David Kittredge’s documentary Boorman and the Devil explores the creation of the 1977 cinematic failure Exorcist II: The Heretic. The film examines director John Boorman's attempt to turn a horror sequel into a metaphysical study.
The 1977 collapse of Exorcist II: The Heretic
The 1977 release of Exorcist II: The Heretic is remembered as one of the most legendary duds of its decade, primarily because it ignored the expectations of its audience. According to the report, the film failed because it did not provide the "full-scale nasty horror blowout" that fans of the original The Exorcist were anticipating. By stripping away the primal terror and the gruesome shock value that defined the first movie, John Boorman created a product that became a laughingstock rather than a scare.
This disconnect highlights a recurring tension in cinema history between the vision of an "auteur" and the demands of a franchise. When a sequel pivots too sharply away from the core appeal of its predecessor,it often risks alienating the very base it needs to survive. In the case of Exorcist II: The Heretic, the shift from demonic possession to abstract philosophy proved fatal to its critical and commercial reception.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the cosmic hive mind
The creative catalyst for the film's strange direction was the work of French theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. As the report notes, Teilhard de Chardin believed that humanity was evolving toward a cosmic, telepathic hive mind. John Boorman attempted to translate these complex ideas of metaphysics and human evolution into a narrative framework for a horror sequel, a move that the documentary suggests was spectacularly misconceived.
By centering the plot on these high-concept evolutionary theories, John Boorman moved the story away from the visceral fear of the supernatural and toward a sterile, intellectual exercise. This transition turned a potential horror hit into a puzzling exploration of the human spirit that left audiences confused and dissatisfied.
John Boorman's 'pretentious' adherence to mythic ideas
The documentary Boorman and the Devil portrays John Boorman as a director in thrall to what are described as "third-rate 'mythic' ideas ." David Kittredge captures a director who remains remarkably steadfast in his belief in the film , even decades after its failure. The report suggests that Boorman's fortitude and lack of understanding regarding why the movie failed give the documentary a quality similar to a true-life Christopher Guest film, where the humor arises from the subject's own delusions of grandeur.
This blind spot is a central theme of the documentary. While John Boorman acknowledges that the lack of horror was a problem, he remains trapped in a "flaky" and "indulgent" perspective that prevents him from seeing the film's objective poor quality. This psychological disconnect transforms the story of a failed movie into a fascinating character study of artistic ego.
The missing logic behind Boorman's 'never repeated' techniques
One of the most intriguing elements of the documentary is the commentary from director Joe Dante, who observes that many of the techniques John Boorman used in Exorcist II: The Heretic were never repeated in cinema. However, the source does not specify which exact technical or stylistic choices Dante is referring to, leaving a gap in the technical analysis of the film's failure.
Furthermore, while the documentary features interviews with Boorman and other production staff, it remains unclear if the film provides a balanced view or if it leans primarily into the irony of the disaster. The report focuses on the "dishy" and "unintentionally funny" nature of the project, but it does not clrify if any of the original crew members strongly defend the film's artistic merits beyond Boorman himself.
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