Legion: An Exorcist III Fanedit

Turd polishing/turkey glazing at its finest.

It's obvious a lot of Spicediver care and attention went into demucking the theatrical release and turning it into an altogether different beast. The edit takes on a different pace and feels like a religious horror piece from the '70s, which is a plus; it allows one a chance to enjoy Dourif's and Scott's performances within a more coherent story, even if the latter hams it up in spots.

As noted by Dwight Fry, the custom titles look fantastic and range-free studio organic, both at the beginning of the movie and at the end. Another nice touch: Spicediver's foreword with creepy choirboy singing before the edit proper begins.

I watched the mp4 version, which sported excellent video quality.

As a horror film, Exorcist 3 has good bones - stellar acting, suspense over gore, intricate plotting and genuine bone-chilling scares. However, the studio's need to mold it into an Exorcist sequel caused one character to be played by two different actors and included a tacked on exorcism in the third act that feels forced and unearned. Spicediver's fanedit, Legion, is his effort to restore as much as possible what the movie would have been without the studio's influence.

This is one of those fan edits in which the editor has a keen eye not to cut out material just because he can. There are subtle trims to the dialog throughout the movie, but this edit is careful not to step on the scenes that actually work in the original. While he is unable to fix the problem of two actors playing the same character, his version more accurately conveys Blatty's intent - that one actor is playing how the character looks, and the other is playing the entity that is controlling him. In the original, this distinction is harder to grasp.

However, where this edit shines is in the execution of its third act. Seemingly impossible at the outset, Spicediver has managed to exorcise the exorcism (cute, right?) altogether without the slightest hint that something is missing. The edit changes the entire tone of the ending substituting spectacle for remorseless finality. In doing so, it creates an entirely new dimension of horror altogether - the tragic fate of Father Karras.

This is an excellent edit, not only in being a taut horror film, but also as an example in demonstrating that sometimes insurmountable problems can be fixed in the right editor's hands.

Audio / Video Quality: Great. There's no pixilation or noticeable blocking in the blacks, which is a prominent color in the film. Though, I do wish the edit was available in HD.

Video: Seamless editing here. Nothing feels oddly inserted or missing.

Audio: Excellent. There are no pops, dialog chopping or noticeable transitions in the soundtrack.

Narrative: An improvement upon the original by bringing elements of the original to the front that were present but not prominent.

Enjoyment: When it comes to horror films, if you enjoy tension more than bloodshed, and pondering over spectacle, this edit is for you.

Fantastic edit of one of my favorite films. The extended flashback to the first film at the beginning works a lot better than the quicker version in the original edit, and the new ending is just awesome. I never outright hated the original "flashy exorcism" ending, but it was always something that seemed so utterly pointless, especially considering the rather low-key film that preceded it. Obviously due to the limited material at hand the new ending doesn't quite deliver the emotional end the film is building towards, but it's much more in line with the rest of the film than the studio-imposed ending.