The Exorcist III Movie

William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, directed this intriguing, deliberately-paced thriller based on his novel Legion. Ignoring the events of John Boorman's disappointing Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), the film moves ahead 15 years from the end of the original, when Georgetown is being plagued by occult murders bearing signs of the long-dead Gemini Killer, James Venamon (Brad Dourif). Although the killer was executed 15 years earlier, a young boy is horribly mutilated and the ailing Father Dyer (Ed Flanders) is drained of blood in his hospital bed. George C. Scott takes over the role of dedicated police Lt. William Kinderman, who is convinced that the key to the killings lies in an amnesiac mental patient who looks exactly like the dead Father Karras (Jason Miller) at some times, and like Venamon at others. It appears that Venamon was executed at the exact moment that Father Karras became possessed by the killer/devil and hurtled from the window at the end of the first film. Kinderman slowly comes to accept that the patient is Venamon and enlists an exorcist, Father Morning (Nicol Williamson), to free Karras' soul and stop the murders. The Exorcist III is heavy on dialogue, but contains some fine performances and some chilling moments, particularly the haunting opening in a Georgetown church. George DiCenzo, Viveca Lindfors, and Zohra Lampert also appear in this underrated, low-key horror film. Award-winning makeup artist Greg Cannom contributed to the special-effects, Gerry Fisher's cinematography is excellent, and the cast includes some notable bit parts by Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Ewing, and Tyra Ferrell.

Exorcist author William Peter Blatty exhumed the demonic possession tale -- 17 years after the original and 13 after the monumentally disappointing sequel -- for a walk on the frightfully disturbing side. This film, largely ignored and perhaps lost on a new generation of filmgoers, is as chilling as modern horror gets. While not worthy of the original's "classic" status, this rendition is full of flesh-crawling moments -- base horror hopped up by the addition of graphic gore. The film deals with the eternal battle between God and the Devil, generally digging deeper in the collective horror psyche and generating a more primordial sense of fear. Such metaphysical horror must be done well and Blatty succeeds in scaring the innards out of the viewer. George C. Scott gives a thoughtfully inspired performance, and an unheralded Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Ewing make cameos. Although the film borrows a bit much from the Omen and Amityville traditions, overall it is authentically frightening in its execution.