The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972)

This seems to be a virtually forgotten film charting the realistic possession of a man by an evil spirit - forgotten, no doubt, in the hype that surrounded the release of THE EXORCIST which came out shortly after this did. It's a shame, as THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY is a well-acted film with a down-to-earth approach. The lack of special effects or makeup help to give this film a realistic edge and the possession of Joel is far more believable - and thus quietly chilling - than that of Regan in THE EXORCIST. All that happens is that he starts talking with a Spanish accent, a simple bit of dubbing which has a really spooky effect.The slow pacing is used to build up suspense and give us a chance to get to know the characters before plunging them into the depths of horror. To be honest, sometimes the lack of action means that this film gets bogged down in too much talk, but things are turned around in the final, taut twenty minutes in which Benson and her children are taken hostage by the possessed man. The degradation of the children and the threat of violence towards them makes this very tense and uncomfortable viewing and an unexpected surprise when considering the rest of the film.The acting from leads MacLaine and King is very good. Perry King (CLASS OF 1984) in particular is excellent in the dual role of a nice, shy young man and a possessed, ruthless killer who has no moral scruples. MacLaine may not be a likable character but you can see where she is coming from and her character, while flawed, is a human one. Watch out for an out-of-place cameo from Michael Hordern as a doctor.This isn't a particularly gory film, although there are a few shocking scenes of decapitated heads and bodies. Where it does succeed and become interesting is in the portrayal of the Puerto Ricans in New York and their religion and beliefs; the ritual in which they attempt to draw the spirit from Delaney's body is an immensely powerful one, building from nothing into a screaming frenzy. This may not be a brilliant film but it's worth a look for fans of gritty, '70s-style realism.

"The Possession of Joel Delaney" is another of those interesting little films that's worthy of more attention than it probably usually gets. Despite the presence of the word "possession" in the title, it's not that much of a horror film, although it has some very creepy and uncomfortable moments. It's a deliberately paced thriller with a fair amount of social commentary and which gives the viewer a look into the religion of Santeria. A gorgeous Shirley MacLaine stars as Norah Benson, an affluent NYC resident who dotes on her devil may care younger brother Joel (Perry King, who gets an official "introducing" credit here). Soon into this story Joel starts acting out a lot, sometimes ranting in Spanish, and Norah discovers that an unkind spirit has taken over his body. Those with short attention spans may find their mind wandering as this story (scripted by Matt Robinson and Irene Kamp, based on a novel by Ramona Stewart) takes its time to play out, but some may find it fascinating as it takes a main character who's actually a little bit of a snob and forces her to enter a world that she may never have known had fate not intervened. Director Waris Hussein has a field day with all of the little details that go into telling this tale, and gets fine performances out of his cast. MacLaine is wonderful as a woman willing to do anything to help her tortured sibling, while King is completely convincing in delineating two different personalities. Among the supporting cast are David Elliott and Lisa Kohane as Norahs' children, Lovelady Powell as the psychiatrist, Barbara Trentham as Joels' lady friend, Miriam Colon as Norahs' maid, and Edmundo Rivera Alvarez as the occult expert to whom Norah turns for help. There are some truly macabre occurrences here, such as the sight of a severed head hanging by its hair, but the climax is some extremely twisted stuff; just the fact that it involves the possessed Joel making his young nephew strip naked is unnerving beyond belief. This may well leave a bad taste in the mouths of the audience. But overall the film is nothing if not intriguing and it delivers a reasonably effective, very '70s ending. Controvery aside (we all know there's no way something like this would be allowed today), this stands up as an absorbing enough viewing that relies on atmosphere and performance rather than special effects or spectacle. Seven out of 10.

With a friend of mine telling me that I only had the weekend to watch this film before he traded it in on Monday.Due to this,I made sure to clear my weekend,so I would get plenty of time,to see this controversial film.The plot:Norah Bensin is shocked when she gets a phone call from the police,telling her that they have arrested her brother (Joel Delaney),for attempting to murder his landlord.When Benson gets her brother out on bail,she starts to notice that Joel seems to be acting very strangely.This is due to Delaney being very menacing and taunting,to her and the rest of their friends and family.As police start discovering that there is someone going round beheading girls (including a girl,that Joel had been dating)Norah starts to get nervous,that a friend-who Joel keeps talking to,is having a very bad influence on him.Sadly for Benson,she discovers that Joels "Friend" was shot dead six months ago.Although,he has left something very nasty behind..View on the film:I feel that this is a film of two halves-With the first 50 minutes of the film,disappointingly,taking a bit too long to really get the characters and the story going.With the pleasantly improved second half,I was very shocked at how extreme some of the scenes looked.The things that shocked me the most were, the children getting threatened with a very real sharp knife next to their throats,and the very uncountable full-nudity shots of the boy getting forced to undress by Delaney,which I am certain would not be passed by any film ratings board now.An interesting moment in the film is an exorcism (a scene that the actors clam is of a real exorcist.)The whole scene is well shot in a very raw,almost documentary look,with very intense performances from all the participants.Final view on the film:A slow opening hour,saved by a pretty gripping second half.

There is something really, really wrong with this film. And here again, many IMDb writers praising it. It always amazes me how trashy films have their audience.This movie wasn't much anywhere along the line, and then we go to the beach house. A girl is forced to eat dog food. Kids are beaten on. Then a young boy has to dance naked in front of his mom and sister. This all by a knife wielding "possessed" guy with a dubbed Spanish voice, badly dubbed.Scary, nah. I just couldn't believe how long the perverted scenes with the kids went on and on and on.Then of course the obligatory bad ending, where evil prevails, and "the horror continues". The only way the horror continues is if you are stupid enough to actually buy this movie.