The Exorcist III

Fifteen years after the execution of the Gemini killer, Georgetown falls prey to grisly serial slayings bearing the Gemini's trademark mutilations. Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of the town's psychiatric institution, a patient emerges from catatonia, claiming to be the Gemini and demanding recognition. Investigating the case is Lt Kinderman (Scott), whose world-weary scepticism is challenged not only by the patient's exact knowledge of the crimes, but by his uncanny resemblance to Father Damien Karras, who fell to his death fifteen years earlier while performing an exorcism. Blatty's sequel eschews the visceral effects of its predecessor (it ignores Boorman's The Heretic) to rely instead on the chilling power of suggestion. The excessively wordy dialogue is interrupted by intervals of brooding malevolence, and by a couple of contrived but startlingly effective shocks. The real terror, however, comes from Dourif's straight-to-camera serial killer monologues, which breathe eerie life into the script. With the exception of an unnecessary spectacular climax, this is a restrained, haunting chiller which stimulates the adrenalin and intellect alike.