James Venamun.PNG | |
James Venamun | |
Biographical Information | |
Gender | Male |
Eye color | Blue |
Hair color | Brown |
Died | October 9, 1975 (Movie), May 16th, 1971 (Novel) |
Affiliation(s) | Karl Vennamun (Father), Thomas Vennamun (Brother, deceased) |
Title(s) | The Gemini Killer, Patient X |
Portrayer(s) | Brad Dourif |
James Vennamun also known as The Gemini Killer is the main antagonist in The Exorcist III.
Biography[]
James Venamun was a serial killer who cut off the right index finger of his victims, akin to the painting of Adam and God, and carved the zodiac sign of Gemini into the palm of the victim’s left hand. His “Master" put his soul into the body of Damien Karras, who had died at the same time as Venamun's execution in the electric chair. In the novel, Venamun dies from a fall off the Golden Gate Bridge, after he was caught in a shootout with police. The demon had planned to exact revenge in Karras for his part in the exorcism of Regan McNeil, thus Venamun would continue his work with Karras unable to intervene.
However, Karras' brain and bone tissues were already destroyed, making his body unable to be fully controlled. Karras was eventually found by the locals and sent to a mental hospital, where he stayed locked inside Cell 11 for 15 years under the name of Patient X, until Venamun emerged.
In 1990, Patient X suddenly became hostile and violent towards other individuals, claiming to be The Gemini Killer. After a number of strange occurrences in the hospital, such as “patients” murdering people, Detective Bill Kinderman arrived to investigate the case. He meets Patient X after meeting with Temple to interview one of the patients, whose fingerprints were found on the crime scene of Dyer’s. Upon meeting Patient X, Kinderman notices that Patient X has a similar appearance to Damien Karras, who was his close friend. Later, Venamun tries to kill Kinderman's daughter, Julie, using one of the patients as a vessel. Failing to kill her, he attacks Kinderman but is interrupted by Father Paul Morning when he tries to exorcise the patient Venamun was possessing. After the demon severely wounds him, Kinderman arrives at Cell 11 and is almost killed— but Morning, in a moment of consciousness, motivates Karras to fight Venamun, which actually works. Karras asks Kinderman to shoot him in order to destroy Venamun and Pazuzu's influence, Karras is then shot several times by Kinderman, fatally wounding him and expelling Venamun's soul in the process, successfully saving Karras and ending Vennamun’s reign of terror.