The Exorcist III (1990)

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 | Decapitation | Priest | Child Murder

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:

William Peter Blatty made the film based on his novel "Legion," which was published on 1 August 1983. Morgan Creek decided to call it "Exorcist: Legion" even though the screenplay and novel featured no exorcisms. After principal photography completed, Morgan Creek noticed the misleading nature of the title. So Morgan Creek demanded that additional scenes need be written and added into the film to made this film becoming a direct sequel of The Exorcist (1973). Morgan Creek also changed this film's title to "The Exorcist III."

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The car chase completely mixes up the geography of Georgetown.

Quotes:

Dt. Kinderman: That's commendable.

Movie Connections:

References It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

should be called LEGION

This is one of the best horror films in the last twenty years. I once heard it remarked that director William Peter Blatty directs like David Lynch--but with a tighter pace! Not a bad estimation, I'd say. I have a theory this film would actually have had a chance to be a hit if it had been allowed to go out to theaters under its proper title: LEGION, just like the novel its taken from. But some genius at the studios must've insisted that by tying it to the Exorcist label it would draw an audience; well, we all know how that turned out( for those of you who don't: this film tanked at the BO and quickly disappeared, to be completely eclipsed by the far inferior SILENCE OF THE LAMBS a scant 8 months later!) People who went to this didn't expect a supernatural serial killer mystery--indeed this was the best of the "executed killers return from the grave to wreak destruction" movies that popped up suddenly in the late 80's with films like SHOCKER and THE FIRST POWER(something that would turn up with even more regularity a few yrs later on the X-files, Brad Dourif even plays an almost identical character in the episode "BEyond the SEA" as he plays here in Exocist III) but in 1990 people who went to see Exorcist III were probably expecting something else;as far as i can tell, though, this movie is a pretty decent piece of work. It's sad to think that almost all of the actor's who were in this film--GEorge C Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller-- are no longer with us. but at least we've still got Brad Dourif!!