With Exorcist II, Linda Blair Was Doomed to a Career of Cult Movies, Thank Goodness
Linda Blair died for your sins. Or, rather, Linda Blair's career died for your sins. After starring in The Exorcist all she wanted to do was ride horses and maybe star in a few light comedies. She took on a couple of highly-rated, hot topic TV movies, but everyone wanted her to do an Exorcist sequel. The audience -- we -- demanded it. The studio demanded it. Her accountants demanded it. And so Linda Blair did it. Not because she wanted to, but for us. And it destroyed her.
William Peter-Blatty refused to be involved in a sequel to one of the biggest box office hits of the time. So did the original director, William Friedkin. Ellen Burstyn declined to return. Jon Voight, David Carradine, Christopher Walken and Jack Nicholson all passed. Besides Blair, only Max von Sydow and Kitty Winn (who? she plays Blair's housekeeper) returned. Directed by John Boorman, the movie also featured Richard Burton, Paul Henreid (Casablanca), Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and James Earl Jones with music by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by William Fraker (Rosemary's Baby). Now, it's possible for one of these talented individuals to have a bad day, but the odds that they would all, simultaneously, turn in the worst work of their careers is nothing short of miraculous. Exorcist II: The Heretic is just that kind of miracle.
