by the literary works of William Peter Blatty.

Also by

John Boorman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-10-07
★ 5/10
I have all the respect in the world for John Boorman--his 'Point Blank' and 'Deliverance' are excellent--but this sequel to one of the greatest horror movies ever made simply falls listless and flat. Of course, the script is extremely talky and lifeless--as if it had been 'exorcised' of all the wonder and shock that William Friedkin's vision of the battle of good vs. evil would entail. Yes, Sir Richard Burton was a great actor--yet when shoehorned with a crappy script and with his more irritating peccadillos left unrestrained, he can be such a chore and bore to watch. Though I have not seen the two more recent 'prequels' for the 'Exorcist' franchise, I can safely say that while 'Exorcist II' is not the worst horror movie ever made (that, by the way, never seemed its intention), it's certainly the worst of the original trilogy--and by a country mile. This is a work that would probably bore the demons so much, they would decide to get out of Regan MacNeil's body, and perhaps even leave Earth's plane altogether, never even wanting a return ticket.
tmdb280390232022-08-25
★ 2/10
One of the many things that make The Exorcist arguably the greatest horror films ever made – or simply one of the greatest films ever made, regardless of genre –, is that it has no use for the obligatory final shot suggesting that the evil will continue. On the contrary, it ends on a hopeful, optimistic note; a welcome relief following the ordeal we, characters and viewers alike, have just endured. Exorcist II: The Heretic carries on as if that final shot had actually been there all along. It's not just that Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) must go back to dealing with Pazuzu four years after the fact – meaning that two good men died for nothing –; it's how this reencounter comes about. Once we accept the possibility of demonic possession, everything else in The Exorcist is perfectly plausible. The Heretic, on the other hand, comes up with a "synchronized hypnosis" device that leads to such ludicrous dialogue as "Your machine has proved that there's an ancient demon within her!" That this line is delivered by a frantic Richard Burton – who could achieve greatness with the right material – doesn't do it any favors. All things considered, the only heresy on display here is what director John Boorman does to the source material (in fairness to writer William Goodhart, his script was apparently rewritten beyond recognition) – I did, however, really enjoy the metaphorical use of locusts, which can go from solitary and harmless grasshoppers to, well, Legion.