*Note: Max von Sydow does not have a leading role in this sequel as Father Merrin in the same active capacity as the original; the sequel focuses on new characters investigating Regan’s condition.
The film boasts an Academy Award-winning cast, though the performances are often colored by the script's erratic nature.
The year is 1977, four years after the events of the original film. Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), now a teenager living at a research institute in New York run by the kindly Dr. Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher), seems to be fine—save for some nightmares and a newfound aversion to locusts. The Vatican, however, is troubled. Father Lamont (Richard Burton, visibly disinterested and possibly inebriated throughout production) is tasked with investigating the death of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), who had a heart attack during the original exorcism. Exorcist.II.The Heretic.1977.720p.Hindi.English...
Lamont’s mission: determine if Merrin’s death was natural or the result of demonic interference. But this is no standard detective story. Lamont is a “heretic” himself—a priest who doubts, who questions the Vatican’s caution. He discovers that the demon Pazuzu (yes, the same one from the first film) is not just a monster but an ancient, winged entity representing the primal chaos of Africa. To fight it, Lamont uses a bizarre machine called the Pazuzu—no, not the demon—a “synchronizer” that allows two people to share memories through hypnosis and rhythmic flashing lights (essentially a 1970s vision of psychedelic therapy).
Cue seventy minutes of Richard Burton sweating, Linda Blair convulsing in a neon-lit hypnotic trance, and James Earl Jones wearing a giant locust costume. *Note: Max von Sydow does not have a
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a controversial and divisive sequel that aimed to reinvent the concept of possession and spiritual struggle through metaphysical and psychological lenses. Its technical craft—particularly cinematography and score—remains notable, but narrative issues and a tonal shift from the original led to critical and commercial failure. Today it stands as an interesting case study in sequel-making, auteur risk-taking in genre cinema, and how ambitious stylistic experiments can clash with audience expectations.
Exorcist II: The Heretic is not a good movie in any conventional sense. It fails as horror (there is not a single frightening scene). It fails as drama (Burton sleepwalks). It fails as a sequel (it ignores the rules and tone of the original entirely). The year is 1977, four years after the
But it is a fascinating failure. It is the work of a brilliant director (Boorman made Deliverance and Excalibur) given total creative freedom and a franchise budget, only to produce a personal, metaphysical art film disguised as a studio horror sequel. It has more in common with The Holy Mountain than with The Exorcist.
Watching this 720p dual-audio version is the ideal way to experience it. The visual clarity lets you appreciate the insane production design and cinematography. The Hindi audio option allows you to detach from the original English performances and rediscover the film as a piece of pure, pulpy cult entertainment. One viewing with English audio for the “serious” insanity; a second viewing with Hindi audio for the sheer joy of hearing Pazuzu threaten to destroy the world in a nasal, cracking Hindi villain voice.