I'll admit it, I am not a huge fan of The Exorcist, and I will rewatch it for this entry now because I fucking LOVED this movie and it made me interested. Also, here is my previous review of Exorcist III.
This movie was infamously a troubled production and was something of a bomb, even though it made money it massively underperformed and critically was disliked to a massive degree, especially when one compares it to the original film, which is I think still on many lists of the best films ever made. Its hard to outdo William Friedkin, but I am a giant John Boorman fan as well and this made me curious to dig deeper into both of their filmographies. Filmographies. My next "thing"?
Linda Blair is back, this time paired with Richard Burton and Louise Fletcher. Later James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow show up in this incredible cast. Regan has been taken to a care facility after the evens of The Exorcist, and there she is put with Fletcher as Dr. Tuskin, who is using a flashing light device to hypnotize her and try to figure out WTF is going on. Burton as Father Lamont enters and is put under as well, and soon enough ol' Pazuzu's name is mentioned...she's baaaaack!!
But wisely enough this is not just a retread of the first movie. No, it investigates the origin of Pazuzu a little bit, Von Sydow's past, global consciousness, and other religions and other belief systems. That's because part of the this story is a possession in Africa that was in Sydow's past, and dear fucking lord are those scenes cryptic, captivating, and incredible.
This thing is made with that type of pure command of filmmaking that I love. Its steady, it's innovative and its brilliant without being flashy or too much. This thing looks dynamite with the right gravitas, eerie surreal quality, great acting, and creepy score. They go for a different type of terror in this, which is perhaps why I could be saying Exorcist 2>Exorcist 1. I don't care about demons or religion, but I do care about locusts and incredible sets of Ethiopia. Ohhh yeah.
This has been in the back of my mind for a super long time ever since I read about it after seeing Exorcist. I'm glad I finally got to see it. 5 stars.
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