This was the real sequel to THE EXORCIST, directed and written by William Peter Blatty. It was based off his novel LEGION, but Warner Bros. demanded that it be retitled “THE EXORCIST III” and ordered reshoots that imposed a new character, a retooled climax with a special effects-laden exorcism, and the inclusion of Jason Miller from the first film. The end product was a flop and is often overlooked by folks who would dig it due to the understandably toxic effect THE EXORCIST II had on the franchise’s reputation.
The existence of a lost cut and Jeff Dahmer citing it as his favorite picture has given this cult film something of a mythological status, but all context dismissed, there’s also just a really worthwhile, provocative and entertaining movie here, even with the compromised vision. It’s witty as fuck, features an incredible performance by Brad Dourif, and possesses (ho ho!) one of the all time great jump scares ever. It’s an intelligent, funny and frightening serial killer film with supernatural elements. I find it very rewatchable, and a few goofy bits aside, I’m not at all tempted to throttle people who consider it better than the original.
I can remember someone making the case that if you cut out THE EXORCIST II: HERETIC and the Renny Harlin version of the prequel and included THE NINTH CONFIGURATION, you have a fairly incredible, though certainly flawed, religious-horror saga on your hands.
Also, why did Blatty only direct two movies, when they were both so good? Pisses me off.
I have always loved this movie. Granted, over time Brad Dourif’s scenery chewing can start to grate, but when is Brad Dourif not chewing scenery? Also, this is the only movie that has ever made me scream in the theater. Well, more of a “Woah!” than an actual scream.
Some of the quirky elements, like that dream sequence, the eyes on the Jesus opening in the intro, the old lady crawling around the ceiling, and the statue that temporarily turns into a grinning dagger-wielding Joker, I find kind of brilliant in their wackiness. There’s a certain perverse playfulness to this movie that I really admire.
The way that attack on the daughter plays out at the end is pretty silly though.
But whatever.
Also, I’m always caught off-guard by the “May the Schwartz be with you” line. Hilarious. The dialog between Kinderman and Dyer is fantastic, with George C. Scott’s monologue about the fish in the bathtub and Ed Flanders’ explanation for being addicted to lemon drops being standouts.
Listen, Brad. I enjoy your performances for the most part, but sometimes you just need to turn it down from 11 to 9. Like in this. And that other death row prisoner you played on the X-Files. Remember One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest? That was sublime.
The book LEGION is great too. It leans more towards the Gemini killer and his history, how he came to be in the servant of Satan and gifted another go around.
Scott’s exhaustion is sometimes trying but I generally liked his relationship with Father Dyer. (Dyer is the priest that whispers last rights to Karras at the bottom of the famed stairs)
The EXORCIST is a perfect movie and pairs so nicely with this.
Stolen from Wiki:
An upcoming book titled The Evolution Of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III: From Concept To Novel To Screen by author Erik Kristopher Myers will reveal the whole story behind the film’s development, and publish never-before-seen images, the original script, studio notes, various drafts of the story as it has evolved, and interviews with Blatty, Brad Dourif, Mark Kermode, John Carpenter, and many others associated with the film.[3] Myers in an interview said that The Exorcist III “has sort of turned into horror genre’s equivalent to Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, in that it was originally a very classy film that the studio hacked apart and turned into a commercial piece […] I’m basically trying to chronicle how a film can get away from the auteur and be transformed into a purely commercial product.” [10]
I feel like I’ve been reading about that supposed upcoming book for a decade now. Has there been any status update on it in recent memory? Isn’t Erik Myers a Chewer?
It’s heartbreaking that Blatty made an effort to find the footage to reassemble his original version but was apparently told by Morgan Creek “we don’t have it” and not allowed into the vaults. Dude’s 85 now.
Just wanted to chime in here and say that I’m also a really big fan of this film. Even if the movie’s only virtue was the alluded-to jump scare (one of the best, for sure), the movie would be worth seeing; luckily, there’s a lot more of worth than just that.
Regarding Blatty’s original cut, Mark Kermode - an EXORCIST historian if there ever was one - has been trying to track down the missing footage for years, and to back up what others here have said, Morgan Creek has told him several times that they don’t know where the footage is; Kermode’s tried to get them to let him personally hunt around for it, but as of yet he hasn’t made much progress with them. It’s a shame. At this rate, I’d settle for even a Blu-ray release of the theatrical cut.
Wow. Please provide more context for this! I clearly missed out on some jolly good fun.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the material was there and Morgan Creek’s response is code for “We don’t feel like looking, but we don’t feel like letting you look either.” I say that because NIGHTBREED, another 1990 Morgan Creek film, has pretty much the same story - studio interfered and cut the film up. Clive Barker’s quest to recover the lost reels and re-edit his version had a happy ending in the form of the “Cabal Cut” announced this year for a release through Shout! Factory.
It’s not like it’s impossible that the Exorcist footage is really lost, but it seems no real search has been embarked upon. It seems more plausible to me that Blatty’s preview cut would have been left to rot on a shelf somewhere rather than melted down to make bootheels. Barker may also have more “star power” with Morgan Creek, and since Blatty filed a lawsuit against the studio at one point over Exorcist re-release profits, there may be bad blood. You’d think they could freaking open the doors and let Blatty check while he’s still got a heartbeat.
I love Exorcist III, flaws and all, but would really like to see the dream cut. Exorcist II: The Heretic, well, the less said the better. Even Pazuzu hung his head in shame.
What’s amazing about HERETIC’s suckitude is that reasonably talented people made that movie. Sounds like it was a classic case of a screenplay being mangled at every turn.
If it’s ignored, THE EXORCIST III functions pretty decently as a direct sequel - the only part you have to gloss over is the movie’s portrayal of Kinderman and Karras’ relationship having zero basis in the first film. George C. Scott reflecting that “Karras was my best friend and I loved him” is pretty boggling if you’re not coming from the book or you didn’t come away with the impression that his chat with Karras at the track in the original meant an awful, awful lot to him.
Incidentally, the character of Kinderman in the first film demonstrates exactly why that movie holds up - because it gives a shit about the characters. From a plot standpoint, the detective is more or less there to complicate things for Chris by needing to solve the murder (in which Reagan is implicated). In a lesser movie, this character would have just been a dick for the sake of convenience. Instead, he’s given an actual personality, is played by the marvelous Lee J. Cobb, and is allowed to be someone likeable and reasonably developed and genuinely there to do his job.
‘best friend’ is a stretch, unless you imagine Kinderman is being super cop and digging around. Maybe in the EXORCIST movie there’s some extended cut, a montage of them fishing and going on rollercoasters, laughing and high fiving and laying under the stars together. See, they ARE best friends, and then he was taken by Pazuzu.
While not best friends, their rapport in The Exorcist is so beautiful, including that great exchange about film, ending with “You wanna know who I think did it? The Dominicans, go pick on them.” “I could have you deported … I lied, you look like Sal Mineo.” Classic stuff. Lee J. Cobb was brilliant in the part and I’ve never seen a performance like what Jason Miller did with Karras.
Did you all know that Jason Miller was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and is the father of Jason Patric from Lost Boys and Joshua Miller from Near Dark and The River’s Edge?
I don’t know what to feel about the fact that Jason Miller’s involvement in THE EXORCIST III was a consequence of the studio’s demands. Apparently, the original version did not have him, but I find the switching between the two personas to be a really cool conceit. Unlike the exorcism, that was a case of Blatty being able to make the best out of studio meddling.