The Exorcist III (1989)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

William Peter Blatty

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

17 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Do you dare walk these steps again?

Plot:

A police lieutenant in Georgetown mourns the anniversary of a priest's death as a serial killer strikes.

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Serial Killer | Priest | Decapitation | Crucifixion

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Exorcist 3 (Philippines: English title)
Exorcist III: Legion (USA) (working title)
The Exorcist 3 (USA) (alternative spelling)
The Exorcist III: Legion (USA) (trailer title)
William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist III (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Brazil:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1991) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

Asked how he is able to get in and out of jail without being seen, Brad Dourif's character replies: "It's child's play." The camera cuts to a young, red-headed boy who looks a lot like the Chucky doll. Dourif played the voice of Chucky in Child's Play (1988) and Child's Play 2 (1990).

Goofs:

Plot holes: This film contains two sizable plot holes in relation to The Exorcist (1973). First, in the original, the person who discovers that Regan (Linda Blair) is not speaking a foreign language, but is in fact speaking English backwards, is a white male. In this film, Kinderman (George C. Scott) says that the person who made this discovery was a black female. Second, in the original film, Kinderman and Karras (Jason Miller) had only met each other twice before Karras died. In this film, it is implied that they were extremely close friends who had known each other for years.

Quotes:

Father Dyer: [in a hospital complaining that he's read all of the newspapers already] Now look, these are all last weeks editions. I've read every one of them. No, can't ya pick me something up?
Dt. Kinderman: My god, the grammar.

Movie Connections:

References The Fly (1986)

Flawed though it is, I have a soft spot for this film for its intelligent, non-ironic journey into darkness.

William Peter Blatty can really write. Prose and dialogue. No argument. But can he direct a movie? On the strength of 'Exorcist III,' yes he can. This isn't to say that the film doesn't have its problems. On the contrary, its biggest problem, the out-of-character 'crowd-pleasing' SFX climax stops it from being one of the greats. So why do I have a soft spot for this film? If, like me, you appreciate horror films that are both scary and made for grown-ups, 'Exorcist III' is refreshing and memorable for its intelligent, non-ironic journey into darkness and for its refusal (bar that ending) to dumb down for the kids. If 'Scream' is your idea of a great horror movie, this isn't one for you! The cast is not nearly young and attractive enough, there are nowhere near enough gags (though Blatty's dry, sardonic wit is happily in evidence) and the film has no pretensions at being an autopsy of the genre, therefore somehow lifting it above the films it purports to comment on. 'Exorcist III' is literary beyond 'Scream's' self-referential trivia-chasing (I would love to hear Detective Kinderman critiquing that movie!) Read 'Legion' and you'll have an idea of how good the film should have been. Flaws acknowledged and accepted, don't miss out on Brad Dourif's best performance since 'Cuckoo's Nest,' scene-stealing turns by Ed Flanders and Nancy Fish, or the superlative production design, photography and sound. More than anything else, it's the atmosphere of the film that stays with me. I can recall very few films that have a better sense of the power of stillness and silence. So much of the violence is communicated only in dialogue; your mind reluctantly does the rest.