EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC(John Boorman, US 1977, 118 min.)

Few sequels have crashed and burned quite as spectacularly—or as fascinatingly—as John Boorman’s Exorcist II: The Heretic. Made as the follow-up to one of the most successful horror films ever, Boorman’s film largely abandons the original’s grim realism for something altogether stranger: a delirious mixture of science fiction, mysticism, African mythology, psychic communion, tap dancing, locusts, and Richard Burton portentously delivering some of the most wonderfully solemn dialogue of his career. (Why say "evil" when you can say "eeev-el"?) Audiences and critics were baffled, and The Heretic quickly acquired a reputation as one of Hollywood’s legendary disasters. Yet its hypnotic images, extraordinary Ennio Morricone score, and almost reckless ambition have earned it a devoted cult following. Is it a misunderstood masterpiece? An unmitigated catastrophe? Or that rarest of cinematic pleasures—a genuine disasterpiece? Whatever the verdict, there is nothing else quite like it.

A zoom Q&A with David Kittredge, director of the new documentary about the making of Exorcist II, Boorman and the Devil, will take place immediately after our screening.

Reviews

“There is a very strong probability that Exorcist II is the stupidest major movie ever made.”

—John Simon, New York Magazine

"There's enough visual magic in it for a dozen good movies... A horror fairy tale gone wild."

—Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

"Staggering in its ineptitude."

—Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“I like the first Exorcist, because of the Catholic guilt I have, and because it scared the hell out of me; but The Heretic surpasses it... [T]he movie still deserved better than it got.”

—Martin Scorsese, Film Comment

“The only time you’re likely to hide your head will be in shame for watching it.”

—Jack Lewis, Daily Mirror

“The sequel is as much of a masterpiece as the first movie is.”

—Park Chan-wook, Director of Oldboy and No Other Choice

Trailer