Technically, the film that SHOULD
have been Exorcist 2. Set some 15 years after the original, Georgetown has been shocked by a series of
grisly murders, with the victims nailed to crosses and decapitated. The police are completely baffled, with each
crime having the markings of the same killer, but finding different fingerprints and evidence at each crime scene.
The Detective in charge, LT Kinderman (a character from the original film, played this time by George C Scott) is also alarmed to find that the killings match the work of a serial killer known as The Gemini, whom he had sent to the electric chair some 15 years previously. Meanwhile, the body count begins to increase, with one of the victims even being Kinderman's long time friend Father Dyer (another character from the first movie, played here by Ed Flanders).
But whilst at the hospital, Kinderman comes across a patient in the secure wing known only as Patient X, who to looks exactly like Father Karras (played by original cast member Jason Miller), who died after falling down the stairs at the end of part 1. To compound matters further, this unknown patient seems to know an awful lot about the recent murder spree, and also claims to know a lot about the long deceased Gemini killer (played by horror veteran Brad Douriff).
Kinderman has long disputed there being an afterlife, or the notions of demonic possession. But with each new murder, evidence begins to mount that Patient X could some how be behind the killings, even though he's been confined in his cell on each occasion. The question also arises, not of who could be possessed, but rather how many?
Based on the novel "Legion" by William Peter Blatter, who also directed this. All in all, this is a a very good film which (thankfully) ignores the disastrous part 2, and fans of the first original will undoubtedly enjoy. No Linda Blair this time though!
