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‘Exorcist III’: Jeffery Dahmer’s Favorite Underrated Movie

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I have recently been considering something that didn’t cross my mind until very recently, but it must be really hard to be a sequel. Everyone involved, no matter how excited they are for the project, must be really apprehensive about going in. No matter what there are people who will automatically hate a sequel just because it exists. As horror fans, however, we shouldn’t be too judgmental because a good portion of the genre is filled with sequels. While not every sequel is good (hell, maybe not even half) and even less are fantastic so when I come across one that is great I feel the need to share my findings.

Obviously, I’m years late to the party on The Exorcist III but I just never got around to it especially after seeing how stupidly bad The Exorcist II: The Heretic was. But my completest blood couldn’t let that stop me so when the anthology Blu-ray set came out recently I decided to pick it up. Admittedly I had one other reason for picking up this set but we’ll get to that.

The basic story of The Exorcist III follows Kinderman, the cop from the first film and now played by George C. Scott, who is investigating a series of murders that seem to meet the MO of the Gemini Killer (Brad Dourif) who was put to death by electric chair 15 years prior. Copycat right? Well it would seem the details of the killings had been substituted with fake ones in order to weed out people who were pretending to be the killer. Kinderman soon finds out that man who fits the description of Father Damien Karass, previously thought dead has been in solitary confinement in the “disturbed ward” of a hospital for years. However, the man doesn’t claim to be the Father Karass he claims to be the Gemini Killer.

Brad Dourif

I won’t spoil you on how Karass may or may not have survived but they actually work it in quite nicely. Which is a perk you get when William Peter Blatty, who wrote the book and film of the first and also the book “Legion” which this is loosely based on, is directing the film. It’s nice to have a writer actually get to make his vision come alive instead of an outside perspective. Though with every studio production there is always that “too many cooks” problem and in this case the addition of “The Exorcist” title. Blatty wanted to keep the original book title and plot that didn’t include so much actual exorcism but the studios insisted on the inclusion of everything Exorcist including additional footage shot. There is also additional footage that was cut but has since been lost. A fan edit by the original title does exist where it cuts out a majority of the exorcism stuff and it apparently very much resembles the original cut.

The Exorcist III should be looked upon as a sort of secret legend in the horror genre. Not only did it sneak under the radar as a really fantastic film but it’s also genuinely frightening in a way that the original film does not hold up today. This is in part because of Blatty’s great directing but also because it was Jeffery Dahmer’s favorite movie. As an Akron, Ohio native I am inclined to know everything about Jeffery Dahmer’s life. One of those facts includes Dahmer’s admiration of Brad Dourif’s portrayal of the Gemini Killer. Knowing this prior to watching the film only made it more disturbing to me as I tried to pick out what he could have latched onto in the Gemini Killer. Obviously, Gemini’s hobby of keeping parts of his victims after he killed them stuck with Dahmer.

Side note: Dahmer was also a big fan of the Emperor in Star Wars so I guess my childhood is dead.

dahmer

The Exorcist III is such a criminally underrated movie that I actual sort of feel bad that I didn’t check it out sooner. It chilled me to the bone, including the confessional scene from hell and a creepy old lady crawling about like a fly on the ceiling. I won’t spoil the biggest scare though, it needs to be experienced unspoiled. I’m making a declaration to spread the good word about this movie and I can’t wait to show it to others who have missed out. Blatty only directed one other movie by the name of The Ninth Configuration about a doctor sent to treat AWOL US soldiers in an insane asylum. I just moved it to the top of my Netflix list so hopefully it’s another knock out.

Oh! And one more thing that I thought was a funny coincidence: It appears the Brad Dourif spent the years of 1990 to 1992 playing characters trapped within other character’s bodies.

What’s everyone else think?

Jess is a Northeast Ohio native who has loved all things horror and fringe since birth. She has a tendency to run at the mouth about it and decided writing was the only way not to scare everyone away. If you make a hobby into a career it becomes less creepy. Unless that hobby is collecting baby dolls. Nothing makes that less creepy.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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