"Evil is a spiritual being..alive and living, perverted and perverting,
weaving its way insideosly into the very fabric of life."
The film commences with Regan attending a clinic, telling the doctor that all she can remember was being sick and having nightmares...and that she no longer needs any form of medical help anymore.
Meanwhile all is not well within the church – the Bishop has called for an investigation following the suspicious death of Father Merrin, with his writings impounded and his very reputation in jeopardy. Indeed some have claimed that the man was a Satanist. This quest is handed to father Lamart, who immediately goes to the clinic to see Regan, yet in her absence he speaks to her personal GP, Dr. Tuscan. Whilst the Dr is initially defensive of the girl, it isn't long before Father Lamart is embroiled in a new type of experiment, synchronised hypnosis, where he witnesses Merrin's death and meets the spirit which once possessed Regan. He quickly comes to the conclusion that some evil spirit is locked within her, and that she does actually remember all that had happened in the past.
As the Father continues his investigations he encounters the vision of a boy in a swarm of locusts who claims to be Pazuzu, king of the spirits of the air. Somehow Merrin had fought this spirit previously and Lamart feels the need to go to Africa to investigate further. He learns that he must seek a boy who has some strange power to heal, Cucumo, and when he finds him he asks how he can help Regan. It isn't long before he's back with Regan and they are making there way back to the original house, the house where it all began. It is at this point where the film begins to make a little more sense as everything gels together, resulting in an almighty battle between the evil spirits and the priesthood....but who will win. Whilst I wont spoil the outcome of the film, this is severely disappointing in comparison to the original, but what else would we expect...it would afterall be extremely difficult to match the brilliance of the first film.
Copyright(C) 2007
- 2020. All rights reserved.
| Directed by | John Boorman |
|---|---|
| Produced by | John Boorman Richard Lederer |
| Written by | John Boorman
(uncredited) William Goodhart Rospo Pallenberg (uncredited) |
| Starring | Linda Blair Richard Burton Louise Fletcher Max von Sydow Kitty Winn Paul Henreid |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | June 17, 1977 (USA) |
| Running time | 118 min. (theatrical release) 110 min. (recut version) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$17,500,000 (estimated) |