Scott LeBrun "The Possession of Joel Delaney" is another of those interesting little films that's worthy of more attention than it probably usually gets. Despite the presence of the word "possession" in the title, it's not that much of a horror film, although it has some very creepy and uncomfortable moments. It's a deliberately paced thriller with a fair amount of social commentary and which gives the viewer a look into the religion of Santeria. A gorgeous Shirley MacLaine stars as Norah Benson, an affluent NYC resident who dotes on her devil may care younger brother Joel (Perry King, who gets an official "introducing" credit here). Soon into this story Joel starts acting out a lot, sometimes ranting in Spanish, and Norah discovers that an unkind spirit has taken over his body. Those with short attention spans may find their mind wandering as this story (scripted by Matt Robinson and Irene Kamp, based on a novel by Ramona Stewart) takes its time to play out, but some may find it fascinating as it takes a main character who's actually a little bit of a snob and forces her to enter a world that she may never have known had fate not intervened. Director Waris Hussein has a field day with all of the little details that go into telling this tale, and gets fine performances out of his cast. MacLaine is wonderful as a woman willing to do anything to help her tortured sibling, while King is completely convincing in delineating two different personalities. Among the supporting cast are David Elliott and Lisa Kohane as Norahs' children, Lovelady Powell as the psychiatrist, Barbara Trentham as Joels' lady friend, Miriam Colon as Norahs' maid, and Edmundo Rivera Alvarez as the occult expert to whom Norah turns for help. There are some truly macabre occurrences here, such as the sight of a severed head hanging by its hair, but the climax is some extremely twisted stuff; just the fact that it involves the possessed Joel making his young nephew strip naked is unnerving beyond belief. This may well leave a bad taste in the mouths of the audience. But overall the film is nothing if not intriguing and it delivers a reasonably effective, very '70s ending. Controvery aside (we all know there's no way something like this would be allowed today), this stands up as an absorbing enough viewing that relies on atmosphere and performance rather than special effects or spectacle. Seven out of 10.

thinker1691 Fear has always accompanied mankind ever since he took his first steps from the cave. Indeed, man has always been afraid of anything which he cannot understand. From the beginning of time, man has always created his Gods according to his levels of stupidity. Throughout time, science has sought to explain that every phenomenon has a rational explanation. But if Science is slow to understand and explain the strange and unusual, the ignorant will jump to the first conclusion explained by the charlatans among them. A case in point. This movie which preceded The Exorcist by a year, is called " The Possesson of Joel Delaney. " The story is that of a wealthy socialite, named Norah Benson (Shirley MacLain) who discovers her brother Joel (Perry King) is becoming mentally unhinged and is more irrational each day. Those around him believe he is possessed by a violent demon. She tries to help by calling on modern doctors and specialists. Because they are unable to cure him immediately, she desperately turns to magic, medicine men and voodoo healers. Despite their beads, rattles, chants and magical incantations, they too remain powerless to help. Finally, she is advised to leave the city and flee before her brother becomes a danger to her children, Peter and Carrie (David Elliott and Lisa Kohane) Unfortunate the dark drama of this film multiplies as Joel pursues her sister and the children to a beach house where in his demented state he plans to murder them. The incredible movie is superb in it's selection of MacClain, Perry, Elliott, Kohane and Michael Horden. The controversial scenes which were used by critics to condemned this film are mostly in the small minds of myopic censors who have never beheld anything stranger than a cat and dog fight. For the majority of audiences, the movie becomes a Classic and a milestone in the long journey away from censorship. An excellent film for the open-minded not afraid to take giant steps away from the cave door. ****

Mr_Ectoplasma Wealthy, upper class New Yorker Nora Benson (Shirley MacLaine) lives in a brownstone with her two children. One evening, after inviting her younger brother Joel (Perry King) over for dinner, she has a disturbing phone call, and when she arrives to check on him, finds him chanting and screaming, being escorted by the police. Her concern grows as his behavior becomes stranger and stranger - she takes him into her home, hoping to help him. But suspicions arise when Nora stumbles upon his girlfriend's decapitated body, and he speaks of his Puerto Rican friend, "Tonio", a suspected serial killer who decapitated city women the year before, and apparently vanished. Desperate for answers, Nora herself enters a completely different world - Spanish Harlem - in hopes of finding out what is wrong with her brother.A little-known possession tale from the early 1970s, based on Ramona Stewart's novel, "The Possession of Joel Delaney" is a pretty interesting supernatural thriller that emerged a year before the possession classic "The Exorcist". While "Joel Delaney" isn't nearly as graphic, it is still a fairly chilling, suspenseful, and well-made movie. I read the book, which was very scary, and this film adaptation is done nicely. The beginning sets the stage for the eerie things that are to come, and it just progresses from there to the disturbing (and quite controversial) last ten minutes of the film. What I liked most about this movie was the sense of discomfort that it gave off, even during the most simple of scenes. There's an overall air to the movie of things not being right, and the paranoia and fear translates from the characters to the audience very well.It also takes advantage of the New York city setting, somewhat a reminiscent of "Rosemary's Baby", and later used in "The Eyes of Laura Mars" in a similar fashion. Thematically, this is also quite a unique horror picture, because of its depiction of the clashing of cultures, as our prim & proper, upper class protagonist is whirled into different surroundings, beliefs, and an overall way of life, while trying to uncover the mystery behind her brother's odd behavior. The displacement of Nora in Spanish Harlem makes for some interesting scenes in this movie. It's a fairly light film gore-wise, albeit a couple of severed heads (which I must admit, that first discovery of the body is damn chilling), but the suspense throughout holds the film together. Shirley MacLaine is excellent and extremely believable here, playing a naive, somewhat close-minded Manhattan socialite. Her performance is very real and she does a solid job throughout. Perry King plays her brother, a man who willingly "seeks out poverty" (living in a seedy apartment in Spanish Harlem), as his sister puts it, and is the center of all the supernatural events. Both MacLaine and King have good chemistry and carry the movie quite well. As for the ending, which has sparked controversy over the years due to some brief depiction of child nudity (in a non-sexual manner of course), it's pretty disturbing, but I don't really see the huge fuss about it. Anyway, the final frame of the movie leaves the viewer questioning, but also hints at one of the main possibilities, which I liked a lot.Overall, "The Possession of Joel Delaney" is a neat little horror movie that is worth seeking out if you are interested by the subject matter. The acting is top-notch (especially considering it's a '70s horror flick), there are a couple of good scares and some efficient atmosphere, and the suspense is well-plotted. I liked this film, it's not perfect, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended for fans of supernatural horror movies, especially all those that emerged from the 1970s. 8/10.

martin-1415 After reading a few reviews here on IMDb I thought I'd give this one a shot. This movie started out promising, but quickly became tedious and boring. This one is far too long and wastes way too much time on scenes that have nothing to do with moving the story forward. I am a huge fan of movies about possession, but this was very disappointing. It was interesting to see Shirley McClain so young, and the acting in general is competent, but unfortunately it's just not a very good example of the genre. The only really enjoyable feature of this movie for me was watching the scenery of New York from back in 1972. It doesn't change that much, really. Go rent The Eyes of Laura Mars, or The Exorcist, and skip this one.