Starring Shirley MacLaine, Perry King, Miriam Colon, Barbara Trentham, Edmundo Rivera Álvarez, Lisa Kohane, David Elliott, Lovelady Powell
Directed by Waris Hussein
Distributed by Legend Films and Paramount Home Entertainment
Puerto Ricans. If you were a rich white woman living on New York’s Upper East Side in the early 70’s, there weren’t many other words that struck more fear in your heart of hearts. Sure, you were open-minded enough to hire an Hispanic housekeeper to feed and babysit your kids while you socialized with other members of the upper crust, artsy-fartsy set, but walk the streets of Spanish Harlem alone? Never!
In The Possession of Joel Delaney, which is seeing its first DVD release this June courtesy of San Diego-based Legend Films, a stunning young Shirley MacLaine stars as just such a person. Norah Benson is newly divorced and adjusting to life on her own with her two children, Carrie and Peter (Kohane and Elliott, respectively). Her brother, the Joel Delaney of the title, is played by engaging newcomer Perry King, who went on to gain fame and fortune 12 years later as studly PI Cody Allen in the TV series “Riptide.” Joel has just returned to New York from a trip to Tangiers and is acting very erratically. He plays rough with Carrie while ice skating, causing Norah some alarm. He also rekindles a seemingly on again/off again relationship with the extremely hip and tempestuous Sherry (Trentham), which doesn’t exactly thrill Norah either. Things come to a head when Joel is arrested for assaulting his landlord and taken to the infamous Bellevue psych ward.
To reveal more details would spoil the many pleasures to be derived from The Possession of Joel Delaney, but I must address its exorcism scene. I’ve seen plenty of such occurrences in films ranging from the sublime (Jennifer Carpenter’s stellar performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose) to the ridiculous (the laughable cell phone exorcism in this year’s One Missed Call remake) to the granddaddy of them all (The Exorcist). But never have I witnessed anything quite like what transpires in Joel Delaney once Norah provides Don Pedro with, not Joel himself, but rather a scarf that he had worn. Suffice to say that the look of horror on MacLaine’s face isn’t far off from what I experienced as well. It’s truly one for the ages.
However, something else you might wish for — supplemental features on the disc — is sadly missing. There’s not a single extra to be had here, not even a trailer. I would have loved to hear Shirley and Perry reminisce about their experiences filming this long-lost tour de force for them both, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead I’ll just pop in the DVD, enjoy this blast from the past, and remind myself why, like Sublime, “I don’t practice Santeria; I ain’t got no crystal ball.” Well, okay, I do have a crystal ball. But that’s another story.
A year after its release, The Possession of Joel Delaney was overshadowed by a little film called The Exorcist, which was much more graphic. It was also a bit too over-the-top for my tastes. While many will see The Possession of Joel Delaney as old-fashioned due to its comparatively understated approach, it still packs a powerful punch and, all “Puerto Ricans” jokes aside, does shine a light on the nature of bigotry and how people in peril will work together to help each other despite their differences in ethnicity and religion. And let’s not forget that ending; it would never get past the censors today. While not quite a masterpiece, The Possession of Joel Delaney is certainly a classic — one of those once in a lifetime films that belongs in every discerning horror fan’s collection.
Special Features
4 out of 5
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