Synopsis
Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates' delusions, allowing them free rein to express their fantasies.
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Cast
- Stacy KeachCol. Vincent Kane
- Scott WilsonCapt. Billy Cutshaw
- Jason MillerLt. Frankie Reno
- Ed FlandersCol. Richard Fell
- Neville BrandMaj. Marvin Groper
- George DiCenzoCapt. Fairbanks
- Moses GunnMaj. Nammack
- Robert LoggiaLt. Bennish
- Joe SpinellLt. Spinell
- Alejandro ReyLt. Gomez
Recommendations
- 80
CineVue
A resolutely offbeat film which offers a richly rewarding and affecting viewing experience if you’re willing to embrace it’s esoteric flourishes. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
The supporting cast is excellent, especially Scott Wilson as an astronaut who flipped out on the launching pad and aborted his mission. Offbeat, visionary, and challenging. - 60
Chicago Reader
Demented disquisitions on Catholic theology vie for supremacy with camp humor and horror-movie conventions, leading to a conclusion that somehow manages to conflate The Wild Angels and The Passion of Joan of Arc. - 60
Empire
Heavy but fascinating creepy drama, that lacks pace in the first half but has some genuinely thrilling moments. - 50
Variety
The Ninth Configuration is an often confusing story concerning the effects of a new 'doctor' on an institution for crazed military men which manages to effectively tie itself together in the end. Problem is the William Peter Blatty film takes entirely too long to explain itself. - 38
Chicago Tribune
The Ninth Configuration is neither frightening nor funny nor inspiring, although it strains to be all of these. [30 Sep 1985, p.3C] - 30
The New York Times
It takes on the overtones not of an awful movie, but of an awful play. - 30
Time Out
A kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Catch-22, or maybe Fuller's Shock Corridor set as an episode from The Twilight Zone. Sounds interesting enough, but isn't.
