This film invites comparisons to the much better Exorcist. But while Joel Delaney lacks the power atmosphere, and sense of terror that The Exorcist provokes it makes up for it in audacity.
I generally try not review movies based on my personal moral views, but there are two glaring issues with this film that must be addressed.
The first is its depiction of non-white people. Native peoples in this film are depicted as Savage, ignorant, and put simply, naturally evil. Even by the standards of 1970s cinema this movie feels dated and tone deaf.
The other issue is that the film seems to share Joel's sadism, especially when directed at the other characters in the film.
There is an extremely unpleasant scene in which a young girl is forced to eat dog food and 12 year old old boy is forced to undress completely and dance on a table. In the standard theatrical edition, it appears that this scene is cropped so as to only imply frontal nudity. However, if you're unfortunate enough to be watching the VHS edition, the boy's nudity becomes full frontal, and his penis is fully visible.
Though this wasnt the initial intention, the fact is that that director still required a pre-pubescent child to get completely naked, exposing his genitals to the entire cast and crew, including a girl around his own age.
While I don't consider myself a prude, I don't appreciate shock just for it's own sake if there's nothing else of value in the film. And, sadly, in the case of Joel Delaney, there isn't.
I generally try not review movies based on my personal moral views, but there are two glaring issues with this film that must be addressed.
The first is its depiction of non-white people. Native peoples in this film are depicted as Savage, ignorant, and put simply, naturally evil. Even by the standards of 1970s cinema this movie feels dated and tone deaf.
The other issue is that the film seems to share Joel's sadism, especially when directed at the other characters in the film.
There is an extremely unpleasant scene in which a young girl is forced to eat dog food and 12 year old old boy is forced to undress completely and dance on a table. In the standard theatrical edition, it appears that this scene is cropped so as to only imply frontal nudity. However, if you're unfortunate enough to be watching the VHS edition, the boy's nudity becomes full frontal, and his penis is fully visible.
Though this wasnt the initial intention, the fact is that that director still required a pre-pubescent child to get completely naked, exposing his genitals to the entire cast and crew, including a girl around his own age.
While I don't consider myself a prude, I don't appreciate shock just for it's own sake if there's nothing else of value in the film. And, sadly, in the case of Joel Delaney, there isn't.