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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 36% 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

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 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. Rated: 2/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Robert Sullivan Los Angeles Free Press 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. Jan 7, 2020 Full Review Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Rated: 4/5 Mar 19, 2004 Full Review Bob Bloom Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) Silly, Exorcist-type rip-off, unworthy of McLaine. Rated: 2/5 Nov 6, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (15) audience reviews
delysid d demonic posession is a topic that doesnt fail to excite my interest Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/17/20 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member 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! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Pretty daring for 1972. Not sure why MacLaine turned down the Exorcist but did this film o demonic possession. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member 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"> Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Possession of Joel Delaney

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Cast & Crew

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