This ’90s Horror Sequel Is Still Underrated 30 Years Later (And You Can Stream It Free)

There’s a strong argument for William Friedkin’s The Exorcist being the greatest horror film of all time, not to mention one of the best films ever made regardless of genre. With the bar set so high, one would be forgiven for never giving any of its follow-ups a shot. This is compounded when one recognizes the incredibly negative reputation that rightly precedes John Boorman’s atrocious Exorcist II: The Heretic. Toss in the boring prequel (both versions of it) and the fact that not even David Gordon Green, fresh off his Halloween trilogy, could do the property justice and The Exorcist has had a mighty difficult time going from single masterpiece to successful franchise, not unlike Jurassic Park.

But the thing is, The Exorcist does indeed have a truly fantastic sequel out there. It just continues to fly under the radar.

What Is The Exorcist III About?

The Exorcist III picks up 15 years after the events at the MacNeil home. Lieutenant William F. Kinderman (played in the original movie by Lee J. Cobb, but by Patton‘s George C. Scott in the sequel) is again dragged into an investigation that seems to involve otherworldly presences. In this case, it seems a deceased serial killer has risen from the grave to wreak more havoc.

Now a once-catatonic patient at the local psychiatric hospital is lucid and claiming to be that killer, known as the Gemini Killer. And, once his fellow patients start falling, Kinderman finds himself inclined to believe what he once thought was impossible.

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Things take a turn for the even stranger when “Patient X” doesn’t seem to be the only individual at the hospital who is possessed by the deceased Gemini Killer. Before long, one of these possessed individuals even attacks Kinderman’s family. And, in what is perhaps an attempt to mess with the Lieutenant’s mind, “Patient X” is starting to look awfully familiar. Specifically, just like Father Damien Karras who, fifteen years earlier had been flung from a window and down a flight of stairs after an exorcism went wrong.

What Makes The Exorcist III Such a Terrifying Gem?

Whenever a follow-up tries to skew close to the original film’s actual core event, in any way, it usually doesn’t work out. For instance, Exorcist II‘s inclusion of Linda Blair was less an organic continuation for her character and more an attempt to get butts in seats. Like every other aspect of the movie, Regan MacNeil’s part in it made no sense.

Enter William Peter Blatty, who wrote not only the novel that inspired the original film, but the screenplay for Friedkin’s adaptation. He also wrote Legion, a nearly-as-strong novel that ended up serving as the inspiration for The Exorcist III, which Blatty not only wrote the screenplay for, but directed as well.

The Exorcist III was Blatty’s second (and final) time in the director’s chair after The Ninth Configuration from ten years prior. And, like The Ninth Configuration, the third Exorcist film is woefully underrated (though Configuration can be slow in spots). The only aspect of it that doesn’t quite work is the shoe-horned exorcism in the third act.

But the version that features the third-act exorcism was not the film as Blatty intended. In fact, he was displeased that the studio forced him to add in elements that made it skew closer to the iconic 1973 film. Even still, the differences between the cuts aren’t enough to significantly alter the viewing experience. In fact, the vast majority of fans actually prefer the theatrical cut.

The primary difference is that, in the Director’s Cut, “Patient X” is played solely by Child’s Play‘s Brad Dourif, whereas in the theatrical version he’s played by both Dourif and the original film’s Jason Miller. That aspect of it can be a bit confusing, but it’s far from a deal-breaker. After all, both cuts feature what must be the most frightening jump scare in cinematic history.

Stream The Exorcist III‘s theatrical cut for free on Tubi. And should you like to view Legion (the typical title for the Director’s Cut), Scream Factory’s Blu-ray is both affordable and does its best to re-incorporate footage that was once thought lost.