Exorcist II: The Heretic

Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by John Boorman and written by William Goodhart. It stars Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Paul Henreid, and James Earl Jones. It is a sequel to William Friedkin's 1973 film The Exorcist based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty. The sequel is set four years after The Exorcist, and centers on a now 16-year-old Regan MacNeil who is still recovering from her previous demonic possession.

The film was a critical failure at the time of its release. The Heretic is often considered not just the worst film in the series, but one of the worst films of all time. It was the last film to feature veteran actor Paul Henreid.

Plot

Philip Lamont, a priest struggling with his faith, attempts to exorcise a possessed South American girl who claims to "heal the sick". However, the exorcism goes wrong and a lit candle sets fire to the girl's dress, killing her. Afterwards, Lamont is assigned by the Cardinal to investigate the death of Father Lankester Merrin, who had been killed four years prior in the course of exorcising the Assyrian demon Pazuzu from Regan MacNeil. The Cardinal informs Lamont (who has had some experience at exorcism, and has been exposed to Merrin's teachings) that Merrin is up on posthumous heresy charges due to his controversial writings. Apparently, Church authorities are trying to modernize and do not want to acknowledge that Satan as an actual evil entity exists.

The Heretic

The Heretic may refer to:

Nostalgia Critic

Nostalgia Critic is an American comedy webseries created, written, edited, directed and performed by Doug Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube in July 2007 before moving to Walker's own site That Guy with the Glasses, then to Channel Awesome. The show follows Walker as the titular Nostalgia Critic, a bitter and sarcastic film critic who reviews films and television shows from his childhood and recent past, usually with comically exaggerated rage. The show often alternates the Critic's angry rants and juvenile humor with legitimate analysis of the episode's subject.

Walker briefly retired the series in August 2012 to work on other projects, even writing the character out of existence in the Channel Awesome film To Boldly Flee. However, on January 23, 2013, Walker announced the show's imminent return in a narrative video called "The Review Must Go On". The show subsequently returned with a more narrative and sketch-driven sixth season, beginning on February 5, 2013 with a review of The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

Exorcist

In some religions, an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist. An exorcist is a person who performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, or (sometimes) a building or even an object.

Exorcists in various religions

Catholicism

In a Roman Catholic context, exorcist may refer to a cleric who has been ordained into the minor order of exorcist, or a priest who has been mandated to perform the rite of solemn exorcism.

The Minor Order of Exorcist

Since at least the third century, the Latin Church has formally ordained men to the minor order of exorcist. Text previously attributed to a fourth Council of Carthage in 398, now identified as a collection called Statuta Ecclesiæ Antiqua, prescribes in its seventh canon the rite of ordination of such an exorcist: the bishop is to give him the book containing the formulae of exorcism, saying, "Receive, and commit to memory, and possess the power of imposing hands on energumens, whether baptized or catechumens".

Linda Blair

Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the film The Exorcist (1973), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe. She reprised her role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977).

Youth and beginnings

Blair was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was raised in Westport, Connecticut. She began her career as a 6-year-old child model and started acting with a regular role on the short-lived Hidden Faces (1968–69) daytime soap opera. Her first theatrical film appearance was in The Way We Live Now (1970). Blair was selected from a field of 600 applicants for her most notable role as Regan in The Exorcist (1973). The role earned her a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination. She reprised her role in the sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), garnering a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress of 1978. Between these two films, she appeared in Born Innocent (1974),Airport 1975 (1974), Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) and Sweet Hostage (1975) opposite Martin Sheen.