Review – ‘The Exorcist II: The Heretic’

I saw ‘The Exorcist’ a few years back when it was on one night on TV. I remember watching it alone, in the dark, after my mum had retired to bed leaving me with her saying, “The Exorcist is one of the scariest films ever”. Quite a bold statement, especially from my horror loving mother, who grew up watching Hammer horror from behind the sofa with her grandmother late at night with cups of steaming tea and biscuits. As I sat there in the darkness, the volume up loud, I was aware that I was watching this for the first time, and after that, no second viewing would be the same. I have never watched it since, not because it scared me, but maybe because it was so good, that I don’t want to taint my first time, as it were.

I’ve been watching The Last Drive In With Joe Bob Briggs and the next episode for me is ‘Exorcist III’, so I thought, what the hell, I might as well watch the second one and bridge the gap. Turns out that was a big mistake.

What a snooze fest! Boring plot, bland acting, no real tangible villain, and a pace so slow it could rival my grandmother trying to be somewhere quickly.

The films follows another priest, I can’t for the life of me remember what his name was, who is sent by The Vatican to investigate Reagan, who is now all grown up and tap-dancing in a mental institution. The priest realises that Pazuzu is still in her head, somehow, and that all the malarkey that they did in the first film actually didn’t work.

I think this film’s real crime is putting me to sleep, considering this is the sequel to one of the best films of all time, it’s painfully boring. I wouldn’t bother with it, unless you’re a masochistic perfectionist like me.

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