Review of The Exorcist III (1990) by Justin M — 30 Mar 2004

Taking a much different approach than the first two EXORCIST films will either infuriate or please viewers and there's just no use arguing with people on the merits of this film, because something can be said for those who love it AND those who hate it. HOWEVER I have huge admiration for the nerve it took William Peter Blatty to bring his distinct vision to the screen and take big chances with this film. The end result is never boring and it refuses to be stupid, even when it threatens to fall apart from all the overly-complicated plot weirdness. There's loads of subtext here, it's not nearly as dependent on FX and gore than the first film, it has creepy atmosphere to burn and delivers a few great shocks (though some of the most horrible things in this film are implied, not shown). The casting is great, as are the three-dimensional characters and the dialogue. George C. Scott is his usual interesting and involved self and Jason Miller, Brad Dourif (in an electrifying an intense cameo), Ed Flanders, Scott Wilson and everyone else contribute heavily.

I heard the senseless exorcism climax was added to the film later against Blatty's wishes so audiences wouldn't be "confused," which basically means the studio who financed it take the general viewing public as idiots.

Make sure to also check out Blatty's great THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (AKA TWINKLE, TWINKLE, KILLER KANE), also a pretty underrated movie. I noticed he hasn't returned to scripting/directing film since this was made, probably because it wasn't well received at the time, but it's nice to read other comments and see I'm not the only one who appreciates this.