The Exorcist III

After the desperately bad Exorcist 2: The Heretic, William Peter Blatty directed his adaptation of his own sequel to The Exorcist - the book Legion. Legion is the third in Blatty's 'Trilogy of Faith', following Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane (made in 1980 as The Ninth Configuration) and is beautifully adapted for the screen by Blatty himself. The film is written by a man who is obviously very well read and educated, the screenplay verges on the intellectual at times as the film is centred on Kinderman, a man who is highly intelligent and witty, the film never feels 'academic' in tone.

In Exorcist III, the film follows Lt Kinderman, who knows that the 'Gemini Killer' was executed eleven years ago, yet the gruesome murder of a young boy which follows the killer's modus operandi brings him back onto a case he thought closed and into a string of events that echo back to the exorcism of Reagan MacNeill. Visiting Father Dyer in hospital, Lt. Kinderman comes across 'Patient X' (played by both Brad Dourif and Jason Miller) in the maximum security psychiatric ward, who claims to be the Gemini killer and bears an uncanny resemblance to, and knowledge of, Father Damien Karras and the man who was executed over a decade ago.

Exorcist III is a different style of film from The Exorcist as there are only the characters of Lt. Kinderman and Father Dyer, plus Jason Miller's Father Karras, which link this to William Friedkin's masterpiece. Each refers fleetingly to the events in that film but this is more of a mystery/thriller with Lt. Kinderman at the hub than an outright horror. Lt. Kinderman is a great character with an excellent outlook on life, some great lines and his own lack of faith parallels that of Father Karras' in 'The Exorcist' and, indeed mine.

As a diehard Exorcist fan, the enforced casting changes were a little hard to swallow with George C. Scott, who took over from the late Lee J. Cobb and Ed Flanders taking over the role of Father Dyer from Reverend William O'Malley but Flanders and particularly Scott do such a good job in their roles that I quickly accepted the change in personnel. The only sour note is that the studio insisted on an exorcism to justify the title, and the appearance of a priest at the end to exorcise 'Patient X' which was not in the book feels tacked-on and unnecessary. Despite this, Blatty has adapted Legion very well for the screen and proves to be a more than capable director.


I must admit going into this with extreme trepidation, expecting the worst but hoping for the best so is really no surprise that I found it to be a much better film than I was expecting and, even after seeing it a few times since my initial viewing, realise that is is an exceptionally well made film and one that stands up to repeated viewings where you pick up something new each time. It isn't as good as The Exorcist, that much is pretty obvious, but it stands alone as a fine sequel to William Friedkin's film and one that just about manages to erase the memories of John Boorman's thoroughly dreadful Exorcist 2: The Heretic.

The Disc

Extra Features
Sadly, no commentary by Blatty, nor a retrospective or making of featurette so all you have is a theatrical trailer.

The Picture
The anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is nice and clear, with very good colour definition and contrast. William Peter Blatty clearly knows what to do with a camera and film crew and his direction is more than adequate with some extremely well orchestrated set pieces, particularly one in the hospital which will have most viewers temporarily leaving their seats!


The Sound
The soundtracks available are an English DD 5.1 mix and French 2.0 stereo. The DD 5.1 makes full use of all 6 channels, with the surrounds providing a perfect accompaniment to the jolting horror and the dialogue is clear and free from distortion. The French stereo track is also clear but it will miss the impact that the 5.1 sound allows, not to mention the actors and extremely weird speaking French.


Final Thoughts
After the abysmal Exorcist 2: The Heretic, in which John Boorman absolutely trashed most of the good work done by William Friedkin in 1973, William Peter Blatty (author of the original book and screenplay) thought it was time to set the record straight and make a proper sequel to the great 1973 horror film. He did, and this is a thought-provoking and truly involving horror film with some terrific set pieces, bloody violence (all contextualised) and remarkable dialogue between Kinderman and Patient X, who flicks unnervingly between Brad Dourif and Jason Miller so you're never quite sure whether he is a highly intelligent, but delusional psychopath or the possessed the body of father Karras who inexplicably survived the fall down the steps from Prospect Street.

Of the numerous Exorcist films that have been made, only two of them are worth watching: the first one and this. Paul Schrader's prequel does have its moments but it is really hamstrung by a terrible script and the fact that Renny Harlin had already trashed the project several months before. Whether you buy this film individually or brave it and go for the complete collection is up to you but this is one that any fan of The Exorcist will appreciate and grow to love.