The Ninth Configuration (1980)

The Ninth Configuration is the directorial debut of William Peter Blatty, the novelist and screenwriter of The Exorcist, among others. Previously titled Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane, the film concerns a gothic castle full of deranged soldiers, a distraught astronaut, the adaptation of the works of William Shakespeare for dogs, and Stacy Keach as Col. Kane who may or may not be a psychiatrist sent to take control of the institution.

Most of Blatty's work deals directly with his Catholicism, frequently exploring issues of faith, the existence of God, etc. The Ninth Configuration attempts, in an albeit inventive way, to illustrate how the Gospel might be lived out among a suffering population, and how its effect might be curative. The film itself is a bit curious. The synopsis alone had me almost salivating, but it isn't quite the oddity I expected. Blatty's direction is, despite some brilliant flourishes, a tad bland. The visual aesthetic is almost nonexistent except in some wonderfully artificial fantasy sequences, and in a climactic biker-bar brawl. His use of the actors is a bit broad, as is most of the comedy, despite some real absurdist zingers.

Most of the thematic material is worked out between Stacy Keach's Col. Kane and Scott Wilson's unhinged astronaut, Capt. Cutshaw. The best executed scene in the movie comes after Cutshaw's escape to a biker bar. There, a gloriously maned Steve Sandor, resplendent in mirrored sunglasses and (after their removal) raccoon-like eye makeup, abuses Cutshaw mercilessly. In a sort of strange Passion play, Kane goes to every length of sacrifice and humiliation to save Cutshaw from this frightening brood. In the end, however, Kane's "other personality" shows up with brutal force. Blatty won't leave it at that, and in an almost Fire Walk With Me-like (or in that case, Exorcist-like) image of self-sacrifice, peace is restored. All this is folded in a bit awkwardly, and without some of the cinematic snap or mood the material screams for. Still, overall an enjoyable film quite worth anyone's time: sign me up for Blatty's second effort The Exorcist III: The Legion (1990).