The Exorcist III and tells Karras to fight the Gemini. Karras regains his free will briefly and orders Kinderman to shoot him. He fires his revolver several times, hitting Karras in the chest, fatally wounding him and stopping the Gemini Killer. Kinderman puts his revolver against Karras' head and fires. William Peter Blatty, who wrote the original "Exorcist" novel and the screenplay for its film adaptation, initially had no desire to write a sequel. However, he eventually came up with a story titled "Legion", featuring Lieutenant Kinderman, a prominent character in the original "Exorcist" novel (though played a minor role in the eventual
The Exorcist (film) director Friedkin wanted some very detailed facial close-ups. When this film was made, von Sydow was 44, though he was made up to look 74. Alan McKenzie stated in his book "Hollywood Tricks of the Trade" that the fact "that audiences didn't realize von Sydow was wearing makeup at all is a tribute to the skills of veteran makeup artist Dick Smith." "The Exorcist" was also at the center of controversy due to its alleged use of subliminal imagery introduced as special effects during the production of the film. Wilson Bryan Key wrote a whole chapter on the film in