10/25/17 – day twenty-five of thirty-one days of horror!
You probably think I’m trying to punish you by recommending
John Boorman’s utterly despised Exorcist II: The Heretic, and maybe in some
small way you’re right. But here’s the thing – I love John Boorman’s movies;
his nutzo sci fi epic Zardoz is one of my all-time faves, and I feel that in
many ways this entirely misguided sequel to the Exorcist occupies a similar,
head-trippy place. Linda Blair returns the role of Regan MacNeil, now a full-on
teen who has put her demonic possession behind her, only have it dredged back
up by psychologist Louise Fletcher and a ridiculously implausible device that
supposedly “synchronizes” brainwaves. Adding to the insanity is a likely
inebriated Richard Burton, trying to fill Max Von Sydow’s priestly vestments
and failing miserably. Also there’s tap-dancing, locust swarms, crazy mirror
trick photography and best of all James Earl Jones wearing a locust hat. Look,
this movie is a mess, but if you enjoy this kind of disaster and meet it where
it lives – a town named Bonkersville – you’ll have a good time watching it. Oh,
who am I kidding, you’re gonna hate this, so maybe just watch the trailer as it
is inarguably the greatest piece of filmmaking ever, thanks in part to the
incredible Ennio Morricone track “Magic and Ecstasy”.
