Hello Enthusiacs, no this is not the dark princess. For this week you are in the hands of the Lord of Shadow and today I bring into the light a movie that took whatever dignity The Exorcist had and destroyed it.

The Exorcist is one of the greatest horror movies ever made. The effects were ground breaking to say the least. In fact it could be argued that it was the effects that made the film so damn scary. Be honest who didn’t jump when her head spun 360? The story was simple and that’s why it worked. Woman possessed by a demon and needing an exorcism. That’s it full stop.

Add to that amazing acting particularly from Linda Blair who was very young given the talent she displayed.

Making a sequel to the 1973 hit wasn’t an impossible task, however seeing as it was based on a book based on an actually person (a young man from Maryland in 1949) it’s at the very least tone deaf.

However this is Hollywood so of course 4 years after the original we got this. The worst thing to happen to a franchise since the Highlander went to Zeist!

We begin this movie with huge mistake and that would be no input from the writer or director of the original. There was a good reason for this however. The Director for this film John Boorman said he didn’t want another Exorcist movie saying the first film was “Repulsive” and bare in mind this is the guy who made Zardos!

Richard Burton and Linda Blair were famously drunk or stoned on most of the days shooting however told no one until the shoot was over as Linda was only 16 at the time. The movie focuses way to much on the demon from the first film who is now given a name Pazuzu.

Pazuzu is based upon an Aztec demon Gargoyle by the same name. In the original novel Pazuzu is always known to be the demon that possessed young Reagan however in the original film Pazuzu’s name is never said. That comes in this film. The problem with this is that by focusing on the past of the demon we loose the fear of it we once had. We know to much about it for it to have that fear of the unknown that worked so well in the first film.

The film also makes the bizarre choice to make locust the symbol of the demon even thought looking at Christian Mythology the Locust was always the symbol of God’s might over man, so it is a mixing of symbols that just serves to confuse the viewer, plus James Earl Jones dressed as a locust is one of the funniest things you will see in this film.

The sad part is by the end nothing is really resolved. Father Marren is still seen as a heretic and we can assume Lamont (played by Burton) is as well. The effects are nowhere near the first one particularly the demon effects as Mercedes McCambridge did not return as the demon’s voice and Blair refused to wear the make up and prosthetics from the original films. They don’t quite fit together do they? This is what happens when you hire a man who despised a film to make it’s sequel. You end up getting a bizarre movie more about African locust than about demonic possession. It has good visuals in the set designs but that doesn’t help to distract you from the flaws in the film. The only good acting comes from James Earl Jones as Burton is clearly to drunk to care and Balir is just shocked she found a role with less dignity that the teacher in Zapped Again!

Until next time I am the Lord of Shadow reminding you no matter how bright the light the shadow remains.

Stay Scared

Vega Goose