[adrienne hanbury]

exorcist 3,much better film intirely,better cast ,george c scott was great,and it was a bonus to see the return of jason miller,some great scary scenes in this film,nothin much in e2,and the music score was much better.

[fraroc]

Are you kidding me? The Exorcist III is the TRUE sequel to the Exorcist!  Everything about that movie is genius!

[adrienne hanbury]

Are you kidding me? The Exorcist III is the TRUE sequel to the Exorcist!  Everything about that movie is genius!

[granville1]

No, for me, The Exorcist is the superior film. For all its glories, Legion panders to the worst Hollywood horror cliches, fake scares, arbitrary characters, unnecessarily goofball characters, in-jokes, rehashed Exorcist material, etc.

While the Friedkin film was universal in its horrific-documentary outreach, Legion by contrast is a feeble, ghettoized shadow of the original film, resembling a home movie of an Exorcist pipe dream.

Blatty exchanged the gentle Cobb-Kinderman for the mean-spirited, aggressive, short-tempered, Pattonesque G.C. Scott. This was not simply due to the fact that Cobb had died and Scott was available: no, the mean Kinderman dialogue (“Go home – talk about Wops; It is NOT in the file”) and acts (breaking Karras'/the Gemini's nose) was deliberately crafted by Blatty specifically for the film. It does not exist in the Legion novel.

Sharp-as-a-tack Kinderman, on the trail of a killer who replaced a decapitated boy's head with a Christ statue's head, stands directly in front of the vandalized statue while he waits for an elevator. As if this could get by the real  Kinderman; as if the hospital never reported the vandalism to the police, thereby giving them a hot tip on a hot case.

Nurse Allerton is very uneven, often a “bitch” and then suddenly warm and nurturing. Nurse Keating is the victim of melting ice and an Impatient Patient (“Angels of mercy, my ass” – THIS is funny??) before THAT corridor scene.

At the University President's office, Kinderman is lured for no reason whatsoever into a darkened hallway where the lights dim, a statue goes “The Joker” and then, horror of horrors … “Alice” delivers the President's speech notes for a truly dud non-payoff: lame, lame, lame.

Elsewhere, an aged patient exposes himself to a nurse, an act we are to take comic delight in. The Friedkin film also featured the mentally ill, but never had the bad taste and insensitivity to mock them.

For all these and many other reasons, Legion will always be inferior to The Exorcist. Unfortunately, it doesn't come within a stone's throw of the original, even though scripted and directed by the source author.

[Don]

No question in my mind. 

E3 is a clever and creepy follow-on to the landmark film, with a fine cast and good effects. 

E2 is a misfire in just about every departtment.

[fraroc]

granville1 said:

No, for me, The Exorcist is the superior film. For all its glories, Legion panders to the worst Hollywood horror cliches, fake scares, arbitrary characters, unnecessarily goofball characters, in-jokes, rehashed Exorcist material, etc.

While the Friedkin film was universal in its horrific-documentary outreach, Legion by contrast is a feeble, ghettoized shadow of the original film, resembling a home movie of an Exorcist pipe dream.

Blatty exchanged the gentle Cobb-Kinderman for the mean-spirited, aggressive, short-tempered, Pattonesque G.C. Scott. This was not simply due to the fact that Cobb had died and Scott was available: no, the mean Kinderman dialogue (“Go home – talk about Wops; It is NOT in the file”) and acts (breaking Karras’/the Gemini’s nose) was deliberately crafted by Blatty specifically for the film. It does not exist in the Legion novel.

Sharp-as-a-tack Kinderman, on the trail of a killer who replaced a decapitated boy’s head with a Christ statue’s head, stands directly in front of the vandalized statue while he waits for an elevator. As if this could get by the real  Kinderman; as if the hospital never reported the vandalism to the police, thereby giving them a hot tip on a hot case.

Nurse Allerton is very uneven, often a “bitch” and then suddenly warm and nurturing. Nurse Keating is the victim of melting ice and an Impatient Patient (“Angels of mercy, my ass” – THIS is funny??) before THAT corridor scene.

At the University President’s office, Kinderman is lured for no reason whatsoever into a darkened hallway where the lights dim, a statue goes “The Joker” and then, horror of horrors … “Alice” delivers the President’s speech notes for a truly dud non-payoff: lame, lame, lame.

Elsewhere, an aged patient exposes himself to a nurse, an act we are to take comic delight in. The Friedkin film also featured the mentally ill, but never had the bad taste and insensitivity to mock them.

For all these and many other reasons, Legion will always be inferior to The Exorcist. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come within a stone’s throw of the original, even though scripted and directed by the source author.

===============================================================

 

Well, everyone has an opinion. Personally, I think Kinderman was a acting dickhead because he was going through extreme emotional duress because of Karras' death.

 

Exorcist III is one of the few movies that effectivley creeps me out and makes me laugh at the same time. the “Rabies” are Jewish priests and Kinderman's mother in law's take on the posessed nurse “She stayin' for dinner or what?” And I can't help but LOL at the old lady on the roof scene 🙂

 

But there were some scenes that really got to me, for example the opening scene in the church where the wind blows all the papers in the church and the statue of Jesus' eyes open. And the infamous nurses station scene ALWAYS ALWAYS makes me jump even though now I see it coming.

 

In short EX3 was a great film that didn't get the notariety it deserved. Like Dominion, It struck a chord with me but totally struck out with the critics.

[fatherbowdern]

I agree with granville. Although I too felt the opening scene had some of the best direction and interesting aspects for a follow-up film, it soon fell short with a spiraling array of incomplete and jagged storytelling.

I still believe, however, if Morgan Creek let Blatty lead the film to its proper destiny, it could have had a greater potential.

Father Bowdern

[Rye]

“Blatty exchanged the gentle Cobb-Kinderman for the mean-spirited, aggressive, short-tempered, Pattonesque G.C. Scott. This was not simply due to the fact that Cobb had died and Scott was available: no, the mean Kinderman dialogue (“Go home – talk about Wops; It is NOT in the file”) and acts (breaking Karras'/the Gemini's nose) was deliberately crafted by Blatty specifically for the film. It does not exist in the Legion novel.”

I found Kinderman to be “mean” on the surface but not if you knew him well in the book. Also, didn't Kinderman punch Patient X in the face in the novel?

Sharp-as-a-tack Kinderman, on the trail of a killer who replaced a decapitated boy's head with a Christ statue's head, stands directly in front of the vandalized statue while he waits for an elevator. As if this could get by the real  Kinderman; as if the hospital never reported the vandalism to the police, thereby giving them a hot tip on a hot case.

Totally agree. Was wondering the very same thing.

[fatherbowdern]

There wasn't a person in the audience that wasn't laughing their ass off at the old lady crawling on the ceiling. I can remember when this film was first promoted in theaters as Legion. It wasn't good enough for Morgan Creek execs who demolished Blatty's novel-to-film attempt, just the same as Morgan Creek did to the two versions of the prequels. As a franchise, Morgan Creek needs to give it up.

Father B

[granville1]

Rye said:

snip
I found Kinderman to be “mean” on the surface but not if you knew him well in the book. Also, didn't Kinderman punch Patient X in the face in the novel?

=======

I don't recall Kinderman punching him in the novel.

Agreed, K is nicer in the novel, but I was addressing the cinematic K, who I thought was written far too sarcastically.

[Rye]

Kinderman does hit Patient X/Sunlight in the novel. He gives him a vicious backhand that draws blood from mouth and nose.

 

Obviously, the film (cinematic) couldn't duplicate Kinderman's constant story telling ramblings like he did in the novel.

 

I would say Kinderman (film) was less about ramblings and more about sarcastic  “one liners”, But he was “comically” abrupt when dealing with other characters in both film and novel.

 

I am guessing the film needed Kinderman to be more on the egde with dialogue.

 

Another point, Kinderman does a lot of thinking in the novel which gives him more depth in how he feels about the situation/other characters. Not much of this was translated in the film.

[granville1]

If K hits Sunshine in the novel, I forgot about it. But even so, my original point still stands, namely, that the Legion K does things that the original Exorcist K would not… Agreed that K's internal ramblings can't translate well to film – a fact for which I am grateful, as his theology is a rather lame defense of Intelligent Design, if not outright Creationism. Blatty should have stuck with his “evidence for God in acts of human altruism”, rather than appealing to the God of the Gaps…

[Rye]

I agree that Exorcist K was more reserved and Legion K was more sarcastic.  I liked the Kinderman character a lot but I'm thinking Kinderman went from a secondary character (original) to a primary character in Legion and being more reserved/non abrasive wouldn't have worked well for the main character. Even though, I think if done right, would have worked .

 

I don't think Kinderman's theological views (constant) would have worked in the film either.

 

I really liked Exorcist 3- I know there are many things I would have changed/added/left out. I would have liked a gentler Kinderman in E3. When it comes to sequels, I just love references and continuation of characters. Having Dyer, Kinderman, other characters still shown or referenced in E3 is what makes it.

I would have liked to see flashbacks in E3 like showing Father Bain dying of fright of Karras rising from the “dead”

Perhaps a flashback off Father Morning with Merrin in the past talking/ and/or working on a dig together.

Some horror scenes worked like the Nurse Keating scene. While others didn't.

[granville1]

I like your ideas for extra scenes 🙂

As a Blatty fan, I'm always wanting more, more, more 😉

I'm with you on good sequels that keep faith with the original in terms of atmosphere and characterization. It was a quite nostalgic moment, for example, when Dyer/Flanders went to the exact spot at the top of the steps where the first film ended with Dyer/O'Malley..

[fraroc]

I gotta get this book now….

[Author]

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