THE EXORCIST III A film review by kreme@nyx.uucp Copyright 1990 kreme@nyx.uucp
THE EXORCIST III is the real sequel to what might have been the single most important horror movie since Boris Karloff portrayed Dracula. The original EXORCIST shattered the bounds of what was acceptable gore and, unfortunately, spawned a generation of slasher films that were nothing but gore. Released in 1973 it depicted a level of violence that I do not believe had ever been encountered before.
The sequel, THE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (I think), was so bad that it completely submarined the career of Linda Blair (who?). When I saw the preview for E III in the theater several months back I heard several people say, "Three? Was there a Two? I don't remember II." The lucky few. The lucky few.
Now, 17 years later we have a sequel. Fifteen years have passed and some very disturbing murders are being committed. There is none, or very little of the shocking gore of the original or of the multitude of "successful" horror movies of the last decade. The gore is minimalistic and the emphasis is on scaring the bejeezus out of the audience without tricks.
There is one scene where the camera is set up at the end of a hallway. A series of miniscares and an earie soundtrack warns you that something is going to happen. Something dreadful. You know what will happen. You know to who. You know to who. The demon has told you who is going to die. You KNOW. And yet, when the moment comes, I nearly bolted out of my chair. A figure in a white flowing gown walks quickly across the hallway, perfectly erect. The scene is surreal. The flowing robes and the fast soundtrack make the action seem like it is moving too fast, but it is real time. The figure has the murder weapon stretched out in front like an object of rapture. There is never the scene of the murder. No blood is spilled, and yet the audience is truly terrified.
I highly recommend this movie for several reasons. It is a return to the good old fashion psychological thriller (a la ALIEN, or PSYCHO) with a good dose of horror thrown in for good measure. It might be a good idea to see THE EXORCIST before you see this to refresh your mind as to some of the details. The plot of the first movie is rather important.
Blatty's depiction of Satan is rather disturbing. There is a quality there that is so human. The demon has his points... if you look just for an instant from his perspective. Blatty allows the story to unfold slowly and terrifyingly. There are long pauses in dialog, and long speeches from major players in the plot. The acting is wonderfull [sic].
[Moderator's note: Karloff never played Dracula.] .
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