While The Exorcist is remembered as one of the most iconic horror films ever made, its sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic, is not thought of quite so fondly. But director David Kittredge wants to pull back the curtain on the famously troubled follow-up with his new film Boorman and the Devil, which just released a trailer investigating the Excalibur director’s work on “one of the biggest disasters in movie history.”
Boorman and the Devil features appearances from The Exorcist star Linda Blair and Boorman himself, along with horror filmmakers like Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Joe Dante, and Mike Flanagan. The film’s synopsis is as follows:
After the success of POINT BLANK and DELIVERANCE, Warner Brothers offered John Boorman the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to direct a sequel to their smash hit, THE EXORCIST. The result was one of the biggest disasters in movie history. A critical and financial failure that not only changed how Hollywood did business, but nearly ended Boorman’s filmmaking career… but to be an artist is to be a risk-taker. Now, John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Joe Dante, Mike Flanagan, and more reflect back on the ambition of the film, the artistry and craft, and the value of big creative swings.
“I am beyond thrilled that Yellow Veil has come on board to help us share this story with a larger audience,” says Kittredge. “Like myself and the rest of our team, they’re huge cinema-lovers. It’s so exciting that a film which is not only a love letter to John Boorman, but also to ambitious filmmaking, will be handled by people who share the same passions that our team shares. I miss big, ambitious filmmaking that takes huge risks.”
Kittredge also serves as editor on the film, which he produces alongside Travis Stevens and Jim Fall. While the film serves as his documentary debut, he also produced and edited the Shudder series Queer for Fear alongside Bryan Fuller.
“In 1977, John Boorman took an enormous creative and commercial swing with THE HERETIC which didn’t connect with almost anybody at the time,” he continues, “But now we can look back and appreciate how big creative swings are what going to the movies is all about. Boorman is one of the greatest filmmakers that has ever stepped behind a camera, and I’m so happy to be telling the story of the one film that not only nearly destroyed him, but forever changed the way he made films.”
Boorman and the Devil opens in theaters in New York City on August 28, before expanding to more cities on September 4.
