10 Movies That Needed Reshoots For INSANE Reasons
6. To Add An Exorcism Sequence... To The Exorcism Movie - The Exorcist III
The third Exorcist film was shot largely without issue, until four months later when production company Morgan Creek informed director William Peter Blatty that a new ending was required following a disastrous test screening.
It was ultimately felt that The Exorcist III wasn't related enough to the original horror classic, with Blatty receiving the most predictable studio note in the history of Hollywood - this movie with the word "exorcist" in the title needs a damn exorcism.
In Blatty's defense, the film was originally intended to be a standalone adaptation of his novel Legion, before the decision was made during production to tweak it into an official Exorcist entry.
And so, Fox spent $4 million to have Blatty write and shoot a new climax featuring an effects-filled exorcism sequence, which the filmmaker wasn't at all happy about.
However, Blatty reasoned that he'd rather have some measure of control over the new material than leave the producers to finish the film with somebody else, and so stayed the course to the end.
Though The Exorcist III was indifferently received upon release in 1990, its reception with fans has nevertheless grown considerably over the decades, with many opining it to be the only worthwhile follow-up to William Friedkin's iconic original.