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 into the chief protagonist. Though the characters of Karras and Kinderman were acquainted during the murder investigation in "The Exorcist" and Kinderman expressed fondness for Karras, in "Exorcist III" Blatty has Kinderman remembering Karras as his "best friend". Jason Miller reprised his Academy Award-nominated role in "The Exorcist" for this film. Because of the studio's dissatisfaction with Schrader's version of the prequel (see "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist"), Renny Harlin was then hired as director to retool the movie. Harlin reused some of Schrader's footage but shot mostly new material to create a more conventional horror film. Harlin's new version