THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, James Earl Jones, and Paul Henreid.

Directed by: John Boorman.

Story:
Four years after “The Exorcist”, the Cardinal assigns Father Philip Lamont to investigate the mysterious death of Father Lankester Merrin who was killed during the exorcism of the Assyrian demon Pazuzu that possessed Regan MacNeil. The Cardinal informs Lamont that Merrin’s death has brought upon posthumous heresy charges and some church facilities are not even sure if the exorcism was necessary - Basically, they don’t want to acknowledge the existence of Satan. Lamont, a priest who is struggling with faith, has some experience in exorcism, and is well aware of Merrin’s controversial teachings, accepts the assignment.

Meanwhile, Regan MacNeil has grown into a beautiful young teenage girl and is now seemingly normal, she is currently staying with guardian Sharon Spencer while her mother is away shooting a movie in California. Despite Regan’s normal state, she continues to be monitored at a psychiatric facility by Dr. Gene Tuskin, who believes Regan’s memories of her exorcism are buriedor repressed within. Father Lamont visits the institute and attempts to question Regan but is rebuffed by Dr. Gene Tuskin who thinks Lamont’s influence will do her no good, considering past events. Instead, Tuskin uses a biofeedback device called the synchronizer to synchronize the brainwaves of two people, namely Tuskin and Regan, in order to find out what happened that night and how Father Merrin died. Along the way, they encounter the evil Pazuzu once more…

Characters:
*Father Philip Lamont (Richard Burton): Yet another priest struggling with his faith, assigned by the Cardinal to investigate Father Lankester Merrin’s death from the previous film.
*Cardinal (Paul Henreid): Assigns Father Philip Lamont to take care of the plot in this film because he’s much worried about Father Merrin’s reputation.
*Father Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow): The deceased and highly knowledgeable priest from the original film, was killed by Pazuzu during the exorcism of Regan MacNeil. He appears here in a dream sequence of sorts.
*Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair): The possessed 12 year old girl from the previous film who is now 16 and a full-blown hottie. Unfortunately, she’s still having demonic issues - Beware Men.
*Sharon Spencer (Kitty Winn): Regan’s guardian from the first film. She’s taking care of her while mommy is away filming a movie.
*Dr. Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher): Regan’s sexy psychiatrist who likes to use to hypnosis machines to see what’s going on in Regan’s mind.
*Kokumo (James Earl Jones): A man who was exorcised as a young boy by Father Lamont.
*Pazuzu: The evil Assyrian demon who possessed Regan last time around. Doesn’t seem too scary here.

Overall:
Its films like “Exorcist II: The Heretic” which give sequels a bad reputation. Its films like “Exorcist II: The Heretic” which make you wonder why they even bothered making a sequel in the first place. This sequel to the creepy horror classic, “The Exorcist” (1973), is devoid of any qualities found in the original. The entire film is a complete bore, there isn’t one ounce of scariness anywhere to be found here. This is more of a telekinetic murder mystery and Father Lamont is a detective of sorts while Regan MacNeil walks around the sets in skimpy outfit and shows off her sultry self like she’s Marilyn Monroe.

For a good chunk of the second act in the film, Father Lamont continues his investigation in Africa where he meets up with a man whom he exorcised as a boy (shown in the opening sequence), meanwhile Regan sits her tush at home, missing in action. The only two things this sequel has going for it is a very, very hot and young Linda Blair and a third act which surprisingly picks up and makes things a little more interesting. Pazuzu doesn’t have much to do here either, he is included in the many interviews or investigations rather through the synchronizer device and as well as a possessed reincarnation of Regan herself towards the end of the film - But the fact of the matter remains that Pazuzu is not the demon we have become familiar with from the original. Scary my arse, you, me, and Pazuzu could all meet at a cafe and have lunch together.

After watching “Exorcist II: The Heretic”, it’s very easy to see why it was such a huge box-office failure back when it was released - For a film that is so boring, is it any wonder that is directed by a man named John Boorman?

Rating: **1/2

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