THE EXORCIST III has
a troubled production history. It first started as a sequel to the original
Exorcist film before writer William Peter Blatty split with director William
Friedkin over creative differences, and then it became the novel Legion before
Blatty decided again to make it as a movie.
John Carpenter was approached to direct and he passed which paved the
way for Blatty to direct the movie himself.
He thought he had final cut, but Morgan
Creek disagreed after the
production was finished. It led to
rewrites and three weeks of reshoots including bringing back the original actor
(Jason Miller) who played Father Karras back and adding an exorcism
climax. The additional shoot was filled
with problems like Jason Miller not remembering his lines and someone doubling
for him and bringing back Brad Dourif to shoot new material as the Gemini
Killer. I have seen the theatrical cut
which is still a great horror movie by its own right, but the director’s cut
does feature some great acting from Dourif.
On the downside, the exorcism scene should have still been left out
while some of the additional shooting does have some better framing of some
scenes in the composite director’s cut (since Scream Factory had to piece
together the cut using a VHS source with the HD source material of the
theatrical cut to create something pretty close to Blattty’s original vision).
THE EXORCIST III should be
treated as a direct sequel to the
first Exorcist film as it picks up with Police Lieutenant Kinderman (George C.
Scott) who is haunted over the death of his friend, Father Damien Karras, who
died over 15 years earlier. He is drawn
into a case involving murders linked to the Gemini Killer (who was supposedly
died in the electric chair years ago), but Kinderman finds that the Gemini
Killer may be in the body of a psychiatric patient who bears an uncanny
resemblance to someone that Kinderman knew.
THE EXORCIST III is an exploration of terror, faith, and Haven and
Hell. It is a detective story mixed
with theological discussion about the nature of evil.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
DISC 1-
Vintage promotional featurette
with cast and crew interviews
with behind-the-scenes footage and clips
Almost forty minutes of vintage
interviews edited together
with clips from the movie. Interviews
with writer/ director William Peter Blatty, actor George C. Scott, actor Jason
Miller, Ed Flanders, and more
Deleted scenes, alternate takes,
and bloopers (some sourced
from the VHS edit)
Two theatrical trailers in
1.33:1 and six TV spots which
spoil the climatic scene
Three still galleries: Behind-the-Scenes,
Lobby Cards and
Posters, and Still Photography
DISC 2-
Audio commentary with writer/
director William Peter Blatty
serves as a an audio commentary for the director’s cut as he talks about The
Exorcist, The Exorcist III (aka Legion), and faith
DEATH, BE NOT PROUD: THE MAKING
OF THE EXORCIST III is a
feature length documentary which Scream Factory unfortunately has divided into
five featurettes with no play all option for the documentary:
A “WONDERFUL” TIME
(24:30)- interviews with cast and crew as
they talk about The Exorcist and its impact, how no one liked Exorcist 2, and
how THE EXORCIST III came about from starting as a sequel that Blatty was
developing with the original film’s director to becoming the novel Legion and
Blatty writing and directing the film adaptation of his own novel. They talk
about the unusual medical tool they
created for the movie and the casting of the movie
SIGNS OF THE GEMINI (17:42)- an interview with actor Brad Dourif
as he
talks about his involvement as the Gemini Killer character during the original
shoot and the reshoot
THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS (18:03)- production designer Leslie Dilley, the
assistant production designer, and the production illustrator talk about the
production design of the movie
MUSIC FOR A PADDED CELL (15:16)-
composer Barry DeVorzon reveals he was originally wanted by Blatty to be the
composer of the first Exorcist to talk about the various elements of THE
EXORCIST III score
ALL THIS BLEEDING (28:49)-
a look at the problematic reshoot
to add the exorcism climax in the theatrical cut and bringing Jason Miller to
play Patient X/ Father Karrass, and the special effects and makeup effects
featured in the additional shooting
FINAL ANALYSIS: THE EXORICST
III is an underrated horror
classic which offers a great extras package from Scream Factory (with the minor
complaint they split up the making-of documentary into featurettes without
offering a play all option).
This
review is ©10-26-2016
David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments
to feedback@enterline-media.com
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