The Exorcist III: Legion

For years fans were wanting the the Directors Cut of "Exorcist III" and in 2016 Scream Factory released it.

"The Exorcist III" original version was destroyed or lost by the production company "Morgan Creek". However I think there is still the uncut print around somewhere. So in the Scream factory release they re-created the director's cut the best way they could by including VHS copy the director had. They cleaned up the footage and it was used "Sparingly". However the difference in quality and screen ratio is very noticeable and it might put off some viewers however this version is much better than the theatrical cut however I do prefer the ending that was used for the theatrical version.

The story is about Police Lt. Kinderman (George C. Scott) who notices similarities between his current murder investigation and the methods used by the "Gemini" killer (Brad Dourif) who was executed 15 years before. He soon discovers a hospitalized mental patient (Jason Miller) claiming to be the dead serial killer, but who looks uncannily like a priest Kinderman knew who died during an exorcism. As more bodies are found, Kinderman looks for connections between the two supposedly dead men.

Not exactly a sequel its a spin-off of the original film. To me its not an Exorcist sequel if Linda Blair is not in it.

Everyone needs to view this film not as a sequel but just a movie about a police investigation. In fact the film was originally titled "Legion". It was marketing people that called it "Exorcist III". When test audiences were told the title was "Exorcist III" they were expecting an Exorcism. When one didn't happen they gave this film a major "Thumbs Down"! This sent the film back into production and the re-shoots caused major controversy.

Oddly enough this comes out literally just as William Peter Blatty dies. Maybe it is a fitting end to his brilliant writing and filmmaking.

Yes you have to look past the fact that much of the "new" footage is old, bad quality and looks like it was ripped from an old VHS tape but that just leaves so much more to the imagination - much like the first version of the film did. Also a brilliant movie.

Gone are some sub-plots and even people from the original film and this version has definitely been de-Hollywootized and instead been Twin Peaksed.... stripped of many of the more elaborate sets and special effects - but it still works.

The part that was so amazing in the first film was the mood, the moments, the small things - and it's carried on into this version. I don't want to do any spoilers so I'll leave it at that. But if you loved the original you don't want to miss this one. Great acting, great lines and moments that get under your skin in a way few (if any) movies manages to do today.

I am going to rate the director's cut of Legion differently to the theatrical, which is my preferred version. This review covers the Legion version which I honestly think is interesting and very entertaining but fails to be as good as the version with an actual exorcism. What this film does well is the story progression and the characters. It also has one of the best jump scares in cinematic history. How the story is told is a true highlight. I would also argue that the theatrical version is actually better than the original film, the definitive of the perfect sequel. This version isn't as good though in my opinion. For starters the quality of the new footage is pretty terrible and jars greatly with the main part of the film. It also doesn't really add anything or do anything differently for the first hour so the extra moments are really quite pointless. Now in the final half there are more changes and these are the ones that are interesting for fans of the theatrical version. But that is all this version is, a curiosity for fans. It removes the climatic exorcism and removes Father Karras to focus more on the gemini killer. So it's different and what makes the original so engrossing is still all there but the low quality of the inserted scenes are sometimes distracting but nevertheless interesting for fans.

No pun intended - the movie was not supposed to be called Exorcist .. and yet it has or rather had all the ingredients an Exorcist sequel should have. Cast member(s?) from the original - and a story that while seems to have nothing to do with the movie from 1973 ... well is quite connected.

Once possessed one can not just shake it off - no I am not making a Taylor Swift pun here (unless you think it's cool, then I am definitely making one of course). This is the directors cut that came with the disc I got from the movie. Many scenes are included/had been saved for this. Unfortunately the video quality is not the best to say the least. You can immediately see and tell the difference to the other stuff.

If you don't mind that, there are interesting differences - although sometimes it seems to be just slight alterations of what was ultimately used in the movie. But this does end differently and you get to see more of Brad Dourif in this cut, instead of ... well another actor who is quite connected to his character in this movie. I delibaretely keep it vague ... so not to reveal too much. If you have seen it you'll know anyway what I am talking about ... if not, you will find out for yourself. Funnily enough this is shorter than the other version - directors cuts usually (mostly) are longer. I had never seen the second and third Exorcist movies ... they are quite different from the original ... which I consider a good thing ... you can't reach or copy what Friedkin did ... so this is as good as it gets (or the other version for all that I care) ...

Judging from the two flicks he made, William Peter Blatty was a talented director. He had vision and ambition. But that didn't make him infallible. THE EXORCIST III is a case in point. The theatrical version was flawed and we loved to blame the "suits" who demanded changes and re-shoots. But now here's LEGION, the version Blatty intended to make and I'm sad to report that it's even more flawed than the theatrical version. The theatrical version had that silly exorcism at the end, which brought an up until that point thoughtful flick down to the level of bargain basement horror. But the ending of the director's cut isn't much better, it's extremely anti-climactic and a million miles removed from the theological ending of the book. Another big difference is that in the director's cut Brad Dourif plays both the Gemini Killer/Patient X and Karras. You gotta hand it to the "suits" at Morgan Creek who insisted on re-shoots with Jason Miller, because the going back and forth between Dourif/Gemini and Miller/Karras in the theatrical version works like a charm. That part is much better in the theatrical version.

What's great about EXORCIST III remains great in the director's cut: the performances, especially the lead role by George C. Scott, the eerie atmosphere and photography and the best jump scare I have ever seen.

All in all, EXORCIST III remains flawed in both versions. But it's great that we can establish that by ourselves, thanks to the good folks who assembled the director's cut from whatever crude material they could get their hands on. In that respect, it's mostly historically interesting.