10 Movie Franchises Saved From Extinction By Sequels
2. The Exorcist 3 Dropped, Er, Whatever The Heretic Was Trying To Do
A lot of you might not even remember that there were any sequels to William Friedkin’s infamous “scariest film ever made”, 1973’s possession horror The Exorcist. That’s mostly the fault of Point Blank/ Deliverance director John Boorman, an extremely talented director whose work was, well, less than, ideally suited to the franchise.
Friedkin had no interest in making a sequel, whilst Boorman was excited by the chance to work on an existing property as he saw “the chance to make an extremely ambitious film and… take the audience on a very adventurous cinematic journey.”
And boy did he—unfortunately for the often great director, his sequel was less a one way ticket to hell and back and more an express train to s***sville. The film was reviled by both critics and audiences, and still ranks amongst the worst films of all time decades after its release.
So, from greatest of all time to worst. Not an easy drop off to pull back from.
And yet!
That’s just what 1990’s The Exorcist III managed. Directed by the author of the original novel William Peter Blatty, the flick followed a troubled cop searching for a copycat killer staging gruesome Satanic murders. The film is a tense, haunting thriller with creeping supernatural elements, an underrated instalment which returned the series to its former glory and did its predecessor proud. Oh well—at least Mr. Boorman will always have Excalibur.