THE
EXORCIST III (1990)Director: William Peter Blatty
Warner Home Video
THE
EXORCIST III (1990)I despised
this film in 1990 when I first saw it in the theater; but through subsequent
viewings at home, I've come to LOVE it! Just proves that certain movies get
better if you give them the chance, and THE EXORCIST III is the best example
I can think of where a feature needs to be studied more than once for a true
experience.
It was written
and directed by William Peter Blatty, the author of the original EXORCIST novel.
He was never quite pleased with certain aspects of William Friedkin's original
film and obviously despised EXORCIST II - THE HERETIC (the worst sequel to a
good film, in my opinion). He manages to satisfy himself (and perhaps those
of us who loathed EXORCIST II) with a compelling and understated horror tale
that actually functions better as a detective story. It has the late George
C. Scott taking over the role of Lt. Kinderman from the even later Lee J. Cobb.
On the 15th
Anniversary of the death of Father Karras, Scott starts becoming aware of a
string of brutal murders that seem to match the M.O. of a serial killer that
was executed on the same fateful night that Karras took his deadly plunge down
the stairway at the end of the first film. It turns out that Karras is still
alive in a sanitarium, but possessed by the soul of the serial killer (played
by Brad Dourif). Working through the broken body of Father Karras in his cell,
the killer is continuing his old murders by channeling his will through the
elderly catatonic patients in the hospital.
One
of the personal thrills for me was to see Jason Miller reprise his role as Father
Karras, this time a helpless victim of the serial killer with an occasional
moment or two of clarity within his own self. George C. Scott delivers a fabulous
performance and was a perfect choice to continue the role of Kinderman from
THE EXORCIST. Of course the movie has its flaws, the worst being the inclusion
of exorcism which Blatty never wanted to film but which the studio insisted
on when they called the feature EXORCIST III (Blatty's unrealized title was
to have been LEGION, based on the novel of the same name). There seem to be
bits of business, which belong to some other film here and there, but that's
how it goes sometimes.
Warner has
issued a good DVD of the film, in its original ratio of 1.85:1. The colors are
vibrant and the overall picture quality is fine. The soundtrack has been remastered
in Dolby Digital 5.1. A trailer is included which is cool in that you get to
see a stage where the title LEGION was retained. There are no other features,
unfortunately, and I would really have liked to hear a commentary from writer/director
William Peter Blatty. Given Warner's habit of issuing re-re-re-mastered editions,
maybe I'll have my wish granted one day... (Joe Lozowsky)