Some people might call "The Possession of Joel Delaney" an "Exorcist" precursor, but it's more than that. It almost had a tinge of the Black Panthers to it. That is, it was one of the many movies of that era that portrayed the oppressed under-classes rebelling against the ruling class. Shirley MacLaine plays wealthy Manhattanite Norah Benson, who suspects that her brother Joel (Perry King) is possessed. But what she suspects pales in comparison to what she discovers.
I guess that another aspect of this movie is the fact that Shirley MacLaine stars in a horror movie. Yes, the woman who starred in "The Trouble with Harry", "The Apartment", "Irma La Douce" and "Terms of Endearment" (not to mention that she was one of the first American celebrities to go to China after it reopened) starred in a flick whose purpose was to invoke fear. But this one was actually good. So, that begs the question: what "possessed" Shirley MacLaine to star in that awful "Bewitched" remake? Oh well. I guess if nothing else, we need to remember the movie's tagline: "If you believe, no explanation is necessary. If you don't believe, no explanation is possible."
I guess that another aspect of this movie is the fact that Shirley MacLaine stars in a horror movie. Yes, the woman who starred in "The Trouble with Harry", "The Apartment", "Irma La Douce" and "Terms of Endearment" (not to mention that she was one of the first American celebrities to go to China after it reopened) starred in a flick whose purpose was to invoke fear. But this one was actually good. So, that begs the question: what "possessed" Shirley MacLaine to star in that awful "Bewitched" remake? Oh well. I guess if nothing else, we need to remember the movie's tagline: "If you believe, no explanation is necessary. If you don't believe, no explanation is possible."