Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) – The Test of Time

The episode of The Test of Time covering Exorcist II: The Heretic was Written by Andrew Hatfield, Narrated by Niki Minter, Edited by Mike Conway, Produced by John Fallon and Tyler Nichols, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Here at Test of Time, the whole idea of the show is to look at a classic, either objectively through critical praise, box office revenue, or even things like reputation or cult classic status. The three of us, writer Andrew, narrator Niki, and editor Mike like to discuss what we think about whatever the movie is and have fun with it. Shouldn’t this be able to work in reverse though? What about a movie that is seen as bad? Shouldn’t it be looked at through a different lens via time and what we know now? Maybe a bad movie stays a bad movie but what if a reappraisal alters the opinion? The Thing was a relative flop and hated by nearly every critic of the time and is now seen as the pinnacle of both practical effects, remakes, and horror in general. With the release of the first in the new purposed trilogy of Exorcist films from David Gordon Green, we have a whole new opportunity to crown a new “worst” Exorcist entry. Today we are looking at the movie that has held that title for nearly 50 years. Is Exorcist II: The Heretic (watch it HERE) any better than it was at release, or does it stand the Test of Time as one of the worst horror movies ever made?

Plot

What do you do for a sequel for one of the biggest and most acclaimed horror movies of all time? For author William Peter Blatty and director William Freidkin it was easy, do nothing and don’t get involved. Part of that was neither saw the profitability nor point in working on a sequel and part of it was due to all the behind-the-scenes drama with fighting and lawsuits. The late, great Friedkin tells a great story about stifling his own laughter at what he was watching on screen and members of the audience forming an angry mob to chase after the executives responsible. Richard Lederer was the executive that thought it could work. After much negotiation he was able to get back both Linda Blair as Reagan and Swedish icon Max Von Sydow as Father Merrin. They tried to get Ellen Burstyn back too, but she refused and could not be persuaded. They were also able to get Louise Fletcher, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty, and Richard Burton in starring and supporting roles. The original director was supposed to be long time Mike Nichols editor and Academy Award nominee Sam O’Steen but that would eventually change to John Boorman who would also be nominated for 5 Oscars. The screenplay was written by playwright William Goodheart.

Richard Burton wasn’t actually the first choice to be cast either. Jon Voight was cast and had it up until production began. Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, and David Carradine were also considered and oh boy could that have been a different kind of movie. The script was re-written by Boorman and Rospo Pallenberg and Linda Blair even said in a later interview that Pallenberg directed much of the movie himself while being credited as second unit director and the vague “Creative Consultant”. Boorman also did a big re-edit after the initial screening, but it wasn’t enough to save it from its infamy even with Ennio Morricone doing the score. The movie opens with Richard Burton’s Father Lamont attempting to exercise a demon out of a girl somewhere in Latin America. His faith is wavering however and the whole situation goes up in flames, quite literally, killing the girl he is assigned to save. The church calls him back and wants him to investigate the death of Father Merrin as they are considering posthumous heresy charges against him. This leads him back to Reagan who, 4 years later, still is being monitored by Dr. Gene Tuskin at her New York psychiatric institute.

Tuskin doesn’t want to let Lamont question Reagan as she worries that it will send her spiraling to a dark place but suggests using a “Synchronizer” to let Tuskin and Reagan meld their brainwaves together and explore how Merrin actually died. Tuskin almost dies and Lamont requests a tour of the original house in Georgetown to gain further insight before requesting to be directly hooked to Reagan himself. Pazuzu, who is still linked to Reagan in some way, takes Lamont back in time to watch Merrin exorcise Pazuzu out of a young African boy named Kokumo. Lamont travels to Africa and meets with a now adult Kokumo who he has a vision of before meeting him as a scientist who studies locusts. We find out that Pazuzu targets people with psychic healing abilities and that Merrin believed that not only was that the direction that humanity was heading, but also that Kokumo and Reagan were the first of the humans to have these gifts. In a vision, Merrin asks Lamont to protect Reagan.

A final confrontation takes place at the Georgetown residence where Pazuzu has created a doppelganger of Reagan to temp Lamont. He and Reagan are able to subdue the demon by pulling the heart of the doppelganger and the two leave the house together while Tuskin deals with the police and the fallout of what has taken place.

Sign of the Times

One of the biggest signs of the times was the religious horror that ran rampant in the 70s and of course, the ever-popular art of the knockoff and boy, were there ever some exorcist knockoffs. We would get Abby and The Manitou from William Girdler that dealt with Blaxploitation and telling the narrative from a native American standpoint. We would also see Italian and German knockoffs like Beyond the Door which would itself receive multiple sequels and Magdalene, Possessed by the Devil. Finally, if a movie or genre exists, its going to get the Turkish treatment and so we were treated, which is one way to look at it, with Seytan. Now, it wasn’t just Exorcist knockoffs either as religious horror in general would see a big boom with flicks like The Omen, Race with the Devil, and even folk horror tinged with religion like The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan’s Claw. It would only get more prevalent with sequels to these franchises and even more one offs popping up.

Another sign of the times are movies experimenting with new shots and special effects technology and the topic of pseudo-science and out of the box medical procedures. This movie does that in spades with its institute, mind melding techniques with the use of the synchronizer, and what treatments the hospital and doctor doll out. It also ties back to Merrin and his beliefs that go against the church and lean more towards nontraditional religion. As for the experimenting with shots, there are a lot of interesting ones involving the locusts and how they treat transformations, flashbacks, and even horrible atrocities to well, less than stellar results sometimes. Hey, at least you tried, Exorcist 2.

What Holds Up

Ok, here is where we divert from our little formula we run with. This is the part where I argue against this film being the stain on cinema that it has grown a reputation for being. Sort of. First and foremost, this movie really isn’t THAT bad. I’ve watched several worse movies for the channel just this year. It is, however, a terrible follow-up to quite frankly one of the Mount Rushmore horror films. So, what is actually good about this one? Well, the cast is ridiculous by any decade’s standards. Richard Burton, even with being accused of being drunk for much of the filming, commands a presence that only old Hollywood can muster. Louise Fletcher, while not having the same energy as her award-winning nurse Ratchet, also is convincing in her role. Throw in interesting and supporting turns from Ned Beatty, James Earl Jones, and Max Von Sydow and you won’t be bored, until you are, but more on that later. Von Sydow is actually one of the best parts of this and was somehow able to care about this movie even after not wanting to appear. While it isn’t his best work, Morricone puts in a workman like effort on the score and when listening to it separated, it really stands out.

In terms of actually in movie related things, it’s a fun trip to be taken back to the original scene of the crime as it were, at least the first time. Having the ending of the movie be in Georgetown just kind of feels like they ran out of ideas. When they first go back though and the trepidation is felt in the air, it works on a lot of levels. The other part that is a fun watch and diversion from the rest of the flick is Father Lamont traveling to various locations to solve the mystery he was given or as I like to call it; Richard Burton’s Bogus Journey. He travels the globe talking to people and climbing seemingly impassable locations with visions all while his faith is continually tested. Its also the scenes where Burton doesn’t actually seem bored with both the movie and his character.

What doesn’t hold up

Is it a cheat to just say everything else? Ok fine. The effects are the first thing that comes to mind. The visual effects from the locust pov shot to the awful opening exorcism and nearly everything in between, sound effects included, just don’t hold up. They look bad compared to other movies from 1977 but even compared to movies that came out years before, including the first Exorcist film. This would be ok if the movie weren’t boring and thoroughly unscary throughout it’s runtime. There are no instances like the first one where there is any fear or dread and on top of that, most of the film’s journey is just flat and uninspired. I guess that’s better than saying everything else, right?

Verdict

While I will argue that Exorcist II: The Heretic is flat out not a great time, it is far from the worst horror sequel of all time. To that end, it might not even be the worst movie in its own franchise. It can be very dull, it’s not scary whatsoever, and the effects are not special in a good way. What it does have is a shockingly good cast of actors that do their job for the most part, an interesting idea that is so far from the first movie that it ends up being compelling in its own idiotic way, and a fun legacy of having the badge of honor to say that you’ve watched the supposed worst horror film of all time. It stands the test of time as a bad movie. It was bad in 1977 and it’s bad nearly 50 years later but it has been surpassed many times over in terms of disappointment and outright unwatchability. It’s a failure but at least it has the decency to do so spectacularly and if you haven’t seen it, or it’s been years, then throw it on. Just make sure you watch them in order so you have the palate cleansers of the first film before it and the brilliant third chapter after.

A couple of the previous episodes of The Test of Time can be seen below. To see more, click over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!