The Possessed

In THE POSSESSED, Father Kevin Leahy (James Farentino) is killed in a car crash, only to be judged to have fallen from grace. Returned to life, he must seek out and fight eeevil.

Meanwhile, at the Helen Page private girl's school, in addition to the usual end of the year hijinks, strange things begin happening. Spontaneous, near-fatal fires break out.

Friends Weezie and Lane (Ann Dusenberry and Diana Scarwid) have only three weeks to go before graduation. Lane's mother, Ellen (Claudette Nevins) has taught at the school for years. Burned in one of the fires herself, Ellen fears that dark forces are at work. Willing to try anything, Ellen is referred to Leahy. Can he discover the source of the problem, before someone else is hurt or even killed?

As made-for-TV horror films go, this is one of the better ones dealing with the paranormal / supernatural. The story is interesting, using fire as a metaphor for jealous rage, which is what seems to have allowed the demonic presence to flourish. The characters are strong and the pool-side finale is magnificent! Farentino is quite believable in his rather dour role.

Co-stars Joan Hackett as headmistress, Louise Gelson, and Harrison Ford as biology teacher, Paul Winjam. Ford has one of the best, grimmest scenes in the movie! Watch for P.J. Soles in a tiny role...

The legend could be Star Wars made Harrison. Well, Harrison's acting talent existed before the trilogy and this movie, as well as American Graffiti, are here to prove that.

Harrison plays a Don Juanesque teacher in a catholic girl school in which happens demoniac phenomena. He has already his cool attitude and that's why i like him.

Sure the story is a rip-off of the famous exorcist (only a non conformist priest can help them!) but the production is not that bad, especially when you compare it to today productions. Here the effects are authentic, the photography luminous and clear and the story has a direct plot and not a melting-polt of opinions or a collage of bloody, shocking scenes.

So the 70s was the best period from this frightening genre and even a poor production from this time excels from the today stinkers!

Lost-his-faith priest Kevin Leahy (James Farentino) dies in a car accident. He is admonished by God for having lost his faith and returned to Earth on a mission to seek out evil. He quickly finds it at an all girls school run by siblings Ellen (Claudette Nevins) and Louise (Joan Hackett). Fires have been starting with seemingly no source and it appears to actually be targeting the girls. This TV movie plays like a pilot for THE EXORCIST: THE SERIES, but WB Television never went any further with it. Farentino is good in the lead role and you'll notice some familiar faces among the students including P.J. Soles, Dinah Manoff, and Ann Dusenberry. Perhaps the biggest draw for folks is a pre-STAR WARS Harrison Ford as the girls' biology teacher. The fire bits are pretty spooky, as is the performance of the possessed person (I won't spoil it) during the last ten minutes. The end gets down to the EXORCIST-lite moments, including the possessed person puking up nails (!) on the priest.

Released to TV in 1977, this combines the milieu of another television drama/horror, "Satan's School for Girls" (1973) and "Suspiria" with bits influenced by "The Exorcist." You can't beat the female cast, which stars Joan Hackett as the headmistress and several notable up-and-comers, like Ann Dusenberry, Diana Scarwid, Carol Jones, Dinah Manoff, Susan Walden and PJ Soles.

On the masculine side of things, James Farentino stars as the former priest turned exorcist and is quite 'cool' in the role (I don't know how else to put it). Meanwhile Harrison Ford has a peripheral part as a biology teacher similar to the professor he would play four years later in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Remember the female student in that movie with "love you" written on her eyelids? I'm sure that that bit was influenced by a subplot here. Of course, Harrison would skyrocket to fame with his next movie (a theatrical one) released the same year, "Star Wars."

Unfortunately, I found the dramatics dull with only the cast drawing interest and maybe 2-3 thrilling parts. "Satan's School for Girls" wasn't anything phenomenal, but it's superior to this. Nevertheless, if you like flicks like "The Woods" (2006), it's worth a look.

It's short 'n' sweet at 1 hour, 14 minutes, and was shot at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

GRADE: C.

Along with Gargoyles, Trilogy of Terror & Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, this movie scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. The premise, though somewhat formulaic, is still quite effective in this flick. The possession scenes are great, with a particular "hell yea!" during the nail spitting sequence! THAT freaked me out. Poor Harrison Ford hides from this film like it's leprosy or something. I dunno why...it beats "The Devil's Own" ANY day!!!

J Richter