The Exorcist III

The Exorcist III (1990)

Timing: 1:50 (110 min)

6.2/10
723

5.269/10
2474

6.5/10
37708

All about film

Video 11

Photo 70

Actors and characters

Release date

1990-08-17

Country

United States

Production

Morgan Creek

Genre

Horror, Mystery

Budget

$9 300 000

Revenue

$39 000 000

Website

Director

William Peter Blatty

Actors

George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Nicol Williamson, Scott Wilson, Nancy Fish, George DiCenzo, Don Gordon, Lee Richardson
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Carter DeHaven, James G. Robinson, Joe Roth

Operator

Gerry Fisher

Composer

Barry De Vorzon

Artist

Audition

Editing

Todd C. Ramsay, Thom Noble, Peter Lee-Thompson
All team (57)

• Director William Peter Blatty (1928-2017) filmed this movie based on his own novel, “Legion,” published in 1983. Morgan Creek Productions decided to title the film “The Exorcist III: Legion,” although there is no exorcism in either the novel or the script. The incorrect title was only noticed after filming had been completed, and the producers decided that it was necessary to write, shoot, and add additional scenes to the film to better match the status of a sequel to William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” (1973). The last third of the film had to be completely redone and a new character, Father Morning, was introduced, while filming the exorcism scene cost almost $4 million.
• William Peter Blatty hoped to gain access to deleted scenes from the studio’s archives in order to re-edit the original version of the film, which, he said, differed significantly from the final released version. To Blatty’s disappointment and the dismay of fans hoping to see previously unseen footage, the scenes were lost. They were only found in 2016. And Blatty released this version of the film shortly before his death.
• The character of Gemni Killer (where 'killer' translates to 'murderer', and Gemini is the constellation and corresponding zodiac sign) was inspired by a real-life serial killer nicknamed 'Zodiac'.
• The idea for the film originated with director and screenwriter William Peter Blatty on the wave of success of 'The Exorcist' (William Friedkin, 1973). He initially tried to convince Friedkin to film a story about a priest who comes to a mental institution, but was unsuccessful, after which he wrote the book and filmed the movie himself.
• Producers demanded that scenes of exorcism be added to the film's finale, and also insisted that someone from the cast of the first film in the franchise appear in it. Jason Miller (1939-2001), who played Father Carras in Friedkin's film, was busy with another project when Blatty's film began shooting, so he was asked to appear in several scenes as 'Patient X'. Brad Dourif was already cast in this role, and since many scenes with him had already been filmed, Blatty decided to use footage of both actors. Thus, Miller plays 'Patient X' when Carras awakens within him, while Dourif plays when the personality of the killer nicknamed Gemini takes over.