THE POSSESSED (1977) – Episode 180 – Decades Of Horror 1970s

“I was kicked out of the church. I drank too much. I lusted. I was an adulterer… and other things.”  Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they take on yet another made-for-TV horror movie, The Possessed (1977). Pssst . . . this one has some surprises in the cast.

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 180 – The Possessed (1977)

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A former priest, now an exorcist, battles the Satanic forces that are threatening the students at a school for girls.

 

• Director: Jerry Thorpe
• Writer: John Sacret Young 
• Selected cast:
  • James Farentino as Kevin Leahy
  • Joan Hackett as Louise Gelson
  • Harrison Ford as Paul Winjam
  • Claudette Nevins as Ellen Sumner
  • P. J. Soles as Marty
  • Diana Scarwid as Lane
  • Eugene Roche as Sergeant Taplinger
  • Ann Dusenberry as Louise “Weezie” Summer
  • Dinah Manoff as Celia
  • Carol Jones as Alex

Made-for-TV horror movies in the Seventies are the go-to for any monster kids growing up during that time, gathering around the tube with the family to watch chilling favorites such as The Night Stalker (1972), Duel (1971), Gargoyles (1972), and Trilogy of Terror (1975). Whoa boy, those were the times. Many a time the film was to serve as a pilot for a TV series ala Kolchak. With a familiar cast (P.J. Soles, James Farentino, Joan Hackett, and more), The Possessed (1977) would make an attempt at such a lofty goal only to miss the mark. Regardless, those who saw the film may remember the nail-spitting, cackling creepy lady at the end, or fans of Indiana Jones and Han Solo star Harrison Ford may seek this one out to catch his last role prior to Star Wars (1977). Sadly, time has not been kind to this post-Exorcist attempt at the supernatural but the Grue-Crew review it all the same.

• If you’d like to check out other made-for-TV horror gems covered by the 70s Grue-Crew, take a listen to these:
  • DRACULA (1974) — Episode 61
  • SALEM’S LOT (1979) — Episode 69
  • SUMMER OF FEAR (1978) — Episode 79
  • THE NIGHT STALKER (1972) — Episode 84
  • THE NIGHT STRANGLER (1973) — Episode 87
  • TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) – Episode 108
  • GARGOYLES (1972) – Episode 131
  • THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN (1975) – Episode 177

At the time of this writing, The Possessed is available to stream from YouTube. In terms of physical media, the film is currently available as a DVD from the Warner Brothers Archive Collection.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be The Brotherhood of Satan (1971), from the production company that brought you A Boy and His Dog (1975), starring Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Alvy Moore, Charles Bateman, and Ahna Capri.

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