The Exorcist (film series) her review in "The New Yorker" that "Exorcist II" "had more visual magic than a dozen movies." Since "Exorcist II's" initial release, some notable critics and directors have praised the film. Kim Newman wrote in "Nightmare Movies" (1988) that "it doesn't work in all sorts of ways... However, like Ennio Morricone's mix of tribal and liturgical music, it does manage to be very interesting." Director Martin Scorsese asserted, "The picture asks: Does great goodness bring upon itself great evil? This goes back to the Book of Job; it's God testing the good. In this sense, Regan (Linda Blair) is a
The Exorcist (film) her to be hospitalized and ultimately taken out of consideration. Denise Nickerson, who played Violet Beauregarde in "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," was considered, but the material troubled her parents too much, and they pulled her out of consideration. Anissa Jones, known for her role as Buffy in "Family Affair," auditioned for the role, but she too was rejected, for much the same reason as Ferdin. The part went instead to Blair, a relative unknown until the film's success. The question of whether or not such a young actress, even a talented one, could carry the film on her