150) The Exorcist III (1990)

"He is inside with us. He will never get away!" 

Director

William Peter Blatty

Cast

George C. Scott - Lt. William Kinderman

Ed Flanders - Fr. Joseph Dyer

Brad Dourif - James Venamun
Jason Miller - Damien Karras
Scott Wilson - Dr. Temple

Nicol Williamson - Father Morning

A fifth installment in "The Exorcist" series is scheduled to be released from Blumhouse Productions later this year, with David Gordon Green set to direct. I mention Green in my previous "Halloween Kills" review. 

According to Yahoo! Entertainment News this fifth movie is supposed to ignore all sequels following the 1973 film "The Exorcist," which is based on the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin. In other words, it's going to be another one of those retcon movies the kids are all takin' about nowadays. 

Ellen Burstyn, who plays Chris MacNeil, the mother of the young possessed Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) in the first movie is supposed to return to the role once again for the first time in fifty years. 

It seems these kinds of movies, which I call "where are they now" flicks, are the current trend in Hollywood. 

These movies involve aged actors returning to roles they played thirty, forty, or fifty years ago. It's generally a surprise to audiences to see these stars take on roles they haven't played in so long.

Harrison Ford returning as Han Solo in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" comes to mind first. 

Hollywood has even brought actors back from the dead just to portray characters one more time such as the late Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and the late Harold Ramis as the ghost of Egon Spengler in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." Both actors died before these movies even went into production.

"The Exorcist" is still referred to as the "scariest movie ever made." I wrote about that topic back in 2020. It's no wonder Hollywood wants to squeeze whatever money is left out of the franchise. The devil is scary, but profitable. 

This piece of horror movie news encouraged me to take a look at "The Exorcist III," released in 1990, for my 150th horror review. I don't remember when I last watched "The Exorcist III." I've always considered it the best of the sequels.

When it comes to the films that follow "The Exorcist," it's quite a mixed bag. Unlike the first movie, the sequel "Exorcist II: The Heretic" is still considered one of the worst horror sequels ever made. It's a well-deserved label, too. It's a terrible film that takes the storyline into a place that resembles a nightmarish fever dream. It's bizarre, in a ludicrous way. It's completely non-scary. It's unintentionally laughable. And it has nothing to do with heretics. So, the title doesn't make any sense. The heretic? What heretic? They might as well have called it "Exorcist II: The Birthday Cake." That makes just as much sense. 

In 2004, a prequel was released called "Exorcist: The Beginning" directed by Renny Harlin and starring Stellan Skarsgård as Fr. Lankester Merrin - the exorcist from the first film originally played by Max von Sydow. 

Brad Dourif as the 'Gemini Killer' in "The Exorcist III."

It turns out this version is a retooled movie called "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist" directed by Paul Schrader which also stars Stellan Skarsgård along with a completely different cast from "Exorcist: The Beginning." 

"Dominion" was released in 2005. And it ended up being worse than "Exorcist: The Beginning." I don't even remember which version I saw. I just know I saw one of them, and it was a poor movie. It's not as bad as the "The Birthday Cake" but it's still a big letdown. 

Yet, somehow, "Exorcist III" manages to be a decent sequel in the series. Then again, considering what preceded it, that probably works in the film's favor. 

Directed by William Peter Blatty and based on his 1983 novel "Legion," which was meant to be the title of part three, this installment takes place 15 years after Regan's exorcism... or 17 years if you go by the film's trailer.

The movie centers on Lt. William Kinderman (George C. Scott) who is played in the original film by Lee J. Cobb. By the way, Scott later took on another role once played by Cobb. He plays juror number three in the 1997 TV movie "12 Angry Men." Cobb played the same role in the 1957 movie.

Anyways, Kinderman and his Jesuit priest buddy, Fr. Joseph Dyer (Ed Flanders) are close friends following the events of part one. They still grieve over the death of their friend, Fr. Damien Karras S.J. (Jason Miller) who died after Regan's exorcism by falling down a long flight of stairs. That was in the first movie, if you haven't seen it. 

The film opens with a demonic presence bursting through the doors of a Catholic Church, causing the eyes on a crucifix above the altar to open. Evil challenging God. 

Murders have been taking place around the district of Georgetown. These murders resemble those of serial killer James Venamun, who went by the moniker "the Gemini Killer." Venamun terrorized the area 15 years before but was shot and killed by police.  

The next day, Kinderman is called to a murder scene involving a young black boy named Thomas Kintry.

Though the method of Kintry's murder matches the Gemini's modus operandi, the fingerprints found at his murder scene, and other murder scenes around Georgetown, are all different. 

Continuing the storyline of Kinderman's fondness for movies as seen in part one, he and Fr. Dyer go to a showing of "It's a Wonderful Life." After the movie, they go grab a coffee together, during which time Kinderman tells the priest about what the killer did to Kintry's body. Kinderman is trying to wrap his head around these extremely violent crimes and hopes his priest friend might have an answer as to how people can do such things to others. He does have an answer, but Kinderman has seen too much of society's darkest and cruelest side to just accept it.

Soon after, a priest named Fr. Tom Kanavan (Harry Carey, Jr.) is murdered while hearing confessions. He's killed in a disturbing scene in which the voice of an old lady in the confessional begins telling the priest how she murdered those victims that Kinderman is investigating.

Later, Dyer becomes sick and ends up in the hospital. 

The day after Kinderman goes to visit him, Fr. Dyer is found murdered in his hospital bed. 

Like all the other murders, including Kintry's and Fr. Kanavan's, Dyer iss decapitated. Also, his killer placed Dyer's entire blood supply into several cups on the table next to his bed without spilling a drop. And the words "It's a wonderfull [sic] life" are written in Dyer's blood above the bed. 

While questioning hospital staff, Kinderman tells the head of the hospital that the three latest murders match the Gemini's motus operandi, the true details of which were never told to the public. Yet, the murders follow those same details the police kept secret.
Kinderman speaks with the head of the psychiatric ward, Dr. Temple (Scott Wilson), who tells him about an amnesia patient in their care whom police found wandering aimlessly 15 years ago. 

George C. Scott as Lt. Kinderman, originally
played by Lee J. Cobb in "The Exorcist" (1973).

As the murders began taking place, the patient started coming out of his catatonic state, acting violently and claiming to be the Gemini. 

Kinderman goes to speak with the patient (Brad Dourif). Afterwards, he's certain that this patient resembles his deceased friend, Fr. Karras. And the patient admits to him that he is the Gemini, revealing details about murders he committed 15 years ago. 
This movie jumps right into the story without delay. 

I'll say here that a lot of horror movies involving demons or the devil, and exorcisms, fall into a trope that annoys me. 

Often, such movies portray the devil and his minions as active and always putting on a show. That part is understandable as movies have to be entertaining, after all. Entertainment is rule number one. God, meanwhile, is off in some far-off place. A priest or pastor will do all they can to call on God to intervene. Nobody is really sure if He's going to show up or not. "The Exorcist" does that a bit but the movie still depicts what God can do over what the devil can do. 

"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" (2005) really portrays God's intercession wonderfully. Other movies in this horror subgenre focus more on what the devil can do over what God can do. Or, rather, what Hollywood writers think God and the devil can do. "The Exorcist III" leans a little too far into the "what the devil can do" trope. God's intervention, which is depicted in the exorcism at the end of the film is definitely sensationalized for entertainment purposes - more so than what's depicted in part one. Still, God does intervene.  

There's a lot of talking and a lot of subtleties, especially when it comes to the thriller elements. There's a fair amount of whispering from persons off-screen played over other scenes. Scenes transition very quickly, sometimes with quick voice overs. 

Mysterious and otherworldly images quickly appear at random. In one scene where Kinderman is talking to another Jesuit named Fr. Riley (Lee Richardson) about the investigations, a door in the priest's large office slowly opens on its own and Kinderman can hear whispering. He gets up to investigate as Fr. Riley, well, just sits at his desk as if he doesn't notice this police investigator getting up to look around. 

An image of a saint statue flashes on screen with it a demonic looking face and holding a dagger. A lot of these subtle scares and images are left for the audience to interpret.

The movie is a bit dry. It's saving grace is the casting of Dourif and Scott. 

Dourif really steals the show. He is fantastic in this movie. He takes his time and doesn't rush his performance playing a serial killer turned evil spirit. He throws every spec of energy he has into this role. 

Scott, who's already an amazing actor, has a dominating presence on screen. 

Scott subtly changes through the picture. Being a homicide detective, he's seen a lot of unspeakable horrors. He has seen the worst things a person can do to the innocent among us. It's no wonder he escapes reality by watching movies. 

In this movie, Kinderman is barely hanging on between keeping his wits together and losing them. Scott is an excellent choice for this role as he really conveys this characteristic of Kinderman. And he does it with subtlety - holding back tears at some points, or losing his patience when those around him don't cooperate. On top of this, his close friend is murdered in a really horrific way right in a hospital. 

Kinderman's inner turmoil comes through from time to time, but Scott portrays him as clearly holding it all inside, even when those emotions are too strong to hold back. Scott is brilliant at showing the audience a lot by showing just a little. His character's inner struggle all boils down to his speech at the final scene which begins with Kinderman, held against the wall by an unseen force, stating "I believe in death. I believe in disease."
The film overall keeps a steady pace with its thriller tones. There are some humorous moments, too, which blend into the overall serious tone of the film. 

For instance, when Kinderman and Fr. Dyer are leaving the movie theater, Fr. Dyer suggests Kinderman go home and rest. 

"I can't go home," Kinderman responds.

"Why," asks Fr. Dyer. 

"The carp."

Kinderman explains that his mother-in-law is visiting and wants to cook the family a carp for supper later in the week. 

While he has no objection to having carp for dinner, his mother-in-law thinks carp is filled with impurities. So, she purchased a live one and has kept it alive in the bathtub for the last three days. He complains to Dyer that the fish has been swimming up and down, and up and down, in his bathtub. 

"And I hate it. I can't stand the sight of it moving its gills" he says. 

Thanks to the carp, he hasn't been able to take a bath for three days. 

"I can't go home until the carp is asleep cause if I see it swimming, I'll kill it." 

Jason Miller returns as Fr. Damien Karras.

There are some things that I found a bit weak in the movie. For instance, in one scene when Kinderman is leaving the hospital, he heads to an elevator at the end of a hallway with a statue of Christ placed right next to the elevator. Kinderman would have to walk straight towards this statue to get to his elevator. The head of statue, though, has been broken off. And he doesn't seem to notice, nor say anything about it. This headless statue remains there throughout the movie. Why would a Catholic hospital leave a desecrated statue of Christ without a head in a place for all to see? Someone would have at least covered it up. Did no one in the hospital notice this headless statue? 

I also find it strange that no one recognized Fr. Karras for 15 years in the mental ward. And since that was Fr. Karras's body in the ward, didn't any of his fellow Jesuits wonder what happened to his body after he died in part one? Was there a funeral for him? If so, whom did they bury?

"The Exorcist III," certainly doesn't rely on blood and gore to be a horror movie. We never see any of these murders happen. We just hear about them after the fact with their horrid details and get glimpses of their aftermath. 

"The Exorcist III" takes the series back to a serious tone after part two took into some kind of acid trip. 

Like the first movie, part three also has a dream sequence. However, part three's dream sequence is an oddity all to itself. And it features a small list of notable cameos such as the model Fabio, basketball player Patrick Ewing, and Samuel L. Jackson in one of his earliest movie roles. Unfortunately, Jackson's one line is dubbed over. 

Also, TV personality Larry King has a quick cameo as a restaurant patron in another scene. 

And I swear there's a subtle nod in to the 1988 film "Child's Play" in which Dourif voices the evil doll "Chucky." 

While discussing the murders, the Gemini Killer tells Kinderman that it's "child's play, lieutenant." The scene then cuts to a little freckled boy in the hospital with red hair and blue eyes...like Chucky the doll. Maybe that's a coincidence. But I doubt it. They knew what they were doing.

The actual exorcism part is forced into the story so that the movie lives up to its title. 

Considering how dry the movie tends to feel, the exorcism does add some needed flavor despite being completely exaggerated for the sake of scares. 

The original ending had Kinderman walk into Venamun's cell at the hospital, shoot him, and then leave. It's very underwhelming if you happen to see it. I'm glad they changed it.

Speaking of the exorcism scene, a random priest named Fr. Morning (Nicol Williamson) shows up in the middle of the movie with no introduction. His initial scene doesn't connect with anything in the story. He then shows up again at the end to perform the exorcism on Karras. It's definitely just taped onto the story and is really far-fetched. The book "Legion" has no exorcisms. Yet, Hollywood needed to really tie part three in with the first movie. The fireworks are saved for this exorcism scene, gore and all. 

Despite all my nitpicks, I really like this movie, especially the performances. I can understand why some horror fans will find this a bit lackluster. All things considered, it is a decent tie in with part one, giving us something completely different than before.