Although The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It found praise for its demonic tale told through the perspective of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s loving relationship, it’s not the first possession film to accomplish this feat, nor is it the best. Based on two acclaimed supernatural investigators to some — and seen as lying charlatans and sexual predators to others — the Conjuring franchise often paints Ed and Lorraine’s relationship and vast knowledge of the occult as unparalleled.
However, The Exorcist III delivers a deeper, more well-rounded possession tale rooted in the love between Father Dyer and Lieutenant William F. Kinderman. Written and directed by The Exorcist‘s William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist III renders more chills than The Conjuring 3 through its subversion of Catholic iconography and the unseen nature of evil. Plus, it shows how a relationship forged through trauma can also be healing.
Fifteen years after the death of Father Karras in 1973’s The Exorcist, The Exorcist III informs the viewer that Father Dyer and Lt. Kinderman have created a ritual of meeting up on the anniversary of Karras’ death to remember him. In this way, the film acts as a direct sequel to the first film that’s rooted in its tragedy — the inability to save Karras from possession.
Off the bat, this premise of two men continuing a friendship creates a unique premise that feels more memorable than Ed and Lorraine‘s relationship. For the latter, they are in business together, own a home and are married — all things which make it incredibly more difficult to walk away from each other. Meanwhile, Dyer and Lt. Kinderman annually reconvene by choice — both convinced it is the other one who needs them.
While the two men are friends, there’s a deeper, more loving banter between them. In a variety of intimate moments — like when Lt. Kinderman yells at Dyer about lemon drops or when Kinderman loiters outside the theater so he doesn’t have to go home to his mother-in-law but really just wants to a beer with Dyer — the duo embody the kind of bickering and knowing silence that feels as nuanced as a decades-long marriage.
While viewers see Ed and Lorraine’s commitment to each other, audiences forget that’s the bare minimum of a marriage. What they don’t see between them — but do with the two older men — is sacrifice and healthy conflict. Yes, Lorraine remembers her husband’s pills in Conjuring 3, but they both continue to push past each other’s comfort level.
Lorrain’s fainting spells/migraines and Ed’s heart attack are seen as issues to overcome together in the plot, whereas what either one needs is to value the safety of their partner over their need to be a hero. Ed builds one cloying gazebo at the end of Conjuring 3, but the couple never discusses how a possessed Ed almost killed Lorraine, and the latter has all but forgotten the trauma. Their love is never tested with each other, which makes it hard to really believe these two have been married for decades, as viewers never see them overcome conflict or compromise.
While Ed and Lorraine never question their faith, Father Dyer and Lt. Kinderman invite a dialogue about God, with the latter having a mistrust of the Catholic faith. This push-and-pull informs a lot of the elder duo’s compelling conversation. In The Exorcist III‘s most chilling moment, Lt. Kinderman describes a case where a 12-year-old child’s head was cut off and replaced with a statue of Christ’s head, and his body was crucified. Unlike the Warren’s simplified view that faith heals all evils, Kinderman wants to know how a God can stand by and let men (possessed or not) commit horrors like this, while Dyer maintains there’s an eternal plan and trusting this idea is the hardest part of faith.
Furthermore, audiences never see the horrific deaths in The Exorcist III, which leaves the maiming up to the imagination. The Conjuring 3, on the other hand, relies on elaborate, CGI-fueled possession scenes to prove that evil exists. In The Exorcist III, evil is personified by the air, traveling from person to person and killing randomly. If you blink, you might miss who was possessed ,as there are no CGI effects to overtly signal terror. When evils do strike, it subverts images of Catholicism — killing in confessionals, destroying statues of Jesus and draining the blood of priests.
While The Conjuring 3 dares to have the devil in its title, the film shies away from letting the devil have its due. Choosing to imbue Ed with priest-like powers, evil forces are easily vanquished through prayer and rosary breeds. Unfortunately, this makes for a less than thrilling Big Bad and dares to state that Ed and Lorraine are more powerful than the Devil. Holy objects like bibles are used as a way to smoke out evil, but the thriller doesn’t dare to blaspheme. For a film that’s supposedly showing terror, it seems more concerned with glorifying Catholicism than rooting its material in how the Devil works.
Overall, The Exorcist III is harrowing for how random, malevolent and patient the Devil is. By its end, it finds a way to link back to The Exorcist in a tragic way while still letting the power of faith shine amongst evil. It is not unquestioned love that saves the day, but it is perseverance and courage in the face of a force who is just waiting for Lt. Kinderman to give into his disbelief. In this way, The Exorcist III manages to show religion as a source of salvation, not a weapon.
About The Author
