Review of The Ninth Configuration (1980) by Jason G — 15 Oct 2007

This is one of my all time favorite films. Yes, that's right. Although most people respond with a confused "Huh?" when I tell them that because it's also a very forgotten film. Released in 1980, it sneaked into the theater and sneaked right back out without so much as a whisper. I discovered it on VHS about 12 years ago and was completely blown away by it. The film's director, William Peter Blatty, wrote The Exorcist. And while I can say with definite certainty that that movie was a very good horror film and an excellent take on questioning your religion in general, The Ninth Configuration blows The Exorcist out of the water. And then some.

Blatty himself has said that the movie is a "continuation" of what was explored in The Exorcist, and after several viewings of the picture, it still continues to fascinate me.

Based on Blatty's own novel "Twinkle Twinkle, Killer Kane", the plot involves the always underrated Stacey Keach as Colonel Vincent Kane, who arrives at a remote castle which has been turned into an insane asylum for post-traumatic army soldiers. What follows can only be described as a superbly crafted piece of storytelling. Keach maintains his own, while Scott Wilson as Captain Billy Cutshaw almost steals the movie as a an ex-army officer searching for his identity and what he believes in. Exorcist alumni Jason Miller appears as a messed up soldier who thinks he's a casting agent trying to cast his version of Shakespeare's Hamlet.....with dogs.

This, dear friends, is what movie making is all about. Granted, The Ninth Configuration is not going to appeal to a lot of people, but those looking for something original with endless quotable dialogue and pure cinematic brilliance....then this is your movie. See it.

Grade: A+.