The Exorcist III (1990, William Peter Blatty)

We've all bared witness to the horror masterpiece that is The Exorcist. Given the supernatural material from the brilliant novel by William Peter Blatty, director William Friedkin still managed to somehow ground the film in a somewhat reality.

Come four years later, we got sucker punched with Exorcist II: The Heretic, one of the worst sequels ever put to film. Yet to everyone’s bafflement, the great Martin Scorsese seems to prefer this to this original.  

Needless to say I walked into this (like most) simply expecting an improvement upon the sequel. Yet to my surprise, what I got was a terrific dark thriller on a demented serial killer.

Focusing mostly on the gruelling investigations of the Gemini killer, who supposedly died fifteen years prior. The killer targets those only who bear a name beginning with the letter 'K', removes the victim's head and replaces it with the head of a Jesus statue... along with a few other "neat" trademarks. 

The murders here are all beyond atrocious, yet these atrocities which are being implied are left entirely to our imagination. Which to me, is a far more effective approach. You simply forget you're watching an Exorcist sequel, were it not for the finale. It in fact seems very much like a predecessor to the film Seven in style.  

However the film really gets into gear when it's discovered that a "patient x" has been in a facility for 17 years, and is now claiming to be the Gemini killer. To Kinderman's bewilderment, he's the spitting image of his old friend Father Karras, who died jumping out of a window amidst an exorcism. Thus making for some of the best scenes in the film. 

The great George C Scott (Patton/Hardcore) who's perfectly seasoned for this role, plays detective Kinderman, on the hunt for the killer. He brings a terrific sense of realism to the film and perfectly embodying the character from the novel.

Scott is given some terrific dialogue to play with here, mostly alongside his longtime friend Father Dyer. These two get together every year to watch It's a Wonderful Life and their casual dialogue is ever so entertaining and realistic. You really get the sense that these characters have known each other for ages. 

Then of course there's the Gemini killer, played by the voice of Chucky himself, Brad Dourif, who gives his best performance since Wise Blood. His rants in this film are utterly piercing, enough to give you chills down your spine.  

In terms of gore factor and special effects, these are kept to a bare minimum (save for the finale). What we're left with is a dark and clinical take on a sadistic serial killer. Just hearing detective Kinderman describe these heinousness crimes to his friend and the expressions upon his face is way more unsettling than if we were to have these crimes shown to us. 

In addition to the horrific crimes occurring, another terrifying aspect here is the sense that not even when on "hallowed" grounds are we safe. And of course there is the means of which these crimes are taking place, to which of course I will not spoil. 

It's important to note that originally, this wasn't even intended as an Exorcist film. Yes, it is based on the novel Legion (the original title of the film) which is the direct sequel to the Exorcist novel, however the tone was a complete shift in gears.

Director William Peter Blatty (The Ninth Configuration) who had also written the novel Legion and the original Exorcist novel, was forced to change the title of the film, add a few extra scenes, ended the film with an exorcism and slapped on a very Exorcist themed trailer. Thus cashing in the the seemingly ended franchise. You know... the usual.

Yet surprisingly, the overall outcome is excellent. It's tightly directed, suspense driven, well edited and the sound design here is exceptional. Not to mention creating one of the greatest jump scares of all time (hallway scene).

In short, don't make the same mistake I did and think this is just some cheap exorcist cash-in sequel. If you're a fan of dark crime films, possibly with some supernatural elements, then take my word for it, this forgotten under-rated gem will surprise the hell out of you. (pun intended).

Rating:  B+

Click here for the trailer