Introduction: From Masterpiece to Mess-terpiece
If The Exorcist (1973) was a cinematic Hail Mary that split the uprights and baptized the horror genre in holy dread, then Exorcist II: The Heretic is the sequel that spiked the ball into its own face, tripped over the altar rail, and vomited exposition onto the congregation. Directed by John Boorman—who either hated the original or got hit in the head with a censer—this film takes everything that made The Exorcist terrifying and trades it in for philosophical mumbo jumbo, locusts, and psychic headgear. What could’ve been a profound continuation of good vs. evil turned into a 117-minute fever dream about… Africa?
This isn’t just a bad horror sequel. It’s a cautionary tale. A possessed, hallucinatory, utterly bewildering cinematic faceplant.
The Plot: A Spiritual Root Canal with Locusts
So it’s four years later. Regan (Linda Blair) is now a teenager living in New York, working through her trauma with a therapist who thinks demonic possession is just spicy PTSD. Enter Father Lamont (Richard Burton), a man so tortured by his own script that he spends the film staring into the middle distance like he’s trying to remember why he agreed to this.
Lamont is tasked with investigating Father Merrin’s death and determining whether Regan was actually possessed or if it was all just… metaphorical psychobabble. What follows is a narrative so convoluted, it’s like the screenwriters put a Ouija board in a blender and filmed the mess that flew out.
Instead of demonic suspense, we get a global safari of nonsense: synchronised hypnosis, telepathic flashbacks, and long montages of tribal ceremonies that feel like deleted scenes from National Geographic: The LSD Years. There’s a powerful demon named Pazuzu, sure, but he mostly shows up in locust form. Because when I think of evil incarnate, I think of bugs ruining wheat crops.
Linda Blair: Doing Her Best in a Bad Dream
To her credit, Linda Blair shows up and tries. Unfortunately, the film gives her nothing to do but dance with metaphorical demons and look confused by the bizarre new-age devices strapped to her head. She goes from projectile vomiting to delivering lines like, “I can tap into the synchronizer now,” as if the audience has the slightest clue what that means.
She’s sweet. She’s wide-eyed. She’s trying. And she’s utterly wasted in a role that feels more like a lab experiment than a character arc. The Exorcist gave us innocence corrupted. The Heretic gives us therapy sessions, metaphysical gibberish, and Linda Blair stumbling around a glass house in a nightgown while possessed locusts scream from the sky.
Richard Burton: The Face of Regret
Oh, Richard Burton. You look like you aged ten years every five minutes in this film. Cast as the grim, brooding Father Lamont, Burton gives a performance so disinterested, it feels like he was being paid per scowl. There are moments when it’s unclear if he’s acting or just waiting for someone to yell “Cut” so he can flee the set.
His character is supposed to be torn between faith and disbelief, but mostly he just looks constipated and mildly drunk. This is a man who once shared stages with Olivier and Gielgud. In Exorcist II, he shares scenes with psychic strobe machines and animatronic locusts.
Missed Opportunities: Evil Left on the Cutting Room Floor
This film had potential. It had legacy. And it tossed it all into a fire made of incense, bong smoke, and mysticism.
1. No True Continuation of Karras or Merrin’s Sacrifice:
The spiritual heart of The Exorcist—Karras’ guilt, Merrin’s faith, their sacrifice—is reduced to mere flashback fodder. There’s no emotional resonance, no genuine follow-up. Just Richard Burton mumbling about darkness and staring at footage like he’s watching it for the first time at a bus stop.
2. No Real Horror:
There are no scares. None. A few dream sequences attempt to stir the pot, but they’re more confusing than terrifying. If Pazuzu had simply shown up with a flamethrower and a speech about vengeance, at least it would’ve made sense.
3. The Techno-Magic Angle:
The “synchronizer,” a device that allows two people to share a mental plane (read: psychedelic screensaver), is one of the worst sci-fi horror ideas ever put to film. Imagine if 2001: A Space Odyssey had been directed by a hungover high school AV club. This is that.
4. Africa Was a Choice… But Not the Right One:
The flashbacks to a possessed African boy named Kokumo (played as an adult by James Earl Jones in a locust costume—seriously) are meant to show the demon’s origins. Instead, they derail the film into unintentional comedy. When Darth Vader shows up wearing a giant bug hat, you’ve lost the thread.
The Locusts: What Even Are We Doing Anymore?
A major part of the film hinges on the mythology of locusts. Apparently, Pazuzu controls them, and they symbolize plague, temptation, and possibly the audience fleeing the theater. The final act features a biblical swarm that’s meant to be epic but plays like an entomology documentary with a student film budget.
When a character solemnly states, “The good locust is the one that does not fly with the swarm,” you realize the screenplay was written on a dare.
The Score: Morricone vs. Sanity
Ennio Morricone composed the score, and to be fair, it’s atmospheric and weirdly beautiful in places. But it’s also jarring. At times, it feels like a romantic Italian melodrama wandered into a horror sequel and refused to leave. You expect someone to get possessed and then break into an operatic ballad.
Legacy: The Devil We Forgot
Exorcist II: The Heretic is legendary—but for all the wrong reasons. It’s not just a bad sequel. It’s one of the most baffling misfires in film history. So reviled was its release that audiences reportedly laughed and booed. Even William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty openly condemned it. When your franchise creators disown you harder than an unholy child at a baptism, that’s a red flag.
And yet, over time, it’s become a kind of cinematic curiosity. A monument to what happens when ego, hubris, and bad acid meet a horror masterpiece.
Conclusion: Burn the Tapes, Save the Pea Soup
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a film that took the demonic terror of the original and turned it into a New Age lecture on bug psychology. It’s not scary. It’s not coherent. And it’s not worth your time—unless you’re conducting a study on how not to make a sequel.
If the original Exorcist shook your soul, this one will just shake your patience.
Final Verdict: 1/5 Good Locusts—But Only Because James Earl Jones Deserves Something for His Trouble
