The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us
Day 9 – The Exorcist III
The most underrated horror movie of all Time? The William Peter Blatty-directed movie, based on his book Legion, delivers multiple memorable scary moments where timing is everything. Dating, the lottery, and this is especially true in horror films. The Exorcist III has impeccable timing. It strays from the conventional beats to deliver a scare when you don’t expect it – once you relax.
Given how sacred the first one is, and how utterly atrocious the second one is, it is likely you avoided Exorcist III like a plague of butt locusts. One can’t argue too much with that logic. However, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not tracking it down – likely by digging up a DVD copy of it, as it is not on Netflix or Amazon Prime.
For the plot-curious, Exorcist III follows a police detective who is investigating a rash of murders by someone claiming to be the famed Gemini Killer. To the best of my knowledge it invented the creepy idea of an old lady crawling on the ceiling. There are wicked hospital tools that could cut open a car like it was a hot knife through a stick of butter. And let’s not forget about what is known as “The Scene”. If you’ve seen it, then you know what I mean.
The Exorcist III uses one of the best tools in horror masterfully: tension. Long static shots that appear normal, then just when you think something is about to happen… nope. Then BAM! Gotcha. For a movie that is almost 25 years old, it still holds up. The music, tension, and sinister usage of religious icons is a fantastic recipe that still scares the bejeezus out of me. – Brian
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