2 & 3 Exorcised

Friedkin & Blatty's original Exorcist film is a right hoot and quite memorable. The sequel has a terrible reputation so I thought, as I've watched so much shit of late, I should see just how bad it really is.
Turns out it's pretty awful. Linda Blair returns as a teenage Reagan living a seemingly ordinary life except for some truly bonkers 70's therapy she's undergoing. Anyways all is thrown into chaos when Richard Burton turns up as an investigating priest and they use a hypnosis machine to mind meld accidentally reawakening Pazuzu's influence. Despite looking nice it's a bucket load of tosh with a guff script, nonsensical plot and some half hearted performances particularly from Burton who looks and acts medicated throughout. It's never scary and there's only a few mild chuckles to be had at it's terribleness. John Boorman has definitely done better.

The third film is written and directed by William Peter Blatty himself and he does manage a scare or too even though its more of a cop thriller than anything else. It's got a strong cast including the excellent George C. Scott, Brad Dourif and two actors Scott Wilson & Ed Flanders who appeared in Blatty's other film The Ninth Configuration. Anyways George C. is investigating a murder that appears connected to the original exorcism and gets drawn into some spooky shenanigans. It's a decent enough film with a sharp script and though it's still not a patch on the first it's certainly more enjoyable than the second.