History Film / TheNinthConfiguration

* FirstLawOfTragicomedies: The film begins as a farce highlighting the absurd antics of the various inmates, but then the focus changes to the more serious theological and existential discussions between Kane and Cutshaw, eventually leading to the tragic reveal about Kane's background.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The bikers are visibly disgusted by what they perceive as Colonel Kane's abject cowardice, particularly when he agrees to beg and demeans himself by licking beer off the floor. Stanley didn't think that Kane or any other Marine would stoop so low when he told him to lick the beer:

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The bikers are visibly disgusted by what they perceive as Colonel Kane's abject cowardice, particularly when he agrees to beg and demeans himself by licking beer off the floor. Stanley didn't think that Kane or any other Marine would stoop so low when the told him to lick the beer:

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The bikers are visibly disgusted by what they perceive as Colonel Kane's abject cowardice, particularly when he agrees to beg and demeans himself by licking beer off the floor. Stanley didn't think that Kane or any other Marine would stoop so low when the told him to lick the beer:
-->'''Stanley''': (punching Kane in the back). That's for disgracing the uniform!

* BullyingTheDragon: The patrons of a seedy [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels biker]] [[BadGuyBar bar]] decide that it's a good idea to mercilessly taunt and humiliate a pair of soldiers. One of the soldiers is {{Colonel|Badass}} [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Vincent "Killer" Kane]], an unbalanced walking death machine from UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. After suffering through monstrous indignities, he finally snaps and slaughters the entire gang of bikers, including the women, with his bare hands.

* WouldHitAGirl: Kane, during the bar fight, grabs one of the female biker's head by her hair, and then kills her by slamming her against the wall. The second one was more lucky.

* CreatorCameo: Blatty briefly appears as an inmate who poses as a doctor.

* CreatorCameo: Blatty briefly appears as an army doctor.

* TheFirstLawofTragicomedies: The film begins as a farce highlighting the absurd antics of the various inmates, but then the focus changes to the more serious theological and existential discussions between Kane and Cutshaw, eventually leading to the tragic reveal about Kane's background.

* StealthSequel: WordOfGod states that this film is the true sequel to ''Film/TheExorcist''. According to Wiki/ThatOtherWiki, the astronaut in ''The Exorcist'' is Captain Cutshaw, who has a mental breakdown immediately before a rocket launch and is committed to the asylum where this film is set. The original novel repurposes several pieces of dialogue cut from ''The Exorcist''.

* ChekhovsSkill: Kane's super strong grip, which he later uses to crush a beer glass in the leader biker's hand.

* BerserkButton: The previously stoic and calm Kane flies into a rage when Groper refuses to play along with his supposedly therapeutic re-enactment of Film/TheGreatEscape (more generally, his rage was due to Groper's lack of compassion for the other patients combined with Kane's own struggles with his past).

* StockScream: The bar fight is believed to be the first appearance of what would become known as [[Film/BrokenArrow the Howie scream]].

* SadClown: Cutshaw acts like the adult equivalent of the class clown around the officers and staff of the asylum, but his humor is just there to mask his despairing, nihilistic view of the world, and perhaps also his shame over his nervous breakdown aborting a major moon mission.

* Blackface: In one scene, Lieutenant Benish dresses up as Al Jolson (blackface and all) and lip syncs to a recording of "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder" as Major Nammack, a black senior officer, looks on with a combination of amusement and disgust.