Exorcist II: The Heretic



Geez, I thought Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) was bad. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) covers a lot of the same material, but manages to be even more boring, and is much more embarrassing for everyone onscreen, particularly poor James Earl Jones.

I guess that Ellen Burstyn could smell the turkey cooking, because she took a pass on this film. With mom “away,” Regan (Linda Blair) is living with her shrink, as played by Louise Fletcher. The shrink is worried that Regan has repressed the whole possession incident (wait… how is this a problem?), and is performing experimental therapy on her that involves a synchronized hypnosis machine.


"No! She's getting beaten by Agent Smith!"

Enter Father Lamont (Richard Burton). He’s asked by the Vatican to investigate the circumstances of Father Merrin’s death. Lamont was a follower of Merrin’s, which means he believes that humanity is poised for some great spiritual leap, either for good or for evil. When Lamont visits Regan he witnesses one of the hypnosis sessions, and when things go badly he hooks himself into the machine.

Being jacked into Regan allows Lamont easy access to Pazuzu, a plot device that allows Lamont to find out things about the demon that would otherwise have to come out over the course of a well-written script. No such script here. Pazuzu travels from place to place as a swarm of locusts. The children he possesses are ones who have paranormal powers of healing, and he’s doing this to influence the spiritual meter to point towards the ‘evil’ when the leap in consciousness occurs. The boy Merrin exorcised in Africa was named Kokumo, and the exorcism took place in an unlikely African city carved out of a cliff wall and reachable only through a complicated series of ropes and pulleys.


"I hope that thing I'm doing for George Lucas is more dignified than this."

Lamont flies to Africa and finds the city. He finds proof that his visions about Pazazu were accurate, and then seeks out Kokumo. Up to this point Kokumo has only appeared in various visions, and has been played James Earl Jones in African tribal garb and a headdress designed to look like a locust. In real life, however, Kokumo is actually a insect researcher, played by Jones at his most personable. The brief scene where Kokumo explains techniques of keeping locusts from swarming to Lamont is by far the highlight of the movie. That’s right; the scene with people taking about pest control is the best thing Exorcist II: The Heretic has to offer.


"So you will switch to MCI? Great!"

Back in the U.S. Regan runs away from the shrink (but not before she’s proven her healing powers on an autistic child) and meets up with Lamont, who is back from Africa. Together they head to the house in Georgetown to have a final confrontation with Pazuzu. I think. The ending is a confusing mix of elements, including an Evil Linda Blair, Lamont in a trance, locust swarms, the house coming apart, and Louise Fletcher smashing through the fence in a taxi.

One thing that Exorcist II is not is scary. Ever. This may be one of the least scary horror movies I’ve ever seen. It’s not even creepy, or even disgusting, unless you count Richard Burton's stare-and-sweat acting style. I was struck on this viewing at how similar Japan's Ringu 2 (2000) was to Exorcist II. So similar, that I think the similarity was intentional.


I watched the end credits in vain for 'Mr. Burton's Face Moistener.'

Posted: Tue - October 5, 2004 at      

©