Boorman And The Devil

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Movie Info & Cast

Release Date:

Aug 28, 2026

Runtime:

1hr 52m

Synopsis

After directing Point Blank and Deliverance, John Boorman was offered to direct The Exorcist II. The film became a massive failure, nearly ending his career. Years later, cast and filmmakers discuss its ambition and artistic value.
Moviegoers are saying
This documentary about John Boorman's infamous 'Exorcist II: The Heretic' emerges as a surprisingly moving portrait of artistic ambition meeting catastrophic failure. Critics praise it as a worthy companion to legendary behind-the-scenes documentaries like 'Hearts of Darkness,' with Boorman's candid, wounded interviews serving as the emotional centerpiece that transforms what could have been a simple production retrospective into something genuinely affecting.
Top Mentions
Behind-The-Scenes
Artistic-Redemption
Filmmaking-Tragedy
Director-Portrait
Production-Hell
Cinematic-Medicine
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.8
3.9K
1.7K
1.4K
RATINGS 2 FANS
3.8
  • Sep 27, 2026

    I love a reinterpretation on a film that was maligned because of it's pedigree and the production house(Warner) wanting to put out a sequel. Even though this relies on a lot of talking heads(That are important to the narrative) I feel that David Kittredge portrays this…

    233 Likes
    pirateneckbeard
    pirateneckbeard
    Jan 9, 2026

    John Boorman disliked The Exorcist and so set out to create an anti-Exorcist when he was hired to direct the sequel. The results were literally laughed off the screen - but now, decades later, I think the consensus on Exorcist II: The Heretic has shifted to some mix of…

    206 Likes
    Will Sloan
    Will Sloan
    Sep 5, 2026

    Look this is a glorified special feature but it's a really good one, EXORCIST II rules, and Boorman does his interview with Excalibur in frame.

    183 Likes
    matt lynch
    matt lynch
  •
    Jul 19, 2026

    My favorite kind of documentary.

    175 Likes
    Sean Fennessey
    Sean Fennessey
    Sep 27, 2026

    53 Not the most engrossing documentary but certainly worth your while just to hear John Boorman talk shop. Made me want to re-watch Zardoz.

    106 Likes
    SilentDawn
    SilentDawn
    Oct 10, 2026

    Fascinating deep dive into when one of the cinema’s greatest directors, an excellent cast, and amazing filmmakers set out to make a good movie, get sidetracked along the way, and end up with something ambitiously unpopular.

    43 Likes
    Dr Michael Awesome
    Dr Michael Awesome
  •
    Oct 6, 2026

    AN UNFORTUNATE EXPOSURE to Michael Medved’s The Golden Turkey Awards at a tender age tainted my perception of Exorcist II: The Heretic. While the book’s snarky attacks on cult treasures like Scream Blacula Scream and the entire oeuvre of Ed Wood expose it as the work of a…

    67 Likes
    Carl Russo
    Carl Russo
    Oct 6, 2026

    A timely, emotional, and feverishly engaging doc that reminds us of the fine line between success and failure, especially when risk and ambition are the driving forces. Fortune favors the bold. Sometimes. While we often hear that Hollywood isn't willing to take risks…

    64 Likes
    Sofa Sinema
    Sofa Sinema
    Oct 10, 2026

    "I think Richard Burton's face was a perfect place for locusts." Part affectionate retrospective, part behind the scenes gossip pileup, David Kittredge's documentary chronicling the making of and release of "Exorcist II: The Heretic" offers a detailed snapshot of the…

    34 Likes
    Kyle Jobin 🙈
    Kyle Jobin 🙈

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

79
metacritic
Based on 13 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
100
Sep 15, 2026

While this documentary spends plenty of time on the troubled production of The Exorcist II, it really plays more like a love letter to Boorman as a director. It captures the struggles directors go through, the workarounds they rely on, and how they deal with failure.

Metacritic review by Rick Hong
Rick Hong
Film Threat
67
Aug 31, 2026

Depending on one’s point of view, that is either self-satisfied indifference to reality or the blind stubbornness required to get any work of art made, even a bad one. Over-zealous and somewhat chintzily produced, “Boorman and the Devil” probably comes down a bit too firmly on the latter perspective. But even those who don’t buy it will nevertheless appreciate this rollicking tale of creative catastrophe.

Metacritic review by Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
The Playlist
75
Aug 28, 2026

There’s humor and heart in this often delusional doc that tries to reframe John Boorman’s 50-year-old sequel to “The Exorcist” as a lost masterpiece. Nah. But this anatomy of a flop is powered by something no bad reviews can ever destroy—movie love.

Peter Travers
The Travers Take

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Boorman And The Devil (2026)?
The movie is 1hr 52min long.
What's Boorman And The Devil (2026) about?
After directing Point Blank and Deliverance, John Boorman was offered to direct The Exorcist II. The film became a massive failure, nearly ending his career. Years later, cast and filmmakers discuss its ambition and artistic value.