breakfastcowl

The Exorcist III

Feeling the turn of the page with every sing-song morbid line, quip, and outburst. That ever escalating dread, Pure Moods Catholicism, the audience institutionalized. George C. Scott believes in every crawling, putrid thing and you can, too!

Mercedes (Taylors Version)

The Exorcist III

Brad Dourif's performance was amazing the nurse jumpscare was spoiled for me years ago because i've seen it in best horror moments/etc types of youtube videos so it wasnt as effective but still good. (side note: i've never seen the exorcist)

seenyourvideo

The Exorcist III

I really wanted to enjoy this third exercise (you're welcome) in the devil-and-religion franchise, but sadly, The Exorcist III did little to entertain me. Perhaps the most exciting thing about this movie is the fact that William Peter Blatty is in the director's chair, transporting his novel Legion onto the big screen, and to a certain degree he correctly hits some notes — mostly its bombastic finale that had me the most giddy, but also sad that there wasn't more of this previously. The Exorcist II was a big bad mess, and yet, I can see myself going back to that corny magic instead of seeing this slow and uninteresting horror disguised as a mystery. Seventeen years after the original hit theaters and shocked a whole lot, we get a third, unnecessary, and frankly disappointing third movie — almost a repeat of its terrible predecessor, but instead of nonsense we get boredom. 2.6/5

BT1886

The Exorcist III

William Peter Blatty (https://boxd.it/sX3) • 1990 • Horror, Mystery I always had the preconception that the subsequent sequels to William Friedkin’s The Exorcist have been nothing more than studio-mandated mush meant to capitalize on one of the most important and revered horror films ever made. Well, it looks, for the most part, I was right about that, seeing just how horrendous the early reviews of The Exorcist: Believerare (or the tap-dancing fever dream that is The Exorcist II: The Heretic). There is only one exception to this: The Exorcist III (also known as Legion to some). It was written and directed by William Peter Blatty, the original writer of The Exorcist novel and Legion (as well as the screenplay adaptations of both). I didn’t really know much about the film other than it takes on a very different direction than the original, so color me surprised when I see the great George C. Scott eating up every damn scene he was in, along with an unhinged performance from Brad Dourif. The mood in the first film was very much grounded in a sense of reality, something that is expected from William Friedkin’s documentary background, which really helped build a fascinatingly tangible world through his humanistic filmmaking. The Exorcist III plays out more like a thriller/police procedural film, akin to something like Manhunter or Cure, with some very interesting surrealist elements thrown in. It feels like this film should be a mess, what with the mishmash of ideas and tones, but it works so damn well. You can very clearly tell a writer directed this because there are several incredible monologues throughout (especially an amazing final one from George C. Scott at the tail end of the film) that really let the actors inhabit their characters and deliver some truly wonderful performances. Funny enough, Blatty originally did not like the ending of The Exorcist, as he felt it was too dark, but I would easily argue this film is much darker overall. There was also a studio-mandated finale (after all, you can’t have an Exorcist film without an exorcism, can you?) in place of the original, simpler ending. It’s a bit over the top, especially compared to the rest of the film being so purposefully paced, but I honestly fuck with it (I hold the belief that this is a rare example of studio interference bringing something positive to a film). The Exorcist III is a downright exceptional film in so many way. While it may stumble a little here and there, I still believe this makes for an amazing viewing experience that actually respects Friedkin’s original masterpiece. ⏵ SPOOKTOBER 2023 (https://boxd.it/pxRFI)