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, leads 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

2 wins & 5 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 | psychopathic killer | priest | strait jacket | church | 

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Taglines:

Do you dare walk these steps again?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

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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 USA:

$26,098,824

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,925,427

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 105 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Morgan Creek and Carolco both wanted to make the film. William Peter Blatty decided upon Morgan Creek, after Carolco suggested the idea of a grown-up Regan McNeil giving birth to possessed twins.

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Goofs

The gruesome head cutting scissors were made for the movie and do not exist in real life. It is said in the movie that the scissors are spring loaded, so it takes very little effort to open them, but they produce a vicious force when being closed. This is not possible: the spring cannot produce more force when closing as it would take you to open it.

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Quotes

Father Dyer: [On the film 'It's a Wonderful Life'] I've seen it 37 times.
University President: Commendable.
Father Dyer: Do you have a favorite picture?
University President: 'The Fly'.

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: SCI-Spy #2 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Tubular Bells
Written by Mike Oldfield
Administered by Virgin Music, Inc.

User Reviews

Superior sequel

With a title like 'Excorcist 3', one doesn't hope for much. But in fact, this film is really only so titled to exploit the value attached with the name, and although it was written (and also directed) by the writer of the original film, it's actually a stand-alone movie in it's own right. And while William Blatty may be hard pushed to rival the efforts of the original's director, William Friedkin, he doesn't do too bad a job: he's a little over-reliant on abrupt cutting to achieve his shocks, and the budget for the special effects was obviously inadequate, but this is a suspenseful and chilling thriller. All supernatural movies suffer from a degree of innate silliness, and satanic movies perhaps especially so, but this film is constructed as if it was a conventional serial killer thriller, albeit an exceptionally dark and creepy one. As the signs of actual devilry begin to increase, the detective leading the case (played brilliantly by George Scott) starts to wonder if he's going mad. Only when the film is forced, near its conclusion, to represent the nightmare literally, does it inevitably become a little daft (but that charge could even be levied at 'The Excorcist' itself). I'm not generally a huge fan of horror movies, but this one is definitely above average, for its skill in modulating the tension and in restraining from excess until its final scenes. In conclusion, ignore the title, and watch.