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On this page: BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 11.Jun.26

Boorman and the Devil
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

Uchronia
dir-scr David Kittredge
prd Jim Fall, David Kittredge, Travis Stevens
with John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Rospo Pallenberg, Joe Dante, Karyn Kusama, Mike Flanagan, Garrett Brown, Ronald L Vargas Jr, Doug Pentek, Melissa Skoff, Victor Hsu
release US Aug.26
25/US 1h52

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Because it works on several levels, this documentary finds remarkable resonance as it explores one of Hollywood's biggest box office bombs. While director David Kittredge traces The Exorcist's notorious 1977 sequel The Heretic, he also offers an involving profile of groundbreaking filmmaker John Boorman. And perhaps even more powerful is the exploration of a point in movie history when studios encouraged artists to take very big swings.

After his artistic and popular success with Point Blank and Deliverance, Boorman was asked to make a sequel to box office champ The Exorcist. But he was uninterested in doing a rehash. Then he discovered that The Heretic was something different, a challenging story to tell. This also drew actress Linda Blair back to her iconic rols, plus recent Oscar winner Louise Fletcher and the legendary Richard Burton. The lavish production was eventful, busting both the budget and shooting schedule, but everyone thought they had something special here. Critics and audiences strongly begged to differ.

Pointedly, the retitled Exorcist II The Heretic bears no resemblance to its predecessor, less a horror movie than a big-budget dive into spiritualism, so surreal that people found it laughably absurd. In a wonderful extended interview, Boorman discusses his frustration that audiences only wanted more of the same. But he also acknowledges how the project went off the rails.

Blair and Fletcher are equally engaging as they infuse their comments with wit, knowingly nodding to the film's wackiness while also remembering how much fun they had making it. "I mean, I got to work with Richard Burton," Blair says. Kittredge also fills the screen with amusing animation (locusts are everywhere, naturally) and hilarious anecdotes that add colour to every stage of the film's production. He also traces Boorman's entire career, smiling at Sean Connery's Zardoz (1974) mankini while highlighting underrated masterpieces like Hope and Glory (1987) and The General (1998), as well as other filmmakers from his generation.

It's fascinating to see The Heretic in this kind of context, especially its impact on Boorman's next film, the hit Arthurian epic Excalibur (1981). There's never an attempt to convince us that The Heretic needs to be reconsidered as a serious movie, but this documentary does champion its significance. And that maybe we shouldn't dismiss the pure intent and proper artistry that goes into making even the biggest flops in movie history. Venice

themes, language, violence 5.Jun.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL