10 Most Underrated Horror Movie Performances

The Exorcist III is too often lumped in with the other dud sequels and prequels in the franchise, but it's a strong movie that should be best remembered for both that infamous jump scare and Brad Dourif's mesmerising performance as James Venamun, aka The Gemini Killer.

Excellent though George C. Scott is as protagonist Lieutenant William F. Kinderman, it's Dourif who makes the deepest impression with his bestial, unrelentingly intense rendition of Gemini.

Dourif has to chew through lengthy monologues and remains almost hypnotically captivating despite being restrained in a straightjacket the entire time, enough that some of the script's shakier elements can basically be forgiven. His facial expressions, physical movements, and vocal choices all add up to one of the most viscerally discomforting depictions of evil the genre has ever seen, even if the film's generally underrated nature means that Dourif's work too lacks the plaudits it deserves.

Fascinatingly, though, Fox didn't even want Brad Dourif in The Exorcist III at all, initially planning for original Exorcist star Jason Miller to play the part - rather than a mere cameo as "Patient X" - and it was only Miller's ailing health which prompted the pivot to Dourif.