[ManInKhakiExorcist]

Gosh, I’d LOVE to see the origin of Paz. And truly, finally, CGI special effects would finally have their place of honor (yes, HONOR) in the Exorcist film saga. 😛

But seriously, I’d hope for something as epic-in-scope and harrowing as the opening moments of THE PROPHECY (starring Christopher Effin’ Walken). I can’t think of a more graceful, believable (or passable) “Heaven” battle in cinema.

Just keep it out of Morgan Creek’s hands, unless Blatty’s in charge or producing, and Jim Robinson is on some kind of leash (or elsewhere, anywhere!). Then the film could in fact survive the conceptual level and go on to storytelling, if not finanical, success!

EXORCIST: SATAN CROWNED

EXORCIST: REQUIEM

EXORCIST: THE FALL

M.I.K.E.

[Tyler Durden]

I thought T2 was SO much Better that the Original!!!….Jaws 2 though…well I’ll have to think about that…at this time and moment J1 Was better….but J2 was also very good….hmmmmmmm

[Father Fletcher]

Joining the discussion a little late BUT – hands down The Exorcist ’73 is THE BEST of the bunch. I haven’t seen Heretic – the trailer alone put me off! – It looks dreadful, though I am tempted to buy a cheap 93p copy off Amazon 🙂

*Can anyone rate Heretic?! I hear the UK VHS version (in the WB 90s Horror/Terror series in the closest to a true/desired cut of the film – at least I hear it is better quality than the DVD!)*

Even the commentaries on the 25th Edition DVD are great. Friedkin’s commnentary on TVYNS is a bit pointless (BUT lets be honest – what else can he say that he hasn’t already covered in the 25th commentary?!).

Jaws 2?! Was ist du joking?! JAWS again. 70s films are by far the best – the only time when Hollywood directors had true creative freedom.

& oddly enough the majority of films that everyone STILL talks about – come from the 70s!! ~ Like The Exorcist, Jaws, The Godfather, Star Wars etc

[Greg]

Jaws is the best of the bunch OF COURSE, but Jaws 2 is no Heretic. J2 was the first sequel that wasn’t part of episodic serials or a conclusion to a cliffhanger ending to get it right and most of the people who worked on the 1st did J2 as well. Besides, Jaws 2 was made in the 70’s, so was the Heretic but I’ll assume that wasn’t the point you were making.

[GhettoExorcist]

I think the real tragedy of Exorcist II is it could have been a truly great followup to The Exorcist. It has all the elements.Continuation of characters,characters have had time to mature,an incredible backstory. The writer just had too many ideas and a horrible way(the synch machine)to go about them.

There are very few sequels that match or surpass the original.

T2
Aliens
Empire Strikes Back
Spiderman 2
Dawn of the Dead
Army Of Darkness
Revenge of the Sith
Saw 2
Return of the King

And of course Breakin 2:Electric Boogaloo

[Father Fletcher]

Can anyone actually rate Heretic as worth seeing? ~ I saw the trailer on the 25th Exorcist DVD & just thought it looked terrible in comparison to the 73 film.

If anything Heretic looks like it was made earlier in the 70s & before “The Exorcist” – even though this is clearly not the case :-/

I am tempted to get a cheap VHS copy of Heretic off Amazon – can anyone recommend it as worth a watch? – Have seen rest of Exorcist series – can’t be any worse than ETB! Lol!

[granville1]

I agree – Heretic did have an embarrassing, unintentional “retro” look.

Moreover, I could never rate Heretic as worth seeing, except as an example of how far off the rails a film can slide. The only parts with any promise were the Von Sydow-Merrin sequences, but under John Boorman’s direction, even these were abysmally stupid. Boorman should have retired in shameful self-exile for visiting upon the world this utter rape of Blatty’s characters.

Those who say it’s worth watching for unintentional laughs miss the point. As an “Exorcist” film, Heretic bore the honor and responsibility of representing the original’s intentions and subject matter. A weighty but exalted, even lofty, role.

However, Boorman is on record as having _despised_ the Blatty-Friedkin film, which speaks volumes about why Heretic is so bad, and reveals the colossal stupidity of hiring an Exorcist-hating nutbar to direct an Exorcist film. Boorman _thought_ he was making a “serious” film, and fans – and audiences generally – were expecting such. Boorman’s hubris is jaw-dropping. To sit in the Blatty-Friedkin chair is an honor. Yet Boorman considered it a shame, and he rapaciously set out to “correct” all the “flaws” that he perceived in the original film, thereby nearly trashing the then-young “franchise”. What a loser! And what a loss to potentially meaningful, artful, and creative filmmaking. I often wonder if those who think Heretic is acceptable because it’s unintentionally awful really care deeply about Exorcist themes, characters, and ideas. I say this because the uniqueness of the original film demands a purity of vision and subtlety of execution that the Boorman film completely lacks. Heretic is a film that should never have been made. No excuses. Period. Its carrion stench offends even Pazuzu.

[ManInKhakiExorcist]

Amen, Granville, amen.

Boy do I wish they’d just remove THE HERETIC and EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING and start a competing series of Exorcist films, leaving the good ones completely alone. THAT’S the way to sell these movies, Morgan Creek and WB! Some people want silliness, others want seriousness. Separate the films. They’re different as night and day. This “Anthology” DVD set coming out could have been your chance. Maybe next time, when this set fails to really sell. Or maybe I’m wrong; it could sell. Hmmmm…

Note: THE EXORCIST III could join the Boorman and Harlin film’s; it is, after all, a film soiled and dumbed-down by Morgan Creek, thanks to that shoe-horned exorcism-for-scares. Needless to say, Blatty’s original — even if just the confirmed VHS rough cut with unfinished effects, etc, a film affectionately known as LEGION or LEGION 1.0 — should join the Friedkin and Schrader films.

C’mon, Morgan Creek and WB — two different trilogies, each with versions of LEGION and the prequel.

M.I.K.E.

[granville1]

Thanks MIKE for your comments. Yeah, the truly _great_ Exorcist movie has yet to be made, i.e., a film that would rival the original. Tall order, I doubt it can be done.

[BadLocust77]

Father Fletcher –

As the only apparent Heretic fan on this board, I heartily recommend seeing it! I’m late for work, but later tonight I will post all my thoughts on this…

[hammer horror]

Many fans seems to like Dominion, but when I saw the DVD I got really, really disappointed… I think it is a really bad movie, whatever are its hidden meanings. But this is of course a matter of taste. For me there is only one movie: The Exorcist… I can live without the rest.

[Jenny]

Undeniably T2 was way superior than T1 just as T3 was a pile of flop! But I just mean the paradox of the whole thing.

[Jenny]

I posted that not realising that there was 2 pages! But I still stand by it! And Heretic is not that bad but not brill either. And I thought Rich Burton was so wooden it was laughable!
Linda really seemed to enjoy herself more in that one though!

[CLiK]

No other film has effected me in the same way as what did the original exorcist! the sequals don’t even come close to it.

[Buda]

No other film has effected me in the same way as what did the original exorcist! the sequals don’t even come close to it

I agree, although Heretic is worth having because Linda is so hot and sexy especially in the scene where Pazuzu is manifested as her on the bed. I know that I would have given in to temptation immediately even though I would burn in hell with the demons it would be well worth it.

[Author]

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