|
When it
comes to the relationship between the original Exorcist novel / film
and the Legion novel / Exorcist III film, there are a variety
of elements that do not add up. Likewise, various parts of the Legion
novel were alternated for its movie counterpart.
Listed below are all the
inconsistencies I have so far identified. Do not hesitate to
contact me if anything relevant is
missing.
Note: the inconsistencies are listed in the order of which they were (are) discovered.
- Ryan S
» No. |
» Image(s) |
» The Exorcist
(film) / The Exorcist III (film) inconsistencies: |
#1 |

 |
In
The Exorcist III, the University President and Lt. Kinderman are
discussing possible connections between the murders that have been
occurring throughout Georgetown. They come up with a possible solution
to account for Thomas Kintry's death (the black boy who was crucified
on the dock):
"Damien [Karras] gave
our School of Linguistics a tape he wanted them to analyze for him.
The voice of the MacNeil kid, supposedly possessed. He wanted to find
out if the sounds on the tape were a language, or just a lot of
gibberish. He was looking for proof that the MacNeil kid was speaking
in a language she couldn't possibly have known."
"And was she?"
"No. The tape was
really English in reverse. But the expert who figured that out--"
"--Was Kintry's
mother."
In The Exorcist,
however, this is never mentioned, and we see a man inform Karras about
the tape. |
#2 |

 |
In
addition to the above inconsistency, and in the same scene, the
University President accounts for Fr. Kanavan's death:
"And Father Kanavan?"
"Kanavan had my job
back then. He gave Damien permission to investigate the case."
Once again, it is not
explicitly mentioned in the original film that Kanavan is the man
giving Karras permission to investigate the case; and it is Fr. Thomas
Bermingham who had the occupation of University President, not
Kanavan. Bermingham was also the technical / religious supervisor for
the original Exorcist film.
It should also be noted
that it is Fr. Bermingham who is murdered in this scene in the
Legion novel. It was changed to Fr. Kanavan for the film of The
Exorcist III.
It should also be
noted that, in the Legion novel, Fr. Bermingham's first name is
changed to Ken, and Bermingham is mentioned as giving Karras
permission to investigate the case of possession, not Kanavan as
stated in The Exorcist III. |
#3 |

 |
In
both the Legion novel and The Exorcist III film, it is
implied that Lt. Kinderman and Fr. Karras were very close friends. In
one of the first scenes of the film, Kinderman is seen holding up a
framed photograph of himself and Karras, while mournfully whispering
the name "Damien".
Further dialogue is heard in the film:
"Father Karras was a Jesuit psychiatrist at Georgetown University. Man
was a Saint; he was my best friend, I loved him."
In
the original Exorcist novel and film, Karras and Kinderman
barely encounter each other at all during the entire ordeal, making
this supposed "friendship" between the two men extremely questionable. |
» No. |
» Image(s) |
» Legion
(novel) / The Exorcist III (film) inconsistencies: |
#1 |
N/A |
The
time that elapsed between the events in The Exorcist and the
events in Legion alternate. In the Legion novel, it is
twelve years; in The Exorcist III film it is fifteen
years, and in the
unreleased trailer, it is seventeen years. |
#2 |
 |
In
the Legion novel, the Gemini Killer's real name is spelt "James
Vennamun," with a double 'n'. In the film, it is a single 'n'. |
#3 |
N/A |
In
the Legion novel, Patient X is located in cell twelve. In the
film, it is cell eleven. |
#4 |
 |
The
following is written on page 148 of the paperback Legion novel:
Tacked against the side of the desk was the motto "An Alcoholic Is
Someone Who Drinks More Than His Doctor."
In
The Exorcist III film, the motto is framed and hung high up on the
wall, with the text reading "A psychotic is someone more neurotic
than his doctor". |
#5 |
 |
In
the Legion novel, Nurse Allerton is described as a young woman
in her twenties. Her first name is Emily. In The Exorcist III,
she is much older, and her first name is Julie. Allerton is also the
one who is questioned regarding Fr. Dyer's death in The Exorcist
III film. In Legion, it is Nurse Keating.
It should also be
mentioned that, in the Legion novel, the woman appearing in
this scene is not Nurse Allerton, but a different nurse named Julie
Fantozzi. |
#6 |
N/A |
The
following is written on page 175 of the paperback Legion novel:
The Gemini killings were confined to San Francisco and had spanned a
range of seven years from 1964 to 1971, when the Gemini was killed by
a rain of bullets while climbing a girder of the Golden Gate Bridge,
where the police had entrapped him after countless failed attempts.
In
The Exorcist III film, we are told that the Gemini Killer died in
the electric chair. |
#7 |
N/A |
In
the Legion novel, the erratic Chief of Hospital staff, Dr.
Tench, is renamed Dr. Freedman. |
#8 |
N/A |
In
the Legion novel, the John Donne piece (Death, be not
proud...) that is spoken by Karras / Patient X in his cell in
The Exorcist III film, is extended and read aloud at Fr. Dyer's
funeral by the University President, Father Riley. |
#9 |
 |
In
the Legion novel, Fr. Karras' headstone reads the following:
Damien
Karras, S.J. 1928 - 1971
In The Exorcist III
film, his headstone reads that he was born on the 12th of April, 1935,
and died on the 9th of October, 1975.
Interestingly, William
Peter Blatty was born in the year 1928. |
#10 |
N/A |
In The Exorcist
III film, it is Dr. Temple who describes the events of when
Patient X was brought into the institution. In the Legion
novel, Nurse Christine Charles describes it. |
#11 |
N/A |
In The Exorcist
III film, Kinderman insists - violently - that the details he
seeks about Patient X are "not in the file". This conversation is
taking place between himself and Nurse Allerton, with Dr. Temple
watching. In the Legion novel, it is entirely between Kinderman
and Temple. |
#12 |
N/A |
In The Exorcist
III film, Kinderman says that "only Richmond homicide knew," about
the real details of the Gemini Killer's trademarks. In the Legion
novel, "Richmond" is changed to "San Francisco". |
#13 |
N/A |
In The Exorcist
III film, Karras / Patient X details picking Karen up in Richmond,
then dropping her off at the city dump. In the Legion novel,
"Richmond" is changed to "Sausalito". |
#14 |
N/A |
In The Exorcist
III film, it is Nurse Allerton who guides Kinderman in and out of
Patient X's cell, as well as witnessing his broken nose, and
subsequently aiding Kinderman's swollen hand. In the Legion
novel, it is Nurse Spencer. |
|
|