I miss the days when I would see a movie because the trailer “looked cool.” Nowadays, I go to the theater only when I feel it’s absolutely necessary (i.e. superhero blockbuster). But in my late teens and early twenties that was my #1 pastime, and I had a steady stream of friends who (generally) shared my tastes (or influenced them), so we went almost every week, or so it seemed.
We rarely gave any thought to reviews. In those pre-Internet days the only buzz we were often privy to came from genre magazines like Starlog and Fangoria. It was that lack of discretion that led to us discovering treasured classics such as Highlander, Prince of Darkness, Evil Dead 2, They Live, Monster Squad and several others, all critically or commercially reviled at the time.
As the summer of 1990 was winding down we were vaguely aware yet another Exorcist film was coming. I remember my father had read (and enjoyed) Legion, the book on which it was based, and my friend Ray probably had as well. If memory serves, he championed seeing the film, and while he was known for some cinematically dubious choices I still haven’t forgiven him for, he also made some very good ones that stood the test of time.
Exorcist III was being dumped by distributor Morgan Creek during the dog days of August (usually the death knell for any film). A late August release signifies a total lack of faith in the product, or at the very least, a grave uncertainty. The trailer looked spooky as hell and based on what I knew of the book (and my love of the original) I was willing to take a chance.
We saw the film opening night and the theater wasn’t even half full. The distributor held no advance previews so critics had to see it the old fashioned way – by buying a ticket. That never bodes well.
The film takes place several years after the events of the original. George C. Scott replaced the late Lee J. Cobb as Lt. Kinderman, the police officer from the first film who slowly unravels the events surrounding the possession of Regan McNeil. A series of grisly murders are taking place in Georgetown reminiscent of those committed by the “Gemini Killer” several years prior, only there is absolutely no physical evidence to link the crimes. Kinderman soon discovers the link between these murders and Regan’s possession.
Put simply, we loved it. The film was a masterwork of suspense and tension. The atmosphere was ominous and foreboding, and when something finally did happen I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was staged and shot brilliantly and for a horror film of that time, it had a conspicuous lack of gore. Here was a film that harkened back to the days when buckets of blood were not necessary. The plot required some thought on the part of the viewer. It wasn’t nearly as straightforward as the original.
The next day, I opened my local paper and discovered a zero-star review, one of many. Exorcist III was eviscerated by the critics. Had they seen the same film? We were sure this would join the pantheon of horror classics.
Unknown to us at the time, the film suffered from a great deal of post-production tinkering. Even at that point in our filmic development we could usually spot a movie that had been chopped up and patched together like the Frankenstein Monster. Not so with Exorcist III.
The studio demand was simple – the film needed an exorcism. There was none in the original novel or in Blatty’s first cut (obviously) but since this was a sequel to The Exorcist, it must need one, right? This boneheaded move was a result of the studio forcing the title “Exorcist III” over the film, originally titled, “Legion.” That was a disastrous choice. While the film had nothing to do with the execrable Exorcist II (and neither did Blatty) it gave audiences the mistaken impression it had something to do with that monstrosity.
Even with the tacked-on exorcism the film works. Looking at it now, it’s obviously out of place and doesn’t flow with the rest of the film. However, it doesn’t kill it. Blatty claims footage of his original cut no longer exists, but some diligent researchers are still searching as we speak.
Exorcist III’s reputation has increased over the years, but it still gets lumped in with the other vastly inferior chapters in the series, and that’s a real shame. It’s not only a worthy sequel to the original but one of the finest horror films of its’ day.
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