Exorcist II: The Heretic

Name: Exorcist II: The Heretic
Genre: Horror
Released: June 17, 1977
Duration: 118 min
Rating: 39
Cast: Belinda Beatty, James Earl Jones, Kitty Winn, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher

1977

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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3.5	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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Exorcist II: The Heretic

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. | Release Date: June 17, 1977 | TV-14

Starring: Belinda Beatty, James Earl Jones, Kitty Winn, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Ned Beatty, Paul Henreid, Richard Burton, Rose Portillo

Summary: A teenage girl once possessed by a demon finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, a priest investigates the death of the girl's exorcist.

Director: John Boorman

Genre(s): Horror

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 118 min

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Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr

Boorman deserves credit for trying out some new ideas, even if most of them backfire. Visually, it's fascinating—sort of a blend of Minnellian baroque and Buñuelian absurdity—but the dialogue is childish, the story is incomprehensible, and the metaphysics are ridiculous. Still, an audacious failure is preferable to a chickenhearted success. More than worth a look, if only out of curiosity. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Substantially recut by Boorman after his original version was derided in America, but it's still easy to see why New Yorkers jeered. Boorman completely avoids gore and obscenity, treating the original as a kind of sacred good-versus-evil text, and weaving its sets and characters into a highly traditional confrontation of occult forces. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Since any title containing Roman numerals invites comparison, the answer is: No, Exorcist II is not as good as The Exorcist. It isn't even close. Gone now is the simple clash between Good and Evil, replaced by some goofy transcendental spiritualism. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

It would be a lot easier to buy Exorcist II: The Heretic as a mood piece if it was able to sustain a tone beyond clumsy exposition and hysterical camp for longer than a few minutes. Read full review

Empire Kim Newman

A famously disastrous follow-up to William Friedkin’s horror hit. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

A snooze-fest without any scares. Read full review

Vincent Canby

Exorcist II begins by looking foolish and slowly becomes a straightfaced film of the absurd. Read full review

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User Reviews

Maxi23

Sep 27, 2022

the exorcist 2 is a rare and at the same time disastrous movie, unfortunately it is one of the worst sequels I have seen despite the fact that it has great actors and a good director. A failure in all respects but with beautiful photography and very few aesthetically beautiful scenes.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JPK

Jul 2, 2019

Terrible Followup
This movie disrespects the legacy of it’s predecessor with it acting like a bland and stupid horror film.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Panchogul

Jun 12, 2020

Si, es una película bastante deficiente, la historia es deliberadamente confusa, ridículamente sin pies ni cabeza, razón de ser e innecesariamente compleja, el hecho de ser precedida por la mejor película de terror de todos los tiempos ya complicaba mucho la recepción de esta infame secuela,Si, es una película bastante deficiente, la historia es deliberadamente confusa, ridículamente sin pies ni cabeza, razón de ser e innecesariamente compleja, el hecho de ser precedida por la mejor película de terror de todos los tiempos ya complicaba mucho la recepción de esta infame secuela, pero en el fondo no es tan mala si tan solo olvidas por un momento la existencia de El Exorcista original.

Si existe algo que se pueda destacar positivamente es la banda sonora y nada más.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

robertoiglesias

Oct 14, 2018

Good story ruined by unnecessary and negatively uncomfortable scenes, bad acting, and confusion that lurks in this film.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

HellHoleHorror

Feb 16, 2022

Truly terrible film. I can’t even think of any reason to watch this. There was one second shot of someone stepping on spikes which was entertaining and some bits on rocks which looked alright. The rest of the film is painful incomprehensible crap. I believe that this is the worst film everTruly terrible film. I can’t even think of any reason to watch this. There was one second shot of someone stepping on spikes which was entertaining and some bits on rocks which looked alright. The rest of the film is painful incomprehensible crap. I believe that this is the worst film ever made. Do not watch. Atrocious.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

I_love

Jan 3, 2019

Nothing is good about this movie, the original wasn't really sequel worthy, but this is too far, by far just one of the worst movies.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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