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The Possession of Joel Delaney

Play trailer Poster for The Possession of Joel Delaney R 1972 1h 45m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A rich New York divorcee's (Shirley MacLaine) brother (Perry King) feels the spirit of an ethnic voodoo-ritual beheader.

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
2/4
The rest of the movie is badly put together, with little feeling for suspense, and the final scenes in the beach house are in nauseatingly bad taste. Go to Full Review
Robert Sullivan Los Angeles Free Press 01/07/2020
The film is interesting on a number of levels, but moments of heavy-handed melodrama and a less imaginative plot keep it from reaching the heights of a film like Rosemary's Baby. Go to Full Review
Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal 03/19/2004
4/5
Bob Bloom Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) 11/06/2002
2/5
Silly, Exorcist-type rip-off, unworthy of McLaine. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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delysid d 05/17/2020 demonic posession is a topic that doesnt fail to excite my interest See more 11/30/2016 Me aburrió, y la posesión no dio mucho pie a entenderla, le metieron cosa vudú pero con gente de costa rica... y al final matan al tipo y dan entender que el espíritu o lo que sea se traspasa a la hermana. See more 05/27/2015 A very strange choice for Shirley MacLaine, this mix of slasher and supernatural horror is ugly, profane and crosses boundaries regarding the use of child actors. See more 02/20/2013 Plot: Rich white woman (MacLaine), is forced to confront minorities in 1970's New York as she investigates her brothers possession! Theme: All minorities are otherworldly! Evidence of theme: Sequence in which MacLaine has panic attack surrounded by minorities on Lexington Ave !!! Hahahahaaaa. Loved it! See more 06/07/2012 Pretty daring for 1972. Not sure why MacLaine turned down the Exorcist but did this film o demonic possession. See more 03/12/2012 It's like "The Exorcist" meets "The Serpent and the Rainbow". Not as good as those, but it's still very good. The Possession of Joel Delaney is an interestingly strange and different look on satanic possession. Many parts are quite eerie in places, while others are very disturbing, especially the sickening ending that involves a little boy. Strong performances, a solid script, along with a creepy story make this movie well worth a watch. But The Possession of Joel Delaney does have it's flaws, and it tends to drag on sometimes. Regardless, that shouldn't stop you from seeing this. Although it's not an outstanding horror film, it's definitely an entertaining one with an intriguing story to tell. It puts something new on the plate for horror fans. Perfect movie for Halloween! <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/ThePossessionofJoelDelaney.jpg"> See more Read all reviews
The Possession of Joel Delaney

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Movie Info

Synopsis A rich New York divorcee's (Shirley MacLaine) brother (Perry King) feels the spirit of an ethnic voodoo-ritual beheader.
Director
Waris Hussein
Producer
Martin Poll
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 6, 2009
Runtime
1h 45m