Directed by: John Boorman
Starring: Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Kitty Wynn, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty, Max von Sydow
When Exorcist II was released, it was pulled from theaters and re-edited twice. The movie feels like it was hacked to death in the editing room. Scenes and characters don't connect. Actions and motives of characters are inexplicable. I don't know what the movie was like before the cuts, but I doubt it could've been this confused.
I'll explain the plot and try to make sense of it as best I can. Father Lamont (Burton) is assigned by the church to investigate the death of Father Merron (von Sydow), who died during the exorcism of the demon that possessed Regan McNeil (Blair) in the original film. It is explained the investigation is to prove whether the exorcism did any good. It didn't. Regan is under the care of a psychologist (Fletcher) while her mother is shooting a film on location. This accounts for Ellen Burstyn's absence from the sequel. After performing a mind meld of sorts (borrowing from Star Trek terminology) with a strobe light that makes moaning sounds, Father Lamont realizes that Regan is possessed by another demon named Pazuzu (or was he the demon all along?). This demon was first discovered by Father Merron when he was performing exorcisms in Africa. In one scene, Father Lamont is able to travel telepathically to Africa to witness Pazuzu arriving with a swarm of locusts. Lamont does this from the point of view of a locust, so if you ever wanted to know what a day in the life of a locust is like, here's your movie.
He then visits Africa in search of Kokumo (Jones), a tribal leader who apparently can assist in exorcising Pazuzu from Regan. When we meet Kokumo, he is a tribal leader, but then in the next scene he is revealed to actually be a scientist who studies locusts and has successfully isolated a "good locust" whose wings haven't brushed with the others. Or something like that. It is never made clear who Kokumo actually is. Perhaps this connection is lost as the result of the severe editing. It seems the locusts are symbolic of the conflict going on within Regan. Or something like that.
Regan, sensing Father Lamont is in trouble or will be, steals the mind meld strobelight and performs another mind meld with him in a run-down motel room. How did she get there and how did she pay for it? Who knows. The mind-meld puts Lamont in a trance which leads he and Regan to their old house in Washington, DC where the original exorcism took place. They are followed by the psychologist and Regan's caretaker, Sharon (Wynn), who seems kind of iffy. She reminded me of the nanny in The Omen who committed suicide publicly at Damien's birthday party.
I won't reveal what happens there, except that things blow up and bodies fly around. Yes, the locust swarm makes a guest appearance as well. Strangely, the neighbors don't acknowledge the ruckus until well after it's over and the characters have said their goodbyes.
What do we have here? A chopped-up film that takes a superhuman effort to make sense of. Richard Burton is intense and we have many closeups of his intense look, but I was worried he was going to blow a gasket. Linda Blair channels the sweet Regan from the first film and her powers are only hinted at. It's amusing to hear Fletcher's character mock the possibility of evil demons when she has all the evidence that one exists. And where did she get that strobelight thingy? Max von Sydow reprises his role as Father Merron in flashbacks where we see the blanks filled in on his exorcism experiences. His scenes ultimately aren't really necessary, but at least they weren't left on the cutting room floor. Maybe this entire project was doomed from the start.
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