The Exorcist II: The Heretic – 10 Things Fans Never Knew About The Sequel

The Exorcist II: The Heretic is one of the weirdest horror movie sequels ever made and fans need to know how this oddity came to be.

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The Exorcist shocked the world when it premiered in 1973, and it wasn’t long before its mammoth success paved the way for copycat films. with The Omen being one of the most famous. To capitalize on the roaring success of creepy supernatural horror films of the time, Warner Bros. quickly pushed for a sequel in the form of Exorcist II: The Heretic.

While it started off with the best of intentions, the sequel quickly spiraled into self-destruction and became one of the most critically panned horror films ever made. Eventually, Exorcist II managed to claw some support in the form of a small but dedicated cult fan base (both ironic and otherwise), but the years still have not been kind. Many horror fans would be shocked to know the behind the scenes facts about the sequel, which are stories unto themselves.

10 There Was Strong Opposition To A Sequel

The original cast and crew of the The Exorcist were none-too-keen on the idea of a sequel to their seminal masterpiece, which in hindsight might have been the first and more obvious warning sign. From a creative perspective, this made perfect sense given that the original film was a monumentally tough act to follow.

Original Exorcist director William Friedkin dropped out early after failing to come up with an inventive premise for the film with author William Peter Blatty, and Ellen Burstyn wasn’t the least bit interested in reprising her role as Reagan’s mother. It should have ended there, but fate had other plans.

9 Linda Blair Agreed To Star Because Of Richard Burton

Linda Blair, who played Regan in the first film, was reluctant to do a sequel in favor of pursuing veterinary school, but she had a change of heart when she read the original script and learned that actor Richard Burton would be playing the role of Father Philip Lamont.

In fact, Blair’s fascination and adoration of Burton was nearly overwhelming. Blair loved working with Burton (and vice versa) so much that the two struck up a father/daughter-type relationship on set and managed to knock out their scenes with a natural chemistry.

8 The Opening Night Was A Disaster

The film touched down on opening night to scathing audience reaction that enraged fans of the original Exorcist, who thought they would see a continuation of that film. Audiences had fits in theaters, threw things at the screen, and reportedly participated in riots according to director John Boorman.

One particular story told by William Friedkin alleges that studio executives attended a sneak preview of the film in a limousine before telling the drivers to pick up some food. Ten minutes into the film, the crowd singled them out and turned their rage against the execs who were forced to flee the theater without the limo driver there to pick them up. They were reportedly chased down the street by an angry mob of pissed of Exorcist fans.

7 Martin Scorsese Loves It

The Exorcist II was critically panned by reviewers and audiences alike, but a few big names like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese loved the sequel. The director of The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street was intrigued by the story, which he believe mimicked the tale of Job in the Bible. For the unfamiliar, this is a story about great goodness bringing great evil upon itself.

He even went so far as to say that while the original Exorcist “scared the hell” out of him, the sequel was even more terrifying. It’s hard to imagine the reasoning behind such a comparison, but such is the beauty of art and its subjective nature. But since Scorsese is (in his words) a lapsed Catholic, it’s somewhat unsurprising that The Exorcist II — which is deeply entrenched in the religion and its beliefs — affected him on a personal level.

6 John Boorman Had Good Intentions For The Sequel

Director John Boorman had achieved critical acclaim for his work on the classic thriller Deliverance, but his reach exceeded his own grasp when it came to The Exorcist II. According to Boorman, he wanted to move away from the ugliness and horror of the original Exorcist, and take the story in a more positive direction.

In hindsight, Boorman admits that his failure was not giving the audience the kind of horror movie that they wanted. So powerful and iconic was the original that deviating too far from it proved to be its own undoing.

5 Too Many Writers Killed The Story

Linda Blair recounts that the original script for The Exorcist II was superb, and it was one of the reasons she decided to reprise her role as Regan. However, the trouble began when John Boorman wanted to rewrite the script to incorporate other ideas.

Chaos ensued shortly thereafter with constant script rewrites in the middle of shooting. By the end of filming, The Exorcist II was nothing like the original script. “That script was rewritten five times,” said Linda Blair during an interview for Scream Factory. “So the movie we set out to make never happened. Too many cooks spoiled the brew, and in this case it’s what affected this movie. We all left with great disappointment, I believe. Certainly I know I did.”

4 Nobody Understands The Locusts’ Symbolism

One particularly odd theme of Exorcist II is the concept of locusts and how they relate to several characters in the film. The audience glimpses this during a scene when a young African boy begins to whirl a lasso around his head to deal with an incoming storm of locusts attempting to devour crops. The theme would be revisited in the final act of the film when Regan simulates the action, seemingly to banish evil.

Linda Blair remarked “I have no idea why any of it happened,” a sentiment no doubt echoed by the audience who couldn’t figure out what was going on.

3 James Earl Jones Refused To Redub His Lines

Sound editor Tom Priestley noted that actor James Earl Jones (who played the adult Kokumo) was not keen on having to go through the process of redubbing his lines, which is a common part of the movie-making process. Priestley noted that Jones was unwilling to come back and sync up his lines with his on-screen performance, instead saying that he’d read the lines three or four times and then leave it up to Priestley to fit them in.

Priestley remarked that Jones’ stage background might have had a lot to do with his reluctance. Many stage actors who make the jump to Hollywood are frequently put off by the vastly different production methods necessary to make a movie.

2 The Seduction Scene Was Originally Much Worse

The writers originally wanted to add a controversial scene and add to its notoriety by throwing in as much explicit sexual content and offensive imagery as possible, but this never saw the light of day. The scene involves a demonic version of Regan attempting to sexually seduce Father Lamont and prey on is weaknesses.

Linda Blair and Richard Burton reportedly found the scene weird and uncomfortable but if the rewritten storyboard had seen the light of day, it might have caused more damage to the film than intended. Blair, who was 17 years old at the time, immediately refused to do it and the idea was scrapped in favor of the toned down version in the final film.

1 An Alcoholic Richard Burton Read Cue Cards

Linda Blair recounts the days when Richard Burton began reading off of cue cards to complete his scenes, which she had called “the new norm.” Blair was not explicitly clear what she meant by this, but theories posit that it could have something to do with the massive amount of script rewrites taking place during filming.

Another theory is that Burton, a known alcoholic at the time, began hitting the bottle as tensions increased and morale among the cast and crew began to waver. According to Blair, Burton had started off fine but frequently showed up drunk between the middle and final parts of filming.

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