The Ninth Configuration (1980)

A castle surrounded by a forrest that is swamped by a slowly creeping fog. A dream of an astronaut on the moon looking away from the American flag to see Jesus on the cross. Stacy Keach’s face, serious and seething, eyes bulging red with rage. A few of the key images from William Peter Blatty’s The Ninth Configuration (1980), a film he directed and adapted from his novel, Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane. While mostly associated with having written the novel of The Exorcist, Blatty also co-wrote several Blake Edwards 1960s comedies and some of that flip dialogue can be found in the Lt Kinderman-Father Dyer scenes from Friedkin’s film version. Here, in a setting where American soldiers are housed and treated in a castle that functions as a military psychiatric institution, the one liners sing out in the ‘theatre of the absurd’ style flourishes. A host of character actors – Jason Miller, Robert Loggia, Moses Gunn, Joe Spinell – perform bizarre behaviour and exchanges while the new psychiatrist, Col Kane (Keach) arrives to take charge. However, there’s something strange about Kane from the piano tinkling (score by Barry DeVorzon) and darkened framing the character receives. In his performance, Keach remains solemn and rigid, talking softy and sternly as everyone else shouts and cracks wise. Eventually, it becomes directed at Captain Cutshaw (Scott Wilson), an astronaut who fell apart before a mission to the moon, and a debate develops over the point of evil in the world. I’d heard a lot about this one, particularly from Mark Kermode’s fandom for it, a cult oddity where not everything works, and it is more talky than I expected with its horror and surrealist allusions. But I found it compelling, particularly as the Catch-22 theatrics give way to the serious themes underwriting the mystery and paranoia. Keach in particularly gives a great performance, matched by Wilson and Ed Flanders playing the practicing doctor on base, Col. Fell. There are also small roles for cult movie regulars like Tom Atkins and Richard Lynch. Also features a brutal barroom brawl that might just have been the first movie to use the “Yeaaargh” sound. In many ways, The Ninth Configuration tackles similar themes to The Exorcist and Blatty’s sequel Legion: Exorcist III, just from a different angle as faith and despair are tested between the characters. Available to stream on Kanopy and Tubi. Recommended.