The Exorcist II: The Heretic is not a good movie but one must give kudos to a talented cast, most notably Linda Blair and Richard Burton, for doing their best to wade through a sometimes insane plot.
Exorcist II: The Heretic
(1977)
Genre(s): Supernatural, Horror
Shout Factory | R – 117/102 min. – $34.93 | September 25, 2018
Date Published: 10/10/2018 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.5/5 |
|
Plot Synopsis: Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil (LINDA BLAIR) four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator (RICHARD BURTON) and a research specialist (LOUISE FLETCHER) free her from its grasp? Quick Hit Review: The Exorcist is a classic and box office hit raking in $441 million worldwide back in 1973 and domestically, adjusted for ticket inflation, a whopping $943 million. So it was no surprise Warner Brothers would want to make a sequel and four years later we got The Exorcist II: The Heretic, a vastly less successful follow-up (only $30 million; $126 million adjusted domestically) and not hard to see why. This was a pretty poor sequel though I will give director John Boorman and screenwriter William Goodhart some credit: it is a trippy af movie. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
|
This 2-disc set comes with a matted slip cover. The interior cover is reversible revealing the film’s original poster artwork. Disc 1 (Original Cut):
Both of these tracks were a pleasure to listen to and each one is quite honest about some of the changes in the production and how the film disappointed at the box office. Interviews:
Both of these are new interviews conducted for this release. Blair in particular was great in her honesty about what was shot and what audiences got. She also discusses her career that rocketed with The Exorcist and eventually working on The Heretic; she’s a great storyteller. Disc 2 (Original Home Video Cut): Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (1:58), Teaser Trailer (1:19) and Still Galleries with Black & White Stills, Deleted Scene Photos, Color Stills, Behind-the-Scenes Gallery and Poster and Lobby Cards. |
VIDEO – 3.75/5 |
| Shout Factory releases The Exorcist II onto Blu-ray where it’s presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and both movies also got some restoration, taken from a 2K scan of the original film elements. Watching, this isn’t exactly a fantastic looking picture, as detail isn’t always the best, but especially on some of the more distant shots. Where it does somewhat succeed is with the balance in colors which appear natural. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The disc comes equipped with a standard but decent enough DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. There is a fair bit to judge as the movie does contain both quieter scenes as well as some involving the occult and demons where the track does thrive a bit, but being a singular track, there are limitations, but I assume this best re-created what people heard back in the day. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
|
Overall, The Exorcist II: The Heretic is not a good movie but one must give kudos to a talented cast, most notably Linda Blair and Richard Burton, for doing their best to wade through a sometimes insane plot. This “Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray release from Shout Factory has respectable video/audio transfers and an okay selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.