The Exorcist III

A particularly cruel and gruesome serial killer is at large in Georgetown. His murders, which involve torture, decapitation and the desecration of religious icons, is bad enough; but they also resemble those of the Gemini Killer. The killing in Georgetown, maybe connected to the exorcism of fifteen years previous.

The official sequel to the original Exorcist, with the writer, and for this instalment director William Peter Blatty having nothing to do with the fun but silly Exorcist 2.

The first thing to notice about the third instalment is the acting and Blattys script is solid and well written, a vast improvement from part 2.
Actor George C. Scott as the detective lead is great, and fellow actor Ed Flanders as his priest friend also puts in a nice performance.

The film has one great set piece, an intense horror sequence, which uses a static camera position to drive a five minute sequence before a violent act, a great use of horror timing, and as a whole very affective. Amongst the the very best horror scenes of the 90's.

Still the film is not as engaging, interesting nor as thrilling in comparison to the first film. The less said about the over-the-top ending the better. The studio were crying out for an exorcism and a big special effects closing act, and what remains is a slap dash mess of an ending, which brings comparisons to the ending of the Exorcist 2.