Legendary director William Friedkin, unfortunately, passed away last week, leaving behind a lasting impact on the entertainment industry. The director delivered some outstanding cinematic masterpieces that earned numerous prestigious awards. One of his most iconic films is believed to be 1973’s The Exorcist. Loosely based on true events, the movie managed to send chills down the spine of every single viewer.
With the standard being set so high, director John Boorman took the responsibility of creating a sequel to the masterpiece. Despite assembling a star-studded cast, the movie was a complete disaster. Friedkin even had a few harsh words to describe how terrible Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) was.
Also read: ‘The Exorcist’ Director William Friedkin, Oscar Winner, Passes Away at 87
William Friedkin called this movie the “worst piece of s**t” he has ever seen
Four years after the release of director William Friedkin‘s Horror/Thriller, The Exorcist, director John Boorman decided to create one of the worst horror films of all time in an attempt to make a sequel to The Exorcist. In fact, it was so bad that William Friedkin couldn’t watch it for more than 40 minutes. Friedkin, who passed away on 7th August 2023, once appeared on an episode of The Movies That Made Me podcast and talked about the sequel,
“I was at the Technicolor lab, color timing something, and one of the timers said, ‘We just finished Exorcist II. Would you like to have a look at it?’ I sat through maybe 40 minutes of it. It’s the worst piece of s**t I’ve ever seen. It’s a f***ing disgrace.”
Not just Friedkin but almost everyone who went to watch that movie complained about how terrible it was. On a budget of $15 million, the movie managed to earn roughly $30 million at the global box office.
Why was Exorcist II: The Heretic so bad?
One of the main reasons why Exorcist II: The Heretic performed horribly was because it couldn’t live up to the standards that were set by Friedkin’s The Exorcist. The film featured a star-studded cast that included some big Hollywood names like Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Paul Henreid, and James Earl Jones, but these stars couldn’t do anything as the main concern was the plot of the movie.
It is often stated that the plot of the movie is hard to follow as the narrative jumps between different timelines and locations. Along with some production issues, the film also lacked the horror element. All these factors contributed to its reputation as one of the worst horror films of all time.
Source: Far Out Magazine
