Since this doesn't involve any of the main characters of the previous story, then who is the main focus here? That would be minor character Lieutenant William Kinderman, investigating some mysterious murders that call back to the Gemini Killer, who had died fifteen years prior (twelve years in the novel). There are some familiar faces thrown in there yet the focus is always on Kinderman, his search for the truth, and his own philosophical musings on the world. The book is more of a philosophical horror film that is more of a slow burn that is more about the existence of evil in the world among other things and the movie does go into that aspect pretty faithfully, at least until the ending which does take the tone into an abrupt direction but I'll get to that when I do.
The easiest comparison I can make where the movie deviates with the book is with its main character but there is a pretty good reason why that may be. In the first Exorcist, the role of Kinderman was played by Lee J. Cobb, who passed away in 1976 which I think is a huge shame since it would have added to the whole character change a bit more but they got George C. Scott to play Bill in this movie so there is someone that is rather respectable in the role still. Maybe because of all of that, it is obvious to compare the way the two of them play the same character with Cobb being more of a relaxed yet concerned individual who was always a step ahead without giving it away (best example of this being the scene where he is talking to Chris in the house) while Scott is more of a pessimist who might be more so due to the return of the pattern of the Gemini Killer yet he still remains friends with Father Dyer after all of these years, spending the day with him at every anniversary of Karras' death since. The added pessimism is a change for the film since in the book, Kinderman is constantly going on philosophical tangents about the concept of evil; it is there in the movie but the main difference in the adaptation is his belief system which plays in his interactions with Tommy Sunlight. In the book, he is more of a believer while in the movie, he is all but stated to be an atheist.
The nonbeliever aspect does play into his interactions with Tommy in the hospital which play out differently yet similarly as well. The difference being the ending but let's get to the Gemini Killer, who is given a backstory in the book where his name is James Vennamun, the son of a evangelical preacher who abused him along with his brother for most of their life; more so with his brother, who was left mentally unstable and died due to a slight moment of ignorance by the hospital staff. The motive for the killings is the same, that being so James can shame his father, since his son is a serial killer. A major difference is the supposed death of the Gemini Killer, where it was assumed he had been in hiding in the book, where in the movie, he was clearly executed. Let's bring up perhaps the best reason to watch the movie though, and that is Brad Dourif playing the Gemini Killer, there really just for the audience since Kinderman only sees Karras when looking at him.
One thing that can happen with adaptations is adding a character or removing one for whichever reason, being that his involvement doesn't impact the story, time constraints, the list can go on. This movie does both where a character is removed while the added character is there mainly for the new ending. First the character who doesn't show up, that being Dr. Amfortas who works at the hospital along with Dr. Temple, whose role in the movie is severely reduced, which might have been due to the changes since during the scene he is being interviewed by Kinderman, some shots show his notepad with weird writing which alludes to him being involved with the Gemini Killer in some form. Back to Dr. Amfortas, his role in the book is small but it does play more into the connection with the force that brought James into the body of Karras (SPOILER), as his story revolves around him trying to communicate with his dead wife. Amfortas dies in an accident in the book which was probably caused by James in some form so that ends his story. Who did they get to replace him? Father Paul Morning, who does feel like a last minute addition into the story which makes sense due to the fact that he is the main force behind the new ending. Throughout the movie, they cut to him just sitting at a church pew with nothing else really going on which is kind of a shame really.
I kept talking about it so let's get to it: the ending. First, the book version. Tommy Sunlight feels that his father has died, thus his reason for killing is gone so he decides to call Kinderman to his room and let the Lieutenant know everything about how he had been able to go through his recent killing spree along with the why of it all before forcing himself to have a heart attack and die. A rather anti-climatic ending yet I think it works really well, especially with the whole theme of the concept of evil that kept playing out in the narrative.As for the movie, because the studio made Blatty shoehorn in an exorcism scene, Father Morning shows up to the cell ready to perform an exorcism to remove the evil souls from Karras' body but it goes as well as you expect with James' "master" aiding and seemingly killing Father Morning, while Kinderman comes and the two of them manage to kill the evil entities. Despite the fact that it comes off as really abrupt, I actually don't mind the ending at all although I still wish the original ending still existed or at least isn't lost among the shuffle of the cutting room floor. I hope I haven't spoiled the book and film too much since I think you should give Legion and The Exorcist III a chance despite the cries against it. The movie is a rather faithful adaptation compared to most book to film adaptations and a really good horror film that doesn't rely on blood and gore that much, mainly mood and atmosphere. So, again, give both a shot.
EDIT: didn't realize this was my 50th post. So... cool. Hopefully it won't take me as long to get to 100
The easiest comparison I can make where the movie deviates with the book is with its main character but there is a pretty good reason why that may be. In the first Exorcist, the role of Kinderman was played by Lee J. Cobb, who passed away in 1976 which I think is a huge shame since it would have added to the whole character change a bit more but they got George C. Scott to play Bill in this movie so there is someone that is rather respectable in the role still. Maybe because of all of that, it is obvious to compare the way the two of them play the same character with Cobb being more of a relaxed yet concerned individual who was always a step ahead without giving it away (best example of this being the scene where he is talking to Chris in the house) while Scott is more of a pessimist who might be more so due to the return of the pattern of the Gemini Killer yet he still remains friends with Father Dyer after all of these years, spending the day with him at every anniversary of Karras' death since. The added pessimism is a change for the film since in the book, Kinderman is constantly going on philosophical tangents about the concept of evil; it is there in the movie but the main difference in the adaptation is his belief system which plays in his interactions with Tommy Sunlight. In the book, he is more of a believer while in the movie, he is all but stated to be an atheist.
The nonbeliever aspect does play into his interactions with Tommy in the hospital which play out differently yet similarly as well. The difference being the ending but let's get to the Gemini Killer, who is given a backstory in the book where his name is James Vennamun, the son of a evangelical preacher who abused him along with his brother for most of their life; more so with his brother, who was left mentally unstable and died due to a slight moment of ignorance by the hospital staff. The motive for the killings is the same, that being so James can shame his father, since his son is a serial killer. A major difference is the supposed death of the Gemini Killer, where it was assumed he had been in hiding in the book, where in the movie, he was clearly executed. Let's bring up perhaps the best reason to watch the movie though, and that is Brad Dourif playing the Gemini Killer, there really just for the audience since Kinderman only sees Karras when looking at him.
One thing that can happen with adaptations is adding a character or removing one for whichever reason, being that his involvement doesn't impact the story, time constraints, the list can go on. This movie does both where a character is removed while the added character is there mainly for the new ending. First the character who doesn't show up, that being Dr. Amfortas who works at the hospital along with Dr. Temple, whose role in the movie is severely reduced, which might have been due to the changes since during the scene he is being interviewed by Kinderman, some shots show his notepad with weird writing which alludes to him being involved with the Gemini Killer in some form. Back to Dr. Amfortas, his role in the book is small but it does play more into the connection with the force that brought James into the body of Karras (SPOILER), as his story revolves around him trying to communicate with his dead wife. Amfortas dies in an accident in the book which was probably caused by James in some form so that ends his story. Who did they get to replace him? Father Paul Morning, who does feel like a last minute addition into the story which makes sense due to the fact that he is the main force behind the new ending. Throughout the movie, they cut to him just sitting at a church pew with nothing else really going on which is kind of a shame really.
I kept talking about it so let's get to it: the ending. First, the book version. Tommy Sunlight feels that his father has died, thus his reason for killing is gone so he decides to call Kinderman to his room and let the Lieutenant know everything about how he had been able to go through his recent killing spree along with the why of it all before forcing himself to have a heart attack and die. A rather anti-climatic ending yet I think it works really well, especially with the whole theme of the concept of evil that kept playing out in the narrative.As for the movie, because the studio made Blatty shoehorn in an exorcism scene, Father Morning shows up to the cell ready to perform an exorcism to remove the evil souls from Karras' body but it goes as well as you expect with James' "master" aiding and seemingly killing Father Morning, while Kinderman comes and the two of them manage to kill the evil entities. Despite the fact that it comes off as really abrupt, I actually don't mind the ending at all although I still wish the original ending still existed or at least isn't lost among the shuffle of the cutting room floor. I hope I haven't spoiled the book and film too much since I think you should give Legion and The Exorcist III a chance despite the cries against it. The movie is a rather faithful adaptation compared to most book to film adaptations and a really good horror film that doesn't rely on blood and gore that much, mainly mood and atmosphere. So, again, give both a shot.
EDIT: didn't realize this was my 50th post. So... cool. Hopefully it won't take me as long to get to 100
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