The Best of Horror Films -- The Exorcist III -- Arachnia's Den of the Deceived

Based on William Peter Blatty's novel Legion, This third installment into the Exorcist proves itself in being nearly as gripping and terrifying as the first. Now, of course we all know that no Horror film will ever come close to being what the original Exorcist was to the film industry (and possibly even society as a whole), but such is not to say that this film isn't just as brilliant in it's own way.

The Exorcist III comes to us as an enthralling tale of violent crimes, a detective, and a twist of the demonic to make things interesting. However, this story isn't one of actual possession, but more of "spirit jumping" (for lack of a better term. Veteran actor George C. Scott headlines the cast as Lt. Kinderman, the man in charge of finding the mysterious killer who has recently been cropping up in some interesting places, leaving a complex bloody trail behind him. Kinderman takes special interest in the case, noticing far too many similarities between the recent rash of brutal killings, and murders committed years ago by a serial killer, proclaiming himself "The Gemini Killer" (he always carved the sign of the Gemini into his victims palms). Finally, Kinderman is lead to a patient in the hospital disturbed ward, a patient who claims to be the Gemini.

The "famous" staircase in Georgetown.

Upon talking to the man, Kinderman is intrigued even further when his old friend is mentioned, the late Father Damien Karras. The man begins to rant on about how The Master helped him take over Damien's body just as he was slipping away at the bottom of that long flight of stairs on that fateful night many many years ago. The Gemini's own body already dead, he was given a new one from The Master in return for his "years of service".

Reality tugs at Kinderman, torn between believing the man (who does happen to know all sorts of top secret details about The Gemini Killings, and also about his friend Karras) and dispelling him as a lunatic. After all, while he is under strict lock and key in the hospital, the murders continue to occur. If this man is, in fact, the killer, how is he doing it? How is he getting out?

I give The Exorcist III the utmost credit for going out on a limb and doing more than merely barfing out another possession story. Movie makers I feel often get tempted into trying to duplicate a previous film that reaped so much success and loyalty from fans. This film isn't much like the original at all, short of the incredibly effective finale of the film, in which the "showdown" between good and evil we've come to expect from Blatty, erupts into climactic lava.

Be sure to look for all kinds of interesting cameo appearances in this movie. To name a few, if you look hard enough you'll find Patrick Ewing (as the Angel of Death in the Heaven segment) and Larry King (playing himself).

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Another notable cast member is the man who plays The Gemini Killer. Brad Dourif gives an incredibly memorable performance in this film, but many of you Horror fans will know as soon as he opens his mouth that he was the voice of Chucky in the Child's Play films. He also appeared in such films as Body Parts, Graveyard Shift, and possibly most notably, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.