The Exorcist III (1990) ****1/2

Even in its truncated form, William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III (1990) fires at peak form on so many levels. It's the rare sequel that is almost as good as the original (an impossible feat), not to mention a second sequel vastly superior to the first (though I have a bit of a soft spot for John Boorman's weird and wacky entry). EIII is quite simply a masterclass in psychological horror, tension, cinematography, editing, and acting (it has some really funny dialogue too!). No boos from the gallery here (though I do wish that 20th Century Fox had let Blatty keep the title Legion from his 1983 book on which this film is based; it’s much more appropriate).