Boorman and the Devil

Play trailer

Boorman and the Devil

Now Playing

1h 52m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

61 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Filmmaker John Boorman seizes the opportunity to direct "Exorcist II: The Heretic," but the movie's disappointing reception from critics and fans nearly ends his career. Includes interviews with Boorman and actresses Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher.

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

Critics Consensus

A fascinating, candid testament to the passionate excesses of 1970s filmmaking, Boorman and the Devil delivers a lively and funny autopsy of one of Hollywood's most infamous failures.

Read Critics Reviews

Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

Sep 30, 2026

David Kittredge is a brilliant storyteller.

Go to Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Sep 24, 2026

4/5

David Kittredge gives us a thoroughly enjoyable, detailed account of the catastrophe that was John Boorman’s 1977 film Exorcist II: The Heretic, the deeply ill-conceived and widely derided follow-up to The Exorcist.

Go to Full Review

David Hughes

Time Out

Sep 16, 2026

5/5

Kittredge’s film comes neither to bury The Exorcist II: The Heretic nor to praise it. It allows Boorman to exorcise his own demons about the film... But it offers the audience so much more: a fascinating, funny and fully riveting film.

Go to Full Review

Jeremy Aspinall

Radio Times

1 day ago

4/5

A rich vein of anecdotes from Blair, Fletcher and Boorman himself - candid yet philosophical about the ambitious production that nearly ended his career - are insightful, entertaining and funny.

Go to Full Review

John Stark

Mac the Movie Guy

5 days ago

89/100

Fascinating. Sometimes the movies that don’t work give us the best stories to tell about how films are made.

Go to Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Oct 1, 2026

3.5/5

Although it sometimes fails to balance laughing at and lauding "Exorcist II: The Heretic," the documentary finds what works in its details.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Meggie

2 days ago

If you love movies, you will love BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL. It is a wild tale told by eyewitnesses who still wonder, half a century on, “what the hell happened?” on a road paved with such talent and good intentions.

See more

Kenneth G

4 days ago

I actually liked The Exorcist II, and certainly enjoyed this doc, but it's more so about the director. This did make me cave, and I've since bought Zardoz on VHS! 📼

See more

Michael S

@RT91783922 Sep 6, 2026

Since I was a child, I've loved "making of" documentaries. But "Boorman and the Devil" is much more than a mere "making of." It's an autopsy—no, a forensic autopsy—on what many regard one of the greatest major film production disasters in history: "Exorcist II: The Heretic." More than that, though, it's simultaneously a kind of whodunnit, a cautionary tale, and a tour of the inner workings of this complex amusement park called the film industry in the 1970s. I was "in" within the first five minutes of the film as the narrative began to slowly work out the who, what, where, when, and why of that masterpiece of film flops, "Exorcist II." This is the documentary film you didn't know you had to see, and now that you know, you have to see it.

See more

B P

@Bradster69 Aug 30, 2026

New Documentary Compels You To Appreciate A Much-Maligned Horror Sequel

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

David Kittredge

Director

John Boorman

Self

Linda Blair

Self

Louise Fletcher

Self

Mike Flanagan

Self

Karyn Kusama

Self

View more photos

Synopsis

Filmmaker John Boorman seizes the opportunity to direct "Exorcist II: The Heretic," but the movie's disappointing reception from critics and fans nearly ends his career. Includes interviews with Boorman and actresses Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher.

Director: David Kittredge
Producer: Jim Fall, David Kittredge, Travis Stevens
Screenwriter: David Kittredge
Distributor: Yellow Veil Pictures
Production Co: Snowfort Pictures, Milton Ventures Media
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 52m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings