"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.
Review of The Possession of Joel Delaney
