Product Details

• Actors: Shirley MacLaine, Perry King
• Directors: Waris Hussein
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Legend Films
• DVD Release Date: June 3, 2008
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0016LFG4C
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,766 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Possession of Joel Delaney" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Puerto Ricans. If you were a rich white woman living on New York's Upper East Side in the early 70's, there weren't many other words that struck more fear in your heart of hearts. Sure, you were open-minded enough to hire an Hispanic housekeeper to feed and babysit your kids while you socialized with other members of the upper crust, artsy-fartsy set, but walk the streets of Spanish Harlem alone? Never!

In The Possession of Joel Delaney, which is seeing its first DVD release this June courtesy of San Diego-based Legend Films, a stunning young Shirley MacLaine stars as just such a person. Norah Benson is newly divorced and adjusting to life on her own with her two children, Carrie and Peter (Kohane and Elliott, respectively). Her brother, the Joel Delaney of the title, is played by engaging newcomer Perry King, who went on to gain fame and fortune 12 years later as studly PI Cody Allen in the TV series "Riptide." Joel has just returned to New York from a trip to Tangiers and is acting very erratically. [] Things come to a head when Joel is arrested for assaulting his landlord and taken to the infamous Bellevue psych ward.

[] As it turns out, Joel has become involved with a fellow named Tonio Perez and has, in fact, moved into his recently vacated apartment. Perez is the son of the man Joel attacked and has disappeared, most likely as a result of being the prime suspect in a string of murders involving young women who were decapitated with their heads hung from nearby trees. Of course, since the women were ... you guessed it ... Puerto Ricans, not much ado was made of their deaths in the local papers. Norah notices the Perez family's apartment is decorated with all manner of religious icons, and Joel's place also contains various artwork and symbols that look to be related to voodoo or black magic. Upon his release from Bellevue, Joel hems and haws about what's really going on during his mandatory sessions with a shrink (Powell), who also happens to be a family friend. Meanwhile Norah decides to research both her brother's behavior and Perez's alleged crimes on her own. She enlists the aid of her maid, Veronica (Colon), who abruptly quit working for her after being rudely spoken to in Spanish by Joel. Veronica is hesitant to get involved; she knows better than to mess around with Santeria, but sensing Norah's despair, she sends her to Don Pedro (Álvarez), who knows all about Perez and his connection to Joel.

To reveal more details would spoil the many pleasures to be derived from The Possession of Joel Delaney, but I must address its exorcism scene. I've seen plenty of such occurrences in films ranging from the sublime (Jennifer Carpenter's stellar performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose) to the ridiculous (the laughable cell phone exorcism in this year's One Missed Call remake) to the granddaddy of them all (The Exorcist). But never have I witnessed anything quite like what transpires in Joel Delaney once Norah provides Don Pedro with, not Joel himself, but rather a scarf that he had worn. Suffice to say that the look of horror on MacLaine's face isn't far off from what I experienced as well. It's truly one for the ages.

[] A year after its release, The Possession of Joel Delaney was overshadowed by a little film called The Exorcist, which was much more graphic. It was also a bit too over-the-top for my tastes. [] While not quite a masterpiece, The Possession of Joel Delaney is certainly a classic -- one of those once in a lifetime films that belongs in every discerning horror fan's collection. --Debi Moore of DreadCentral.com

Product Description

Before The Exorcist, there was The Possession of Joel Delaney. Shirley MacLaine stars as Norah Benson, a New Yorker who puzzles over sudden changes in her brother's behavior. Joel (Perry King at his most frightening) has begun speaking Spanish and practicing strange rituals. In order to protect her family and save her brother, Norah must delve deep into the mysterious world of Santeria, where she begins to suspect that the spirit of a serial killer may be the reason for Joel's behavior. Fraught with occult tension throughout, The Possession of Joel Delaney is a masterful thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the unspeakable conclusion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the weak minded, May 21, 2003

By	Jeffrey Leeper "kem2070" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Possession of Joel Delaney [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As a fan of horror, I figured I would give this movie a viewing. As you guessed it, the movie concerns possession, but also goes into the 70s culture and seems to pass judgment on the rich. How's that for a horror film?

Shirley MacLaine plays a New York socialite who raises her two children and looks after her brother. Both come from a rich background. Her brother, Joel Delaney, tries to attack his landlord and is taken away raving like a madman. MacLaine, not understanding, proceeds to the psychiatric hospital and starts throwing her ex-husband's name around. After pulling some strings, the brother is released. The rest of the movie brings the gruesome murders for which her brother is now a suspect. He also begins speaking dreadful things in Spanish, but no one remembers him learning fluent Spanish.

The movie is set in the 70s, and the movie tries to show the collision between the Puerto Rican culture and the rich socialite culture. The possession happens when a strong-minded personality takes control of the weak-minded. The movie seems to say that the rich, who did not make the money themselves, are not strong-minded because everything has been given to them. The other issue is that Western science cannot understand something like this. We need the help of a culture older than ours.

Shirley MacLaine is infuriating and frustrating. My first reaction was that I couldn't watch this movie because her character grated on my nerves. After reflecting, I realized that that is exactly what she was trying to do with her role. I have to tip my hat to her performance.

Although not a horror classic like Rosemary's Baby or The Exorcist, this is an interesting movie. I would recommend it for horror fans.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a red rose in Spanish Harlem, June 4, 2008

By	tmp "snippy reviewer" (Solar System, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Predating "The Exorcist", "Joel Delaney" is the story of wealthy, grating Manhattan socialite Norah Benson (Shirley MacLaine), whose relationship with her brither Joel Delaney (Perry King) is a mite too close. When not busy treating her maid like the furniture and attending the sort of party where someone exclaims that her butler was simply appalled she had taken the bus, Norah start to notice that Joel is acting strangely. Soon after, heads start to roll.

MacLaine is brilliant in this, forcing the audience to care for what is in essence a very unlikeable heroine: Norah is an inveterate snob, an egomaniac (she seems to think that everyone from her ex-husband to her ex-maid should drop everything to come to her aid immediately) and has a relationship with her brother that borders on incestuous. Shirley still draws you in, showing the basic goodness and humanity in Norah. A very young Perry King is also very good here, flitting from sweetness to madness in a blink.

Almost more of a paen to mid-seventies urban paranoia than a straight thriller, "PoJD" makes good use of New York of the era. Never before or since has the city looked more threatening, from the tony Upper East Side to the East Village and Spanish Harlem, this New York fairly drips with menace. This is the Anti- "Manhattan"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN UNUSUAL HORROR TALE....., April 12, 2008

By	Mark Norvell (HOUSTON) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Shirley MacLaine plays Nora, an aloof, privileged, divorced mother of two living in Manhattan. She's kept herself emotionally and socially distant from people and things she considers beneath her status. But when her beloved younger brother Joel (Perry King) begins having a severe and frightening personality change after moving into an apartment previously inhabited by a now deceased young serial killer, she's forced to confront realities she's hardly prepared to deal with. Then murders similar to the serial killer's occur. Racial undertones (the killer was Puerto Rican) and the occult blend somewhat uneasily in the film, but this is balanced by the truly creepy atmosphere, the acting and some disturbing sequences that made my skin crawl. The final sequence at the beach house is shocking. This is a horror film that is not for all tastes. For instance, there's a hint or two that Nora's feelings for Joel may go beyond just brother & sister. Also Nora's character is not your usual horror film heroine. She isn't very sympathetic. She's spoiled, indifferent and used to getting her way. So it's no surprise to find she's way in over her head right off the bat. MacLaine and King are good and make the often questionable material engrossing to watch. All in all, an interesting adult horror film from 1972 with potent social and supernatural themes. Definitely worth a look.