The Possessed

This late out of the blocks made-for-t.v. rip-off of "The Exorcist" is unlucky enough to 'star' James Farentino, busy nursing his two expressions until the next mini-series comes along. What redeems this film though are a strong performance by a young Harrison Ford and a simply terrific one by Joan Hackett.Her character oozes madness, repressed sexuality and fierce intelligence, displayed with a clarity reminiscent of Anthony Perkins work in "Psycho". Rarely has insanity been so chillingly portrayed as here, despite the limitations of the format.

James Farentino plays boozy Father Kevin Leahy. He dies during a car crash, but is given his life back to fight evil. All of this is shown before the credits even roll. Farentino is quite good in this somewhat intense role and carries the film. At the Helen Page All-Girls School unexplained fires start happening, so Leahy is brought in to investigate.

I think the biggest problem I had with this 1977 TV Movie originally shown on NBC was what it wanted to be. It obviously was inspired by William Friedkin's THE EXORCIST, but half the time it just plays itself out like a cheap knock-off. Also becomes dialogue heavy and by the end of the movie the possession angle is pretty hokey. Which is too bad, because I did enjoy Farentino's performance.

Also starring Diana Scarwid, Dinah Manoff, P.J. Soles (as students at the all-girls school) and a pre-STAR WARS Harrison Ford who plays a nutty, creepy teacher Paul Winjam. Was very interesting seeing an early film role for Ford, but at the same time it wasn't exactly a very memorable role.

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.

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!

The Possessed (1977)

*** (out of 4)

Father Kevin Leahy (James Farentino) is in an automobile accident when he is pronounced dead on the scene. In the limbo he hears a voice telling him to return to life and seek out the Evil in the world. Soon afterwards he ends up at a girl's boarding school in Salen, Oregon where mysterious fires have been breaking out. The head mistress (Joan Hackett), her sister (Claudette Nevins) and her younger daughter (Ann Dusenberry) all seem to have some sort of connection.

THE POSSESSED is without question one of the better made-for-television horror movies ever made. It's kind of funny that Warner now handles the release of the picture since it was released the same year as their disastrous EXORCIST II. There's no question that this movie was probably inspired by THE EXORCIST but everything wrong with that film's sequel is certainly improved on here. There's no doubt that I went into the movie not sure what to expect but I walked away with an extremely good film that manages to feature great performances and a pretty good story.

The performances are certainly a major plus because there's quite a bit of character development here. Farentino is wonderful as the Father who finds himself trying to figure out exactly why he was brought back to life and who is behind these Satanic fires. Nevins is also excellent in her role as the mother and Dusenberry is also good. The supporting cast includes Dinah Manoff, P.J. Soles and Diana Scarwid. The biggest name is Harrison Ford who is excellent in a small role as a professor. The film also benefits from some nice cinematography and an extremely effective music score.

Another thing that really works for the movie is its pacing by director Jerry Thorpe. He certainly knows how to keep the film moving and manages to make the story quite interesting and makes it hold your attention even without the big-budget special effects. The ending itself is quite good, although there's no question that they were going for the same feel as THE EXORCIST. THE POSSESSED isn't a masterpiece but it's about as good as a film like this can get.