The Exorcist III (1990)

A police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased 'Gemini' serial killer, lead him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.

Director:

William Peter Blatty

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (screenplay), William Peter Blatty (novel)

Stars:

George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George C. Scott	...	Kinderman
Ed Flanders	...	Father Dyer
Brad Dourif	...	The Gemini Killer
Jason Miller	...	Patient X
Nicol Williamson	...	Father Morning
Scott Wilson	...	Dr. Temple
Nancy Fish	...	Nurse Allerton
George DiCenzo	...	Stedman (as George Dicenzo)
Don Gordon	...	Ryan
Lee Richardson	...	University President
Grand L. Bush	...	Sergeant Atkins
Mary Jackson	...	Mrs. Clelia
Viveca Lindfors	...	Nurse X
Ken Lerner	...	Dr. Freedman
Tracy Thorne	...	Nurse Keating

Storyline

Lt. Kinderman and Father Dyer cheer each other up on the anniversary of the death of their mutual friend, Father Damien Karras, by going to see "It's a Wonderful Life" at the local theater in Georgetown, near Washington D.C. But there's no cheering Kinderman while a particularly cruel and gruesome serial killer is at large. His murders, which involve torture, decapitation and the desecration of religious icons, is bad enough; but they also resemble those of the Gemini Killer, who has been dead for fifteen years.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | psycho | virginia | psychotronic | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Dare you walk these steps again?

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Exorcist III: Legion

Filming Locations:

Georgetown University, Georgetown, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$26,098,824 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Colleen Dewhurst, who was married to George C. Scott, was the voice of Father Kanavan's killer but went uncredited.

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Goofs

When Kinderman connects the murder victims in this film to the case in the first movie, it is revealed that one victim, the African American boy, is connected because it was his mother that determined that Reagan was speaking backward English. However, when you watch the first movie, the person that determines the language is a man that is Caucasion.

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Quotes

The Gemini Killer: Catatonics are so easy to possess...

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Connections

References Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

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Soundtracks

Lagrime di San Pietro
Written by Orlande De Lassus
Provided by KaleidoSound.James & Aster, Inc.

User Reviews

Great movie; bogged down a bit by producer interference.

Taking a much different approach than the first two EXORCIST films will either infuriate or please viewers depending on their expectations, and there's just no use arguing with people on the merits of this film, because something can be said for those who love it AND those who hate it. However, I have huge admiration for the nerve it took William Peter Blatty to bring his distinct vision to the screen and take big chances with this film. The end result is never boring and it refuses to be stupid, even when it threatens to fall apart from all the overly-complicated plot weirdness. There's loads of subtext here, it's not nearly as dependent on FX and gore than the first film, it has creepy atmosphere to burn and delivers a few great shocks (including a now-legendary hospital corridor scene; though some of the most horrible things in this film are implied, not shown). The writing is very good, and there's smart dialogue and three-dimensional characters played by some first-rate actors. George C. Scott is wonderful (when isn't he?) in the lead, with Jason Miller, Brad Dourif (one of the most underrated actors ever), Ed Flanders, Scott Wilson and everyone else contributing heavily.

I heard the senseless exorcism climax (featuring Nicol Williamson) was added to the film later against Blatty's wishes so audiences wouldn't be "confused," which basically means the studio who financed it take the general viewing public as idiots.

Make sure to also check out Blatty's great THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (AKA TWINKLE, TWINKLE, KILLER KANE), also a pretty underrated movie. I noticed he hasn't returned to scripting/directing film since this was made, probably because it wasn't well received at the time, but it's nice to read other comments and see I'm not the only one who really enjoyed this film.

Score: 8 out of 10