Wednesday, May 01, 2002

The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972)

Well-regarded in its day, this supernatural shocker seems quite a bit less shocking. Truth be told, it's not really even that much of a horror film -- it's primarily concerned with issues of class and class conflict. It's always fascinating to see the genre try and tackle issues and ideas such as these, but the horrific elements can suffer if the material is improperly handled, which is definitely is here. I don't find it surprising in the slightest that the director hasn't done anything but TV movies since this -- the movie feels a lot like an made-for-TV adaptation of an Ira Levin potboiler with occasional flashes of gore. Things do pick up in the film's last segment and there's a much-copied twist ending, but it's too little too late.

Grade: C