The Exorcist III [Legion] (1990) - Theatrical Trailer
Theatrical Trailer for The Exorcist III (1990)
The Exorcist III is a 1990 American supernatural horror film written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is the third installment of The Exorcist series and a film adaptation of Blatty's novel, Legion (1983). The film stars George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson and Brad Dourif. This is the only Exorcist film not to be distributed theatrically by Warner Bros., though Warner Bros. has gained distribution rights since.
Set fifteen years after the original film (and ignoring the events of Exorcist II: The Heretic), the film centers around a character from the first film, the philosophical Lieutenant William F. Kinderman, who is investigating a baffling series of murders in Georgetown that appear to have a satanic motive behind them and furthermore have all the hallmarks of "The Gemini", a deceased serial killer. Blatty based aspects of the Gemini Killer on the real life Zodiac Killer, who, in a January 1974 letter to the San Francisco Chronicle, had praised the original Exorcist film as "the best saterical comedy that I have ever seen."
The film was originally titled Legion, but was changed to The Exorcist III by the studio executives of Morgan Creek Productions to be more commercial. The film itself was also drastically altered in post-production with re-shoots imposed by Morgan Creek Productions, who demanded the last-minute addition of an exorcism sequence for the climax of the film. The final version differed from Blatty's vision. Blatty has since expressed desire to go back and reconstruct his original film; however, all of the cut footage is reported to be lost.
Enjoy!