Legion: An Exorcist III Fanedit

Exorcist 3 was a mildly interesting failure--the book Legion and the film adaptation shared the same weakness--mainly that they are way too talky. Anything in Exorcist 3 that a horror fan would actually want to see happens off-screen. If you want to see a movie in which a series of murders is described to you through dialogue then Exorcist 3 is definitely for you.

William Peter Blatty actually came up with a pretty cool story--basically there are a series of grisly (or so we are told) murders and the trail eventually leads to the psych ward of a hospital which has a patient in solitary who is the splitting image of deceased Father Karras from The Exorcist. He also was admitted to the hospital around the same time that Karras. died. The mental patient knows details about the murders that only the killer could know but he's kept under strict lock-down, so how can he be the murderer?

While the hospital patient is supposed to be the spitting image of Father Karras (Jason Miller) anytime there's dialogue he's played instead by Brad Dourif, which might seem odd but it turns out to be the best choice William Peter Blatty made. In Dourif's mouth the talky dialogue actually comes alive and the scenes become electrifying. The rest of the time the movie is generally a bit dull and way too restrained. It's a shame William Friedkin didn't direct this--restraint was never part of his cinematic vocabulary--it's likely he would have hit this one out of the park.

I haven't seen the theatrical version since it played in theaters so I can't really compare it to the fan edit. I can say that Legion was much more entertaining than I remembered Exorcist 3 being but the new ending is pretty abrupt and unsatisfying--it's very possible that this ending is an improvement but I don't even remember the original ending so I definitely couldn't say.

I would recommend this fan edit of Exorcist 3 but viewers shouldn't expect a lost classic because the original movie really wasn't very good.

Review by zeroxdash — March 30, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by FatherMerrin — March 29, 2011 @ 1:06 pm

This outstanding edit brings to life the film that should of been. This edit removes all unnecessary scenes and as a result the film flows better and actually now makes much more sense.

Added footage involving the priest in the church put a massive smile on my face and gave the scene the extra shock it needed. The added footage where Kinderman first meets Gemini/Karras makes that scene finally work.

The only added footage I wasn’t 100% convinced by is the scene at the end where the Gemini says “I have dreams of a rose…” and it fades in & out of some dream footage. For me it had the effect of making the scene feel like 2 separate scenes. But William Pete Blatty was also very keen on this type of editing, so it is actually in keeping of the style of the movie.

All the removal of Exorcist/possession subplots did nothing but enchance the film and how Spicediver handled the Nurse Possession at the end which simple and brilliant.

Finally and most importantly, the ending. Having seen some previous attempts to correct the ending on youtube I was quite apprehensive. Those cursed bug eyes seem to be a problem no-one could solve. Well… Spicediver has succeeded where everybody else has failed! The ending not only works it is also haunting in a way I think Mark Kermode described when he saw the original Legion.

The big bonus for me is that this film from start to fininsh actually felt different from the Exorcist III. I can’t explain why but Spicediver’s version has a different air to it and as as result it’s like watching a whole new movie. Instead of watching the same movies with corrections, like most edits are.

As an Exorcist fan Spicediver’s edit of The Exorcist is in all likelyhood the closet I’m ever going to get to seeing Legion. Whether it will appeal to anyone outside the Exorcist or Horror community I don’t know, but this is a fine piece of work that should be scene by all edit fans.

Review by LastSurvivor — May 2, 2011 @ 2:09 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

This was a fantastic fanedit! I hadn't seen Exorcist III until last week and I rather enjoyed it but this version is infinitely better. Without a doubt this is replaces Exorcist III for me.

The A/V quality is excellent. All the editing is perfect. As one reviewer pointed out, this feels like an official cut of a movie, which not every fanedit (unfortunately) acheives.

I loved the new beginning and simple ending.

Well done spicediver!