Runtime: 110 minutes
Directed by: William Peter Blatty
Starring: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Nicol Williamson, Jason Miller
From: Morgan Creek
I once saw someone from this cast in a Best Buy; details at the very end.
Indeed, because last night I saw a movie from Fiona Dourif, it gave me the logical idea to revisit something featuring her father-it was finally the push needed to watch the third Exorcist picture for the first time in ages. I've reviewed the first two long ago—the original is a stone-cold classic which managed to terrify people to the point that some thought it actually held demonic power... while II was awful, although amazingly so. The third is more serious than II and is a rare case of a film being directed by the author of the novel it's based on. To clarify, what I saw was the theatrical cut and not the Director's Cut as presented on the Shout Factory Blu-ray released awhile back. Despite all the films I've watched around this time of year since 2013 and the other parts of the year, I am glad there are still famous works like this to discuss.
Two characters from the first return (Lt. Kinderman & Father Dyer), although portrayed by different actors. The former investigates some killings that are the modus operandi The Gemini Killer, someone executed 15 years ago... yeah, Blatty even admitted that he was inspired by The Zodiac Killer. In fact, there is a connection to Regan's exorcism, also 15 years ago. Admittedly, I don't love the movie like many do-it's over the top at times and the studio interference is rather noticeable at times-such as one character you barely get to know having a big impact on the climax of the movie... which of course is the biggest change made by reshoots.
Be that as it may, there is still enough where I say it was pretty good overall. It was quite intriguing how two actors were used for a particular scenario, the cast as a whole is solid-it's always nice having George C. Scott-the murders are incredibly gruesome even if they're more described than shown-honestly, much of this is more a police procedural than a balls to the wall horror picture-and solid direction helped make this a rather compelling journey despite its flaws. The presence of a legendary jump scare which concludes a masterful scene deserves kudos also. One day I should purchase the Blu-ray to see that alternate version (Legion, which was the name of the novel this movie is based on) and discover how much more I dig that. Two last points:
The person from the movie who I once saw in a Best Buy: sadly it wasn't Scott or Dourif; rather, it was basketball player turned coach Patrick Ewing, who cameos in a bizarre dream sequence. Now the coach at Georgetown University, he was at the time still an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic, explaining why he lived in the area. As he's very tall, no mistaking him for anyone else.
Speaking of dreams, last night I had one which involved something involving tasting something then later choking. I later woke up because... it felt like I was choking on something. If my body is falling apart or something supernatural is happening to me, I'll update at a later time! For now I'll somehow blame The Exorcist III for that.
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