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George C. Scott, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Nicol Williamson ... see more see more... , Scott Wilson , Tracy Thorne

William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, directed this intriguing, deliberately-paced thriller based on his novel Legion. Ignoring the events of John Boorman's disappointing Exorcist II: The Here... read more read more...tic (1977), the film moves ahead 15 years from the end of the original, when Georgetown is being plagued by occult murders bearing signs of the long-dead Gemini Killer, James Venamon (Brad Dourif). Although the killer was executed 15 years earlier, a young boy is horribly mutilated and the ailing Father Dyer (Ed Flanders) is drained of blood in his hospital bed. George C. Scott takes over the role of dedicated police Lt. William Kinderman, who is convinced that the key to the killings lies in an amnesiac mental patient who looks exactly like the dead Father Karras (Jason Miller) at some times, and like Venamon at others. It appears that Venamon was executed at the exact moment that Father Karras became possessed by the killer/devil and hurtled from the window at the end of the first film. Kinderman slowly comes to accept that the patient is Venamon and enlists an exorcist, Father Morning (Nicol Williamson), to free Karras' soul and stop the murders. The Exorcist III is heavy on dialogue, but contains some fine performances and some chilling moments, particularly the haunting opening in a Georgetown church. George DiCenzo, Viveca Lindfors, and Zohra Lampert also appear in this underrated, low-key horror film. Award-winning makeup artist Greg Cannom contributed to the special-effects, Gerry Fisher's cinematography is excellent, and the cast includes some notable bit parts by Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Ewing, and Tyra Ferrell. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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54% liked it

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57% liked it

28 critics

R, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: William Peter Blatty

Release Date: August 17, 1990

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

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The Exorcist III Brad Dourif - Exorcist III Exorcist III The Exorcist III Patient X The Exorcist III Gemini Killer The Exorcist III
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Flixster Reviews (1,124)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    March 22, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The Exorcist III should have been called by its original title, Legion. But due to marketing issues, the studio felt that it would succeed more under an Exorcist moniker. Well let me just say it's far superior to the heretic and is far more creepy and intriguing than the previous... read more film. The cast does a fairly decent job, and the film is filled with tense moments of creepy atmosphere and suspenseful scenes. A solidly paced and directed horror film, Exorcist III is a different take on the story, but it does succeed on creating effective terror and jolts. Although not as memorable as the original masterpiece, Exorcist III is still a necessary film to watch. What's great about the film is that it still manages at delivering good scares, but unlike the original, it doesn't have the intensity that you'd want from a film like The original, but compared to the second one, this third entry is an improvement. There's plenty of good elements to deliver an effective horror film here, but in the end I felt it also was a good stand alone film as well, not a film that necessarily needed The Exorcist title on the cover. The film is very entertaining for what it is, and though is not as horrifying as the original film, it still has enough good horror bits to really make it an interesting, and scary horror film to watch. If you loved the original, was disappointed by the second; then check this one out, the film is worth your time, and will give you a few good jolts in the process.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    October 27, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    A number of brutal and ritualistic-type murders that have taken place in Georgetown has police Let. Bill Kinderman, George C. Scott, deeply concerned. Lt. Kindeman was in charge of the "Gemini Killer" serial murder case that happened fifteen years ago and the MO of these killings... read more are identical to that of that long ago killer.

    The fact that the murder victims now, a 12 years-old boy and two Catholic priests, were killed exactly the same way as those victims of the "Gemini Killer" were back then. The method of his savage actions was never reviled to the newspapers and the public yet these killings could not have possibly been done by him since the "Gemini Killer" was executed back in 1973, or was he?

    Worthy follow-up to the original movie "The Exorcist" if you throw out the awful "The Exorcist Part II: The Heretic" made some thirteen years earlier. William Peter Blatty's "Exorcist III" starts where "The Exorcist" left off when the heroic Father Karras, Jason Miller,fell down a long flight of stairs outside the MacNeil residents taking the demon who was in possession of young Regan MacNeil's body with him to his death. At that very moment the convicted "Gemini Killer" James Venamun, "Brad Dourif" was executed for his crimes. The Devil took advantage of this moment in time by transferring the soul of Venamun into the dead Father Karras' body and at the same time bring Karras back to life. Wondering around the streets of Georgetown the now unrecognizable and comatose Father Karras was taken into a local mental institution where he spent the last fifteen years, strapped down in a padded cell, and known to those in charge only as patient X.

    As time went by Karras' mental facilities slowly came back to him and with Venamun in control of his body and, this is hard to take, soul has been using the mental patients to do his bloody work. Manipulating their, crippled and very impressionable, minds the patients go out in the neighborhood as well as in the hospital and commit this latest string of "Gemini " killings.

    "Exorcist III" has a lot of dream-like and surrealistic scenes in it which at times confuses you. As it moves to it final conclusion, in the graphic battle between "Good" and "Evil", it becomes very clear to what it's been telling you for the first 90 minutes or so. "The Devil" through the helpless Father Karras, whom he brought back from the dead, is waging his war against "Good" with one of those saintly men who stood fought and died for it.

    George C. Scott gives his usual top-rate performance as the troubled and gilt-ridden, he felt that he should have saved Father Karras back in 1973, police Lt. Kinderman. At first Lt. Kinderman didn't really understand what he was up against, the Devil. When he finally did, at the end of the movie, he not only cast the Devil's demons out of the tragic priest but put Karras tortured soul to rest and peace forever, in a truly shocking and memorable final sequence.

    Both Brad Dourif & Jason Miller were just as good as Scott as the "Gemini Killer" James Venamun and Father Karras who both occupied the same, Karras', body. Like in a titanic tug of war Venamun and Father Karras were in conflict with each other throughout the entire movie. Until the evil, that was engineered by the Devil, on the people of Georgetown and the Catholic Church was finally put to an end.
    This is a film that I wish we could get a director's cut. They're was a different opening and ending along with other scenes taken out by the studio. It seems this footage is lost now but hopefully it will surface one day.
  • MovieGeek13
    April 4, 2010
    MovieGeek13
    (Review coming soon)
  • ScoopOnline
    December 29, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    If you dont appreciate your time, watch this Movie. lol
    Every good creation has 3 sides The Exorcist 3 doesnt count!
  • matertenebraum
    December 14, 2009
    matertenebraum
    William Peter Blatty can really write. Prose and dialogue. No argument. But can he direct a movie? On the strength of 'Exorcist III,' yes he can. This isn't to say that the film doesn't have its problems. On the contrary, its biggest problem, the out-of-character 'crowd-pleasing'... read more SFX climax stops it from being one of the greats. So why do I have a soft spot for this film? If, like me, you appreciate horror films that are both scary and made for grown-ups, 'Exorcist III' is refreshing and memorable for its intelligent, non-ironic journey into darkness and for its refusal (bar that ending) to dumb down for the kids. If 'Scream' is your idea of a great horror movie, this isn't one for you! The cast is not nearly young and attractive enough, there are nowhere near enough gags (though Blatty's dry, sardonic wit is happily in evidence) and the film has no pretensions at being an autopsy of the genre, therefore somehow lifting it above the films it purports to comment on. 'Exorcist III' is literary beyond 'Scream's' self-referential trivia-chasing (I would love to hear Detective Kinderman critiquing that movie!) Read 'Legion' and you'll have an idea of how good the film should have been. Flaws acknowledged and accepted, don't miss out on Brad Dourif's best performance since 'Cuckoo's Nest,' scene-stealing turns by Ed Flanders and Nancy Fish, or the superlative production design, photography and sound. More than anything else, it's the atmosphere of the film that stays with me. I can recall very few films that have a better sense of the power of stillness and silence. So much of the violence is communicated only in dialogue; your mind reluctantly does the rest
  • SirPant
    September 18, 2009
    SirPant
    Great horror film! Not fair it got caught in the Exorcist franchise as it can stand on its own as a great movie. The script was fantastic, the acting was superb and the story, as silly as it might be, works really well in blending thriller and horror together. The nurse scene is ... read moreclassic horror at its best and the granny crawling on the ceiling is probably one of my favorite moments in cinema!
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 8, 2008
    YosemiteSamFan
    This movie creeped the hell out of me and gave me nightmares. I'm often afraid to re-watch it. There are a few scenes to make you jump out of your chair. I hate thinking about the dream sequence at the bus station in heaven, the hospital hallway, the statue with the painted Joker... read more face, the little boy tied to the oars rising out of the floor, the priest in the confessional, the little Jesus statue, the spring loaded shears, the statue without the head, the old lady on the roof, the vials of blood - ewww! Spooky stuff. Such a creepy movie which pushed all my anti-devil buttons. IMHO, a classic as worthy as the original.
  • kenstachnik
    September 25, 2007
    kenstachnik
    The movie is so creepy. I mean unbelievably creepy. No seriously you don't understand...creeeeepy.
  • deano
    December 10, 2006
    deano
    Worst prequel of the horror flick after almost 20 years about a priest possessed by the devil from the first film.
  • fb20312798
    November 7, 2011
    fb20312798
    I hope someday we are able to see Blatty's original cut of the film (which is supposedly wildly different from this one in tone and execution) because its clear the intent is to make something that is more of a companion to 'The Exorcist' than a direct sequel, so all of the exorc... read moreism stuff that was added on in re-shoots of the ending feel out of place. It also (thankfully) disregards Exorcist II, so calling it III doesn't make much sense. What does remain of the original idea are the most engaging sequences and makes the film watchable (even creepy at times). The scenes with Brad Dourif alone warrant the film a viewing.

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Critic Reviews

Brian Orndorf
August 22, 2010
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

Exorcist III wields a mighty sword of scares and contemplation, drilling into those primal areas of nail-chewing tension...This film is a humdinger. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
July 30, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

I'll call it a noble failure. Full Review

Steve Crum
May 11, 2006
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Unnecessary sequel to sequel with top cast.

Kevin Carr
June 3, 2005
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Better than the other Exocist sequels.

Scott Weinberg
April 3, 2005
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Seriously scary in a few spots, but dry and overly verbose for the most part.

Ken Hanke
August 24, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

For my money, it's everything The Exorcist should have been, but never quite was. Full Review

Robin Clifford
July 8, 2003
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews

Amazing! A sequel that stands on its own and still creeps me out at times.

Widgett Walls
May 18, 2003
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

If only Blatty would be given the director's chair more often, we would have a lot more truly terrifying movies to choose from.

Brian Mckay
March 19, 2003
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com

Written and directed by William Peter Blatty, author of the original Exorcist. So, while it's not quite as chilling as the first story, It is at least a quality sequel Full Review

Alex Sandell
March 4, 2003
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

Better than part two, and almost scary in one part.

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    • Gemini Killer: But the main thing is the torment of your friend Father Karras as he watches while I rip and cut and mutilate the innocent, his friends, and again, and again , on and on! He's inside with us! He'll never get away! His pain won't end!
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