Featuring a post-screening Q&A with director David Kittredge.

On paper, it made a ton of sense: Hire the red-hot John Boorman, who was coming off the successes of POINT BLANK (1967) and DELIVERANCE (1972), to make a sequel to William Friedkin’s critically adored 1973 box office horror juggernaut THE EXORCIST. In practice, however, the resulting film, 1977’s EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, turned out to be a disaster on every level. In the decades since, though, the tide has shifted a bit and the once-toxic sequel’s reputation has evolved. David Kittredge’s comprehensive and highly entertaining documentary BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL digs deep into the film’s promising origins, troubled production and overall complicated history with joyful aplomb, featuring candid interviews with Boorman and cast members Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher, as well as EXORCIST II apologists Mike Flanagan and Karyn Kusama. —Matt Barone